Station Name: MARFLEET

[Source: Mark Dyson]

Date opened: 27.6.1854
Location: North of the junction of Marfleet Avenue and Marfleet Lane
Company on opening: Hull and Holderness Railway
Date closed to passengers: 19.10.1964
Date closed completely: 1.5.1972
Company on closing: British Railways (Eastern Region)
Present state: Station building still exists as a private residence although the building and the Hull platform a are screened from the trackbed, which is a public footpath, by a tall fence on the platform. The Withernsea platform survives alongside the footpath.
County: Yorkshire
OS Grid Ref: TA141299
Date of visit: 25.5.1975, October 1990 & 14.9.2005

Notes: When Marfleet station opened on 27 June 1854 it had a single platform on the up side of the line with a short siding running behind the east end of the platform. The two-storey station building (and single storey extension) which incorporated the stationmaster's house, booking office and the village Post Office was built of brick with a pitched slate roof and stood in the centre of the platform with a forecourt opposite the end of Marfleet Avenue.

When the line was doubled in the early 20th century a second down platform was provided, the original platform was lengthened and became the up platform. A waiting shelter was provided on the down platform with a signal box on the platform near the west end which controlled access to the goods yard. The original siding was removed when the station was enlarged with
a new siding running diagonally across the yard at the east end of the station. The station only had basic goods facilities and didn't handle livestock.

Marfleet was one of the quieter stations on the line with 3946 tickets sold in 1911. The station downgraded to an unstaffed halt from 4 January 1960 finally losing its passenger service on 19 October 1964. Goods services east of Marfleet were withdrawn in 1968 but an engineering works just east of Marfleet station continued to be rail served until 1972 and Marfleet remained open for goods traffic until 1 May 1972. The track was lifted shortly after that date.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HULL & HOLDERNESS RAILWAY

The Hull and Holderness Railway was promoted by Hull merchant Anthony Bannister with the objective of linking the industrial port of Hull with the rich agricultural land of South Holderness; parts of the South Holderness area had previously been accessible via the river Humber at Hedon and Patrington Havens, but these had begun to silt up. A secondary objective was to develop a seaside resort on the coast in much the same way as the York and North Midland Railway had begun to develop Scarborough and Whitby. The coast between Tunstall and Easington was surveyed and Withernsea chosen to be the terminus of the line and hence the new resort.

Receiving Royal assent on 8.7.1853 the line was extremely easy to construct as the South Holderness area is very flat and ballast could be extracted close to the line at Kelsey Hill near Burstwick; the line opened on 30.6.1854 with a Hull terminus at Victoria Dock station. The railway was initially completely independent and operated its own rolling stock,
however it was too small to survive independently and on 1.1.1860 the line was leased to the NER which then bought the line outright on 7.7.1862. Trains began running into Hull's Paragon station via the Victoria Dock branch on 1.6.1864.


The line was constructed as a single track, but was doubled in the early 20th Century. Single line sections remained between Hedon and Ryehill and Burstwick stations and further east between Ottringham and Winestead until closure. Diesel railcars were introduced on 7.1.1957 and further cost cutting in the form of Centralised Traffic Control (automated
signaling and level crossings) were proposed in the early 1960's only to be overtaken by the 'Beeching Report' of 1962 which proposed closure of the line.

The Hull-Withernsea line closed to passengers on 19.10.1964 (the same day as the neighbouring Hull-Hornsea branch) with goods services lasting until 30.4.1965. Goods services to Hedon continued until 1968.

Today several sections of trackbed are in use as a footpath/cycleway with much of the formation intact. With the exception of the Withernsea terminus, all the station buildings remain, mainly in residential use.

Further reading 'The Lost Railways of Holderness' by Peter Price (Hutton Press)
ISBN 0 0907033 86 5

Tickets from Michael Stewart, route map drawn by Alan Young, Bradshaw from Nick Catford

Click here to see a film of a journey along the branch from Hull to Withernsea in 1957

To see the other stations on the Hull - Withernsea line click on the station name: Hedon Racecourse, Hedon, Ryehill & Burstwick, Keyingham, Ottringham, Winestead, Patrington, Hollym Gate & Withernsea


Marfleet station looking east from the up platform in 1962.
Copyright photo from Stations UK


1890 1:2,500 OS map shows the station in its original form before the line was doubled and the second platform added.

1927 1:2,500 OS map shows the station in its final form with two platforms and a signal box. The singe goods siding has been re- laid, now running diagonally across the yard,

1961 1:2,500 OS map. The line to Marfleet remained open until 1 May 1972 to serve the engineering works seen to the east of the station.

Marfleet station looking east c. summer 1972.
Photo by John Turner from his Flickr photostream

Marfleet Station in looking east in April 1976.
Photo by Alan Young

Marfleet station looking west along the down platform ion April 1978.
Photo by Alan Lewis from his Flickr photostream

Looking east at Marfleet station in 1985.
Photo by Paul Smith from his Flickr photostream

Marfleet station looking east at the down platform in September 2005.
Photo by Dr. James Fox

Looking into Marfleet station forecourt in September 2005.
P
hoto by Dr. James Fox

The track bed through Marfleet station has been a public footpath for many years but it has now been upgraded with a tarmac surface and lighting.
Photo by James Wallis from his Flickr photostream


 

 

 

:[Source: Mark Dyson]


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