George Hudson George Hudson George Hudson (probably 10 March 1800 – 14 December 1871) was an English railway financier and politician who, because he controlled a significant part of the railway network in the 1840s, became known as "The Railway King" – a title conferred on him by Sydney Smith in 1844. Hudson played a significant role in linking London to Edinburgh by rail, carrying out the first major merging of railway companies (the Midland Railway), developing his hometown of York into a major railway junction, and represented Sunderland in the House of Commons. Hudson's success was built on dubious financial practices
George Hudson long had business interests in the town with some of the property he inherited from his uncle, Matthew Bottrill, being located there. The building of the railway to the town had led Hudson to form and become the chairman of the Whitby Building Company which developed the West Cliff area of the town in the 1850s. In 1865 West Cliff was mortgaged to the NER although Hudson hoped to recover it and start further developments. Hudson returned to Whitby on 11 June 1865 where his opponent was the sitting Liberal MP Harry Thompson. Thompson was also the chairman of the