Disused Stations: Hornsea Bridge Station

[Source: Mark Dyson]

Date opened:	First in timetable in August 1864
Location:	West side of a roundabout on Southgate (B1242). At this point the line was carried over the road (now the site of the roundabout) on a bridge.
Company on opening:	Hull and Hornsea Railway
Date closed to passengers:	19.10.1964
Date closed completely:	3.5.1965
Company on closing:	British Railways (Eastern Region)
Present state:	Demolished, the site of the station is occupied by a new road layout with the large goods yard now the site of an industrial estate. Traces of the embankment can be traced at the western end of the station site, the section at the eastern side of the road continues to Hornsea Town as a footpath. This is the only major break in the railway formation on the line.
County:	Yorkshire
OS Grid Ref:	TA202468
Date of visit:	14.7.2008

Notes: This station was originally to have been the terminus of the Hull and Hornsea railway and was the goods station for Hornsea throughout its existence. The passenger platforms which were constructed of timber were on an embankment. The main building was of two storeys with the booking office at street level alongside the road bridge and a waiting room on the

upper floor. There was a standard design NER waiting shelter with a gents' toilet attached on the up platform.

The goods yard, which was at ground level, comprised two siding one passing through a goods shed. There was also a 2-ton crane. To the south of the station private sidings served the Hornsea Brick Company and the Hornsea Gas Company.

In 1911 12,411 tickets were sold (compared with 32,518 at Hornsea Town) and the main freight handled was gravel and sand, with 4,614 tons being dispatched. 353 wagons of livestock were also loaded at the station.

After closure to passengers in 1964 the station remained open for goods traffic until 3 May 1965.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HULL & HORNSEA RAILWAY
A line connecting the Hull-Scarborough branch at Arram to a site near Hornsea Mere had been proposed in 1846/7 by the York and North Midland Railway but never built due to the downfall of chairman George Hudson amidst a financial scandal.

A new line connecting Hull and Hornsea was promoted by Hornsea resident and Hull timber merchant Joseph Armytage Wade, the aim of such a line being to develop Hornsea as a fashionable Victorian seaside resort.

The first sod was turned by Wade on 8.10.1862. Problems were encountered during construction due to the nature of the local soil; there were further issues with poor workmanship and materials used by the contractors. A late change of plan saw the line extended from the proposed terminus at Hornsea Bridge to the seafront; this meant construction of an

embankment which required the ground to be piled adding substantially to the already escalating construction costs.

Opened on 28.3.1864, the line ran in a fairly direct North Easterly direction from Hull, the original Hull terminus was Wilmington station, though after 1st June 1864 trains ran via the Victoria Dock branch into Hull's Paragon station. Due to lower than expected receipts and consequent financial difficulties, the Hull and Hornsea Railway merged with the North Eastern

Railway on 16.7.1866.

The line was constructed as a single track but was doubled throughout in the early 1900s. Diesel railcars were introduced from 71.1957 and operated local services from that date. Centralised Traffic Control (automated signaling and level crossings) was proposed in the early 1960's, but this was overtaken by the 'Beeching Report'. Closure to passengers came

on 19.10.1964, with goods services to Hornsea Bridge continuing until 3.5.1965.

Today, the trackbed of the railway forms the 'Hornsea Rail Trail', also part of the 'Trans Pennine Trail'- the majority of station buildings still exist and the trackbed is virtually complete throughout.

Further reading 'The Lost Railways of Holderness' by Peter Price (Hutton Press)
ISBN 0 0907033 86 5. Route map drawn by Alan Young.

To see the other stations on the Hull & Hornsea Railway click on the station name: Sutton-on-Hull, Swine, Skirlaugh, Ellerby (1st station),
Ellerby (2nd station), Whitedale, Sigglesthorne, Wassand & Hornsea Town

Hornsea Bridge station looking north from the up platform in the 1950s. Note the standard design NER waiting shelter.

1910 1:2,500 OS map

A Cravens DMU bound for Hornsea in the 1960's

A southbound DMU arrives at Hornsea Bridge station in the 1960s. The main station building
is seen on the left.

Hornsea Bridge station looking north from the down platform in 1962. The goods yard, which is at ground level, is seen on the left.
Copyright photo from Stations UK

Hornsea Bridge station looking south from the up platform in the 1960's.

The site of Hornsea Bridge station looking north in 1971. The concrete blocks seen on the left in front of the wall supported the timber platform.
Photo by John Mann

Looking south across the B1242 towards the site of Hornsea Bridge station in July 2008. The station was on an embankment which is partially still there albeit narrower. The goods yard was at ground level and its site is now occupied by the industrial estate.
Photo by Mark Dyson

Looking south at the site of Hornsea Bridge station in July 2008. One side of the embankment has been removed to accommodate the industrial estate which is on the site of the goods yard.
Photo by Mark Dyson

Looking north from the site of Hornsea Bridge station in July 2008
Photo by Mark Dyson

Hornsea Bridge station seat on display in the Hornsea Folk Museum.
Photo by Simon K from his Flickr photostream

Station Name: HORNSEA BRIDGE