GEORGE HUDSON

'THE RAILWAY KING'

200 YEARS 1800 - 2000

The mid-1840's saw Hudson at his most powerful.  In politics and business he had powerful and influential friends.  Even the Prime Minister, the Duke of Wellington was grateful to him, and George Stephenson joined him in business ventures for a while, until he became wary. Gladstone, not an admirer during his lifetime spoke positively about him after his death.  Gladstone had tried to bring in national control of the railways, but was always thwarted by pro-Hudson Members in Parliament.  

One egotistical move was to build the York to Scarborough line and make sure that it went via Howsham.  Unfortunately his direct route to Leeds via Tadcaster was thwarted by another company joining their line to the York to  London line.  Hudson achieved, nevertheless, control of  25-33% of the British Railway system.

A rival Edmund Denison promoted a seperate line between  London and Yorkshire.  Hudson had to spend £80,000 to opose the Railway Bill but failed.   He even bought the Eastern Counties line, not the wisest purchase.  This action contributed to his ultimate failure.  By the end of 1847 share prices began to decline.   Hudson took the brunt of this development as he had to resign from all the companies that he was a director of, indeed many of the shareholders were facing ruin.   By clever political manipulation Hudson had avoided government regulation of the Railway business, but now a committee of investigation was formed.The Committee managed to expose many of the great scandals that the business dealings of Hudson had created.  But Hudson agreed to pay back the shareholders of the Great North Railway and the Newcastle and Berwick Railway because he had defrauded them in business. 

Hudson failed to pay his debts and ended up from July 1865 to October 1866 in York Castle as a debtor.  Friends raised the money to get him out.  He then lived quietly in retirement in London.

He died on the 14th December 1871 and was buried in the family graveyard at Scrayingham.  Mrs Hudson lived until 1886 in retirement in London.

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Hudson

The Early

Years

Building

the

Kingdom

Crown

and

Castle

Trivia

Books

Links

Worship

the

King

This page is compiled by Timothy J. Owston of York, England.