The Great Northern Railway (GNR) was a British railway company incorporated in 1846 with the object of building a line from London to York. It quickly saw that seizing control of territory was key to development, and it acquired, or took leases of, many local railways, whether actually built or not. In so doing, it overextended itself financially.
Epworth is a town and civil parish in the Isle of Axholme, North Lincolnshire, England. The town lies on the A161, about halfway between Goole and Gainsborough. As the birthplace of John Wesley and Charles Wesley, it has given its name to many institutions associated with Methodism. Their father, Samuel Wesley, was the rector from 1695 to 1735.
Crowle is a market town in the civil parish of Crowle and Ealand, on the Isle of Axholme in North Lincolnshire, England. The civil parish had a population at the 2011 census of 4,828. The town lies on the Stainforth and Keadby Canal.
The Axholme Joint Railway was a committee created as a joint enterprise between the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway (L&Y) and the North Eastern Railway (NER) and was established by the North Eastern Railway Act of 31 July 1902. It took over the Goole and Marshland Railway, running from Marshland Junction near Goole to Reedness Junction and Fockerby, and the Isle of Axholme Light Railway, running from Reedness Junction to Haxey Junction. Construction of the Goole and Marshland Railway had begun in 1898, and by the time of the takeover in early 1903, was virtually complete. The Isle of Axholme Light Railway was started in 1899, but only the section from Reedness Junction to Crowle was complete at the takeover. The northern section opened on 10 August 1903, and the line from Crowle to Haxey Junction opened for passengers on 2 January 1905.
The Isle of Axholme is a geographical area in England: a part of North Lincolnshire that adjoins South Yorkshire. It is located between the towns of Scunthorpe and Gainsborough, both of which are in the traditional West Riding of Lindsey, and Doncaster.
Goole railway station is a railway station in town of Goole on the Hull and Doncaster Branch in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England.
Knottingley railway station serves the town of Knottingley in West Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Pontefract Line, operated by Northern, and is 16 miles (26 km) south east of Leeds railway station.
Swinefleet is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately 2 miles (3.2 km) south-east of the town of Goole on the A161 road from Goole to Crowle. It lies on the south bank of the River Ouse. According to the 2011 UK census, Swinefleet parish had a population of 787, an increase on the 2001 UK census figure of 748. The main centre of population is at the extreme north of the parish, close to the River Ouse. The southern part of the parish is part of Swinefleet and Reedness Moors, and is characterised by drainage ditches and a few farm buildings.
Reedness is a village and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It is situated approximately 3 miles (4.8 km) east of the town of Goole and lies on the south bank of the River Ouse.
Eastoft is a village and civil parish in North Lincolnshire, England. It is situated within the Isle of Axholme, 3 miles (5 km) north-east from Crowle, and on the A161 road.
Haxey is a town and civil parish on the Isle of Axholme in North Lincolnshire, England. It is directly south of Epworth, south-west of Scunthorpe, north-west of Gainsborough, east of Doncaster and north-west of Lincoln, with a population of 4,584 at the 2011 census. The town was regarded as the historic capital of the Isle of Axholme.
Garthorpe is a village in North Lincolnshire, England. It is situated approximately 8 miles (13 km) south-east from Goole, 1 mile (1.6 km) west from the River Trent, and in the Isle of Axholme. Together with Fockerby, which is contiguous with the village, Garthorpe forms a civil parish of about 500 inhabitants, measured as 418 in the 2011 census.
The Great Northern and Great Eastern Joint Railway, colloquially referred to as "the Joint Line" was a railway line connecting Doncaster and Lincoln with March and Huntingdon in the eastern counties of England. It was owned jointly by the Great Northern Railway (GNR) and the Great Eastern Railway (GER). It was formed by transferring certain route sections from the parent companies, and by the construction of a new route between Spalding and Lincoln, and a number of short spurs and connections. It was controlled by a Joint Committee, and the owning companies operated their own trains with their own rolling stock. The Joint Line amounted to nearly 123 miles (198 km) of route.
Haxey and Epworth railway station served the towns of Haxey and Epworth on the Isle of Axholme, Lincolnshire, England. It closed to passengers in 1959 and completely in 1964.
Park Drain was a railway station in Nottinghamshire, close to the border with Lincolnshire. It was on the line between Gainsborough and Doncaster. It closed in 1955 to passengers, and completely in 1964, although the line on which it was located remains open.
Crowle North railway station, officially known as Crowle railway station, was a station that served the market town of Crowle, on the Isle of Axholme in Lincolnshire, England on the Axholme Joint Railway. The North designation was used to avoid confusion with Crowle railway station on a neighbouring line.
Reedness Junction railway station was a railway junction near Reedness, East Riding of Yorkshire, England on the Axholme Joint Railway. Immediately to the west of the station, the Fockerby Branch, which continued eastwards, turned off from the main line to Epworth, which curved to the south.
Eastoft railway station was a station in Eastoft, Lincolnshire on the Axholme Joint Railway.
The Hull and Doncaster Branch is a secondary main railway line in England, connecting Kingston upon Hull to South Yorkshire and beyond via a branch from the Selby Line near Gilberdyke to a connection to the Doncaster–Barnetby line at a junction near Thorne 8 miles north-east of Doncaster.
The Bawtry to Haxey railway line was a line built on the border of Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Yorkshire, opening in 1912. It was part of an earlier scheme to convey coal from a new colliery at Tickhill to Grimsby for export. After authorisation, its promoters did not proceed with construction, and when the South Yorkshire Joint Railway was built, serving Tickhill and other developing pits, that line was a better outlet for the minerals and the promoters lost interest in the Tickhill line.
