Northumberland & Durham - Full

RAILWAYS OF

NORTHUMBERLAND & DURHAM Railways of Northumberland & Durham

It is a land of great contrasts, though less so since the demise of its traditional industries. Outside of the once smoke-blackened conurbations of Tyneside, Wearside and Teesside there are few major towns, and this is reflected in today’s railway map. On the modern railway, so much of the former North Eastern Railway has gone and nothing remains of the Northumbrian section of the North British Railway. With hindsight, some of those closures are regrettable, but at least one line is making a passenger comeback in the 21st century.

Of the railways that did close forever, there is still much to see. Driving across Northumberland and Durham the motorist frequently encounters viaducts, bridges and embankments, substantial stations and other buildings converted into accommodation or other imaginative uses. This book sets out to ISBN 978-1-913251-87-1 portray the railways of those two counties as they were in the latter days of steam between nationalisation and rationalisation.

Published by Transport Treasury Publishing Ltd. £14.95

Compiled by Colin Alexander

The border county of Northumberland and the Land of the Prince Bishops, County Durham, are both steeped in history. From the uninhabited uplands of the Pennines and Cheviots to the coast there are ancient hillforts, substantial Roman remains and dozens of castles. Railway history is in abundance too, with evidence of some of Britain’s earliest wagonways, the economic harnessing of steam power thanks to local heroes Hedley, Hackworth and the Stephensons, and of course the Stockton & Darlington Railway which is about to celebrate its bicentennial.

Compiled by Colin Alexander

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RAILWAYS OF

NORTHUMBERLAND & DURHAM Compiled by Colin Alexander

Reviving the memories of yesterday… © Images and design: The Transport Treasury 2025. Text: Colin Alexander.

ISBN 978-1-913251-87-1 First published in 2025 by Transport Treasury Publishing Ltd., 16 Highworth Close, High Wycombe, HP13 7PJ www.ttpublishing.co.uk Printed by Short Run Press Ltd., Exeter.

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Front Cover: Dwarfed by the imposing signal box at Bishop Auckland North, one of Vincent Raven’s longlived Class Q6 0-8-0s, 63381, stands on the Durham line with a cattle train on 14th June 1958. There are three railwaymen on the verandah of the box looking down on the activity below. The locomotive was built at Darlington in 1917 and withdrawn from Tyne Dock shed in 1966. Standing on this spot today it is difficult to find any trace of there ever being a railway here. Transport of livestock on British Railways ended in 1975.

Frontispiece: With banking assistance on the rear from an English Electric Type 4 diesel, British Railways Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 92097 hauls a load of iron ore from Tyne Dock for the steelworks at Consett. It is passing the site of West Stanley station with its rather shabby timber signal box. Here the gradient was at its steepest, at 1 in 35. The station was originally known as Shield Row but it was renamed in 1934 and closed to passengers in 1955.

Page 3 (Right): Alnmouth shed’s Gresley Class J39 0-6-0 64929 awaits departure for home under Alnwick station’s handsome roof on 4th July 1959. Although the train service ended in 1968, the beautifully kept station is now home to one of Britain’s best second-hand bookshops. Meanwhile, the Aln Valley Railway is restoring most of the branch line for heritage use, with a new Alnwick station named Lionheart to the east of the A1 bypass.

Rear Cover: Worsdell Class G5 0-4-4T 67336 stands at platform 5 of Newcastle Central station on 2nd October 1954, possibly on a Sunderland train. With less than six months left in service, the locomotive is nearing the end of its 54 year career, soon to be displaced by diesel multiple units. Note the barrow-loads of mail on either side, and the graceful arched roof of John Dobson’s train shed which can be seen beyond the train. This area of the station is now a car park.

Bibliography British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer. Ian Allan 1976.

Locomotives of the LNER. Railway Correspondence & Travel Society 1963.

