“Walking Britain’s Lost Railways” is back, for a fourth series, starting in Yorkshire. As well as walking the former York to Hull route, Bell explains why the East Coast Main Line, as it now is, passes through York and not Leeds, although the latter is now more than four times larger.
This situation, in which Doncaster, York and Durham define the ECML’s northward growth, came about because of George Hudson, Lord Mayor of York and later MP for Sunderland. Although his business and other practices weren’t entirely above board, he wasn’t alone in that and the sheer scale of York station, together with the existence of Hull Paragon, are part of his legacy. The line, completed after his downfall and passing through Beverley, closed in the sixties only because another York-Hull route ran via Selby. Future episodes will feature Cornwall,
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