 The line opened in the late 1830s with the cooperation of the Leeds and Selby, and carried both freight and passengers.A stationary engine was installed on the line between the Isabella and Sisters' pits which was also double tracked; the rest of the railway was single track.Passenger traffic briefly ceased as a result of loss of a connection to Leeds whilst the Leeds and Selby railway was under George Hudson's control and was closed to passengers in favour of other lines.