Acknowledgements Thank you to the authors of the excellent BR Loco Database, Disused Stations, LNER Encyclopedia, Six Bells Junction and National Library of Scotland: Old OS Maps websites. Thanks also to Craig Oliphant, Andy Stringer and Mark Bell for their input.

Additional thanks go to the following people for their help with the accuracy of this book: Malcolm Wells Steve Andrews Alaisdair Taylor Peter Grant Chris Potts Bob Allen Dennis Troughton Robert Day

CONTENTS Introduction 5 The East-Coast Main Line - Northumberland

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The East-Coast Main Line - County Durham

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Rural Lines in the Border County

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The Blyth & Tyne Railway 45 North Tyneside 53 The West Line 59 South Tyneside 69 Around the Durham Coast 75 Teesside 85 The Old Main Line & Central Durham West of Durham

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Northumberland & Durham

In about 1900, the North Eastern Railway commissioned this wonderful tiled map of its network and placed it in many of its principal stations, including Newcastle Central, Durham, Darlington Bank Top, Middlesbrough and York. Several survive today, including those at Morpeth, Hartlepool and Tynemouth. This photograph shows a replica at Pickering station on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway in 2024. It is included in order to illustrate the geography of the locations covered in this book. Please note, the routes of other companies, such as the North British Railway are indicated with a thinner line. (Colin Alexander)

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INTRODUCTION

he historic English counties of Northumberland and Durham are characterised by dramatic contrasts.

The urban and former industrial areas around the navigable rivers Blyth, Tyne, Wear and Tees are so distinct from the vast, solitary stretches of sparsely-populated uplands in the west and north, stretching from the Pennines up to the Cheviots and the Scottish border. A glance at an old rail atlas illustrates this contrast, with the built-up areas criss-crossed by a complex matrix of railways and colliery wagonways, while further west, a few rural lines ventured bravely through remote valleys in the hope of attracting passengers from small agricultural communities.

of steam. We start our nostalgic travels at Berwick-upon-Tweed, England’s northernmost town, and head up the main line to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, a journey of 67 miles. After crossing the Tyne, which was the historic boundary between Northumberland and County Durham, we will continue up the ECML as far as Croft Spa where it crosses the Tees into the North Riding of Yorkshire. We then return to the Scottish border and work our way south again via the many secondary routes and branches between the Tweed and Tees.

The era immediately following that depicted in the book was one of decline, with an almost total decimation of the traditional industries that had made the north-east so prosperous. As industry dwindled, so did the railways.

Like most areas of the post-Beeching national rail network, only a fraction remains, with almost no branch lines surviving. To be fair, though, many of the less economic routes were severed long before Dr Beeching wielded his infamous ‘axe’. With the benefit of 21st century hindsight, some of those closures seem ill-judged, such as the Sunderland to Durham service, the Leamside, much of the Blyth & Tyne and the Alnwick branch. Conversely, we have to wonder how and why some of the more rural railways were built in the first place, because they never made financial sense.

From 1980 onwards, however, the suburban lines of the Newcastle and Sunderland conurbation were rejuvenated by the advent of the Tyne & Wear Metro, most of which operates on routes that were electrified from 1904 by the pioneering North Eastern Railway. By 1991, the main line from King’s Cross to Edinburgh was electrified throughout. Passenger services are about to be reintroduced on part of the former Blyth & Tyne Railway between Tyneside and Ashington, and there is talk of reinstating the old Leamside line, possibly as an extension of the Metro.

Before the London & North Eastern Railway took over all of the north-east’s railways in 1923, the North Eastern Railway had a near monopoly in Northumberland & Durham. The notable exception was the Border Counties line, which belonged to Scotland’s North British Railway.

There is so much beautiful, redundant railway infrastructure that can still be appreciated in Northumberland and Durham. For example, Northumberland has Alnwick’s impressive station, several Benjamin Green stations on the main line and the disproportionately large station buildings on the Wooler line.

