The Axholme Joint Railway was a joint venture created by the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway and the North Eastern Railway. It was established by the North Eastern Railway Act in 1902. It took over the Goole and Marshland Railway and the Isle of Axholme Light Railway, running from Reedness Junction to Haxey Junction.At the point of takeover the construction of the Goole and Marshland Railway was almost finished. The Isle of Axholme Light Railway was started in 1899, but only partly constructed in 1902 on takeover. The line from Crowle to Haxey Junction opened for passengers on 2 January 1905.

Traffic on the line was mainly shipping agricultural produce away from the Isle, together with processed peat from Hatfield Moor and from the Swinefleet Peat Works which processed peat from Thorne Moors. Passenger services were never very busy and timetabled services stopped completely in 1933, although occasional excursion trains continued to be run. The Haxey Junction to Epworth section closed in 1956, the Hatfield Moor Branch closed in 1964, and the remainder closed in 1965.

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