When the Selby coalfield was planned one of the first major issues to be raised was the East Coast Main Line running over the planned workings of Riccall Mine and Stillingfleet Mine. The concern was that a mile wide section of coal would have to be left to maintain the integrity of the railway. This would have cost the N.C.B. a huge amount of time and money due to lost available reserves and having to plan a mine around the mile wide pillar of coal. Thirty coal faces would have been affected had the line not been moved. As with most mining projects a solution was found. The solution was to move the railway line to the west of the Selby Coalfield. This was called the Selby Diversion. Below is an amazing insight into this marvel of engineering within a marvel of engineering.
https://www.yorkmix.com/video-brings-york-to-london-rail-route-lost-40-years-ago-back-to-life
The new 13.79 mile Selby Diversion line was built between 1980 and 1983 to the very latest specifications. In 1983 the old line was abandoned. A new section of the A19 road was built on the old railway from a new roundabout sited at the south of Barlby near to British Oil Cake Mills (BOCM) factory and pickle factory to the north of Riccall. This created a much needed bypass of the villages and was opened in October 1987. The abandoned railway at the north of Riccall became a part of the Trans Pennine Trail cycleway to York as part of the Sustrans scheme.
Selby Superpit 