GC273C0 Beeching's Axe - Pocklington Station (Traditional Cache) in Yorkshire, United Kingdom created by j8brad

This cache has been archived.

Dalesman: This cache has been in need of care and maintenance for some time and as the owner has not responded to my note I am archiving it.

Guidelines:**You are responsible for occasional visits to your cache to maintain proper working order, especially when someone reports a problem with the cache (missing, damaged, wet, etc.). You may temporarily disable your cache to let others know not to search for it until you have a chance to fix the problem. This feature is to allow you a reasonable amount of time - normally a few weeks - in which to check on your cache. If a cache is not being maintained, or has been temporarily disabled for an unreasonable length of time, we may archive the listing.**

If you wish to contact me about this cache please use my Email address below my signature and quote the GC number of the cache. Please note this system is not infallible and I may miss any such mail.

Many thanks,
DalesmanX - (Email address)

GC273C0 ▼

A cache by j8brad Message this owner

Hidden : 4/19/2010

Difficulty:

Terrain:

Size: Size: micro (micro)

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Geocache Description:

Container has been muggled so replaced with a nano at same location..

The York to Beverley Line formed the major part of a railway which ran directly between the English cities of York and Hull. It crossed the largely flat terrain of the Yorkshire Wolds and serviced the towns of Stamford Bridge, Pocklington, Market Weighton and Beverley.
Construction
The project for a railway between York and Hull via Beverley was instigated by the York and North Midland Railway (Y&NMR) and its chairman George Hudson. Hudson, keen to maintain the Y&NMR's territorial monopoly in East Yorkshire, had bought the Londesborough Hall estates near Market Weighton in 1845. This move saw off his rival, the Manchester & Leeds Railway who were threatening to build their own line to Hull through that area. Opposition to the scheme from the local canal owners was silenced after the Y&NMR bought them out at inflated prices.
Parliamentary approval for the new line was granted in 1846. The section of track between York and Market Weighton was built quickly due to the relatively easy terrain and opened on October 3, 1847.
The second part of the track from Market Weighton through the Wolds to Beverley was not completed for a further 17 years due to complications arising from Hudson's spectacular downfall amid financial scandal involving one of his other railway companies, the Eastern Counties Railway. After Hudson's resignation in 1849 the Y&NMR suspended all its planned and ongoing projects, opting to consolidate rather than expand any further. The Y&NMR became part of the North Eastern Railway (NER) in 1854.
Before the extension to Beverley could resume the NER had to resolve an ongoing dispute with the local MP, Lord Hotham who owned much of the land to the east of Market Weighton. He eventually agreed to allow the railway on his land providing he got his own station (at Kiplingcotes) and that no trains ran on Sundays. The line was finally completed by the NER and the first through-train from Hull to York ran on May 1, 1865.
The completed route left the Y&NMR's York to Scarborough Line at Bootham Junction north of York and at the other end joined its Hull to Bridlington route north of Beverley. Market Weighton subsequently became the location of the junction between the York to Beverley Line and the Selby to Driffield Line which led to the Yorkshire coast. The entire route had been double-tracked by 1889 and the level-crossing on the busy York to Scarborough main road was replaced by an under bridge in the 1930s
Despite the closure of several under-performing stations in the 1950s the future of the line seemed assured by the start of the following decade. Nine trains ran in each direction each day with healthy passenger usage and the line was reportedly over £5,000 in profit. The first steps towards modernisation of the line had been taken as early as 1953 when the first automatic lifting boom barriers to be used in Britain were installed at the level-crossing at Warthill Station. In May 1961 a contract for further modernisation work on the route was agreed with the engineering firm Westinghouse. Within weeks the first consignments of equipment were being delivered to Pocklington. The main part of the plan was to reduce costs further by making the line single-track with passing loops at Pocklington and Market Weighton. Work was also set to include the conversion of 19 of the line's 22 remaining gated level-crossings to automatic half-barriers and an overhaul of the signalling system, allowing the whole route to be controlled from fewer signal boxes.
Very little work had been carried out before the modernisation scheme was suddenly halted in February 1962, with owners British Railways announcing that the plans had been suspended for "re-assessment". What was happening became clear on 27 March 1963 when Richard Beeching released his report. The York to Beverley route was earmarked for closure by Beeching on the grounds that it was actually losing money when all the "terminal costs" were taken into account, and that closing the seemingly profitable line would create greater savings that were more beneficial than the income it was making. Beeching also argued that the majority of passengers were simply travelling between York and Hull and that the stations in-between were underused. This made the line an unnecessary duplicate of a different line between the two cities (the current Hull to York Line via Selby) despite the fact that the more direct line was far from underused. The election of a Labour government in 1964 appeared to hand the route a lifeline but Harold Wilson quickly backtracked on his electoral promises to halt the rail closures. Protests from local authorities along the route and concerns of the official railways watchdog were ignored and the Transport Secretary, Barbara Castle approved the closure. The final trains ran on 27 November 1965 with the very last being a six-car DMU running the 9:42 p.m. from York to Hull
Four years after closure all the lands and assets of the mothballed route were sold off by British Rail mostly to local landowners and developers, resulting in the building of houses on parts of the route in built-up areas. Nonetheless the majority of the track bed and several railway buildings survive to this day. Pocklington station (a Grade II listed building) has been preserved and is now the sports hall of Pocklington School. In Stamford Bridge the station house and engine shed survive as do the platforms on both sides of the old track bed. The surviving level-crossing gate by the station on High Catton road stands as a reminder of the modernisation work that was never carried out. The impressive brick and cast-iron viaduct at Stamford Bridge that carried the line across the River Derwent was spared from demolition in 1991 and subsequently repaired. Other railway and station buildings still survive almost unaltered at other locations such as Warthill, Holtby, Fangfoss and Kiplingcotes.
The station buildings at Market Weighton were left abandoned before being pulled down in 1979 leaving no trace. There is also nothing left of the station at Earswick apart from one of the signals which stands outside the pub that now occupies the site. The track bed between Market Weighton and Beverley is now the Hudson cycle path and is protected. The continuation of the line from Beverley to Hull was spared from closure and today forms the southern end of the Yorkshire Coast Line between Hull and Scarborough

Pocklington railway station opened on 4th Oct. 1847 and closed on 27th Nov. 1965 The station building, was designed by George Townsend Andrews. It is a Grade II listed building and now forms the sports hall of Pocklington School.

Additional Hints (Decrypt)

Ab genvaf ba gurfr envyf (Zntargvp)

Decryption Key

A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J|K|L|M
-------------------------
N|O|P|Q|R|S|T|U|V|W|X|Y|Z

(letter above equals below, and vice versa)