Historical Dictionary of Railways in the British Isles

Yerkes, Charles Tyson (1837-1905)

Although born in Philadelphia, the financier Yerkes was initially involved in tramcar operation in Chicago before becoming involved in the development of the London underground system. He sought authorization for the Charing Cross & Hampstead tube line in 1900, and the following year he established the Metropolitan District Electric Traction Company, putting these ventures into a new company, the Underground Electric Railways Company of London in 1902. He moved quickly to electrify the District and build and equip three tube lines, the Hampstead, Bakerloo and Piccadilly. His methods of financing his enterprises were new to British financiers and treated with suspicion, with most of his funds being raised in the United States. Nevertheless, he succeeded in raising £16 million (about £1,100 million by today’s prices). Possibly his somewhat racy personal life and lavish personal expenditure was not to the taste of Edwardian London, and certainly his private art collection had to be auctioned after his death to pay his debts, but there seems to be no record of any fraudulent dealings.

Yerkes transformed transport in London, providing relief from the congested streets and connecting the main railway termini while standardising operating systems on the lines under his control, aided by a strong team of American railwaymen brought to London to ensure operating efficiency and overcome resistance to new ideas. His lines continued to develop after his death and his company expanded into trams, buses, known as the ‘Overground’, and trolleybuses, attracting much jealousy and becoming known as the ‘Combine’ to his competitors. Nevertheless, any monopoly positions were strictly local. The entire transport empire passed into the control of the London Passenger Transport Board in 1933.

York

Before the railway, York was already an important religious centre, market town and commercial centre with good water transport links via the River Ouse which connected it to the Humber and Hull. During the 1830s, York had first the York & North Midland Railway and then the Great North of England Railway, so that the city had lines radiating from it to London, Leeds and Hull, while local lines followed linking the city to Scarborough, Harrogate, Market Weighton and Beverley, and by 1850 there was a line northwards to Edinburgh. These lines were promoted by a single man, George Hudson, whose activities benefited York most of all, and made the city the most important railway junction between Newcastle and London. His influence was such that the railway was able to site its station actually inside the ancient and confined city, even to the extent of breaching the city walls. By 1854, the North Eastern Railway had a monopoly, but another seven railway companies had running powers into York. New lines to the south were built twice to reduce mileage, while the station eventually had to be rebuilt outside the city walls to ensure that enough space was available for the growing demand and to avoid the need for trains to reverse. It eventually reached 16 platforms, but was built on a sharp curve.

More than a major junction, York also had railway workshops built from 1842 onwards, but in 1905, lack of space meant that locomotive building had to be moved to Darlington, but York continued to produce carriages and wagons. Grouping meant that York ceased to be the NER’s headquarters, but after nationalisation, York became a regional headquarters for the North Eastern Region of British Railways, and when the Eastern and North Eastern Regions were merged, they remained at York. Nevertheless, overall, railway employment in the city was falling.

In addition to the mainline railways which placed York firmly on the East Coast Main Line, in 1913 a light railway, the Derwent Valley, was opened, mainly an agricultural line. This evaded grouping and nationalisation, but lost its passenger services in 1926 and closed in stages between 1965 and 1981.

The London & North Eastern Railway opened a museum in York in 1928, and this has developed over the years to become today’s National Railway Museum, opened in 1975 on a much larger site.

York & North Midland Railway

Authorised in 1836 to run from the North Midland Railway at Castleford over the 32 miles to Leeds, with both companies promoted by George Hudson and with George Stephenson as engineer. Construction of the line was easy, and it opened in 1839, a year before the longer NMR, and when both were opened a new trunk route linked York and London via Derby and Rugby. The line was linked to the Leeds & Selby and the Hull & Selby at Milford. When the NMR opened, the Hull & Selby was leased to it and the YNMR jointly. Hudson remained as chairman from 1836 to 1849, and during that time the YNMR was extended to Pickering and Scarborough in 1845, an additional 49 miles, with Robert Stephenson as engineer. That same year, the Leeds & Selby and Whitby & Pickering Railways were purchased.

When Hudson was removed from office by suspicious shareholders in 1849, the YNMR had concluded an agreement with its old rival, the Great Northern Railway. The East & West Yorkshire Junction Railway, which ran from Knaresborough to York, was acquired in 1851, giving a total route mileage of 113 miles. In 1854, the YNMR amalgamated with the York, Newcastle & Berwick and the Leeds Northern to form the North Eastern Railway.

York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway

The outcome of the merger of the York & Newcastle and Newcastle & Berwick Railways in 1847, engineered by George Hudson. This gave Hudson a line from London to Berwick on Tweed, but his ambition to reach Edinburgh and beyond was foiled when the North British Railway rejected his offer. At the same time, he gained the support of Newcastle Corporation with his promise of a high level bridge that would not interfere with shipping on the Tyne and would also carry a road as well as a railway. The new railway had 149 route miles, and leased the Newcastle & Carlisle and Maryport & Carlisle Railways, as well as acquiring a number of smaller railways within its area. After Hudson fell from grace, the NCR and MCR regained their independence.

The YNBR was amongst the first railways to use three cylinder locomotives, and also a leader in attempting to buy out as many private owner goods wagons as possible.

Between 1852 and 1854, protracted negotiations with the Leeds Northern Railway resulted in a merger to form the North Eastern Railway, approved by Parliament in 1854.

Yorkshire Dales Railway

Opened in 1902, the original Yorkshire Dales Railway connected Skipton with Grassington and was worked by the Midland Railway until it was absorbed into the London, Midland & Scottish Railway in 1923. Subsequently, the title was adopted by the Embsay Steam Railway, a preserved line opened in 1979 and which became the ESR in 1988, using the former Embsay Junction to Ilkley line.