in 1846, the newly formed york & newcastle railway (y&nr) took out a lease on the hd&r which was ratified by an act of 22 july 1848, from which point the line was operated by the york, newcastle & berwick railway (yn&br) (the successor to the y&nr). on the 31 july 1854, the yn&br was amalgamated with other companies to form the north eastern railway.