Meanwhile, County Durham has the

The East Coast Main Line (ECML) forms the backbone of the north-east’s rail network, but with far fewer intermediate stations than were operational in the days 5

Northumberland & Durham

awe-inspiring Hownsgill Viaduct, the ancient Causey Arch, Durham’s Gilesgate station and several substantial relics of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.

Stockton & Darlington Railway, several sections of which are still in use today.

The majority of the photographs included were taken in the 1950s and 1960s, but there are a few which predate nationalisation, in order to illustrate specific locations.

I have tried as far as possible to select images that show the railway infrastructure and landscape, and avoid multiple closeups of locomotives, in fact a few of the photographs do not feature a train at all.

Born in Hull, the late Neville Stead (19372023) was a prolific railway photographer who assembled a unique archive of negatives. Based in Whitley Bay for most of his life, he was able to capture much of the north-east railway scene before the end of steam. He was also a benefactor of the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group, which saved ex-North Eastern Railway Class P3 0-6-0 2392 (BR J27 65894) and T2 0-8-0 2238 (Q6 63395) for preservation.

I have attempted to include as much variety as possible in terms of motive power, with about fifty different types represented.

Being set in the pre-Beeching era, it is of course mostly steam traction but there are a few examples of electric and diesel traction included. The geographical limits of the contents are based on the boundaries of Northumberland and County Durham as they were at the time. Notable omissions include the far end of the Alston branch, which was in Cumberland, and the line to Middleton-on-Teesdale, because although the town is in Durham, the railway was across the Tees in Yorkshire.

This book delves into the Neville Stead collection in order to illustrate some of what has been lost and what has changed in England’s two most north-easterly counties, which together can be considered the cradle of the railway. Here is where more than two centuries ago, William Hedley, Timothy Hackworth and, of course, father and son George and Robert Stephenson developed steam locomotion, picking up where Cornishman Richard Trevithick left off. 2025 sees the bicentennial of the

Colin Alexander, Whitley Bay, 2024.

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The East-Coast Main Line - Northumberland

THE EAST-COAST MAIN LINE - NORTHUMBERLAND When Robert Stephenson built the High Level Bridge (1849) and Royal Border Bridge (1850) over the Tyne and Tweed respectively, trains were for the first time able to travel from London to Edinburgh via Newcastle throughout, and the East Coast Main Line (ECML) was born. Services had commenced between Newcastle and Tweedmouth by 1847. Surveyed by George Stephenson, the Newcastle & Berwick Railway’s almost level coastal route had in 1844 triumphed in parliament over Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s alternative scheme for an atmospheric railway via a slightly different route.

Unlike the so-called West Coast Main Line, on which passengers are given only a fleeting glimpse of the Irish Sea at Hest Bank in Lancashire, the ECML travels alongside the North Sea for several miles. It provides tantalising views of coastal Bamburgh Castle and the Holy Island of Lindisfarne. Immediately north of Berwick, trains speed spectacularly along clifftops past the ornate England/Scotland border sign at Marshall Meadows, 70 miles north of Newcastle.

Berwick-upon-Tweed station, 67 miles from Newcastle, consists of an island platform reached by a footbridge from the main building on the east side. This can be seen between the two lift columns here. Until 1964, there was a branch line service over the border to Kelso in Roxburghshire. British Railways Standard Class 2MT 2-6-0 78049 of Hawick engine shed stands at the northbound platform on 6th June 1959 with a two-coach train for Kelso, which will at first head south. Once it has crossed the Royal Border Bridge, it will reverse at Tweedmouth station before following the Tweed valley inland into Scotland.

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The East-Coast Main Line - Northumberland Left Top: On 13th August 1960, BR 60962, one of Sir Nigel Gresley’s handsome Class V2 2-6-2 locomotives, brings a northbound express over the Royal Border Bridge into Berwick station. It opened in 1846 as the terminus of the North British Railway from Edinburgh, and was completely rebuilt in 1927.

Most of the ancient castle was demolished to make way for the railway, in fact the platform occupies the site of the Great Hall. Some remains can still be seen, including a large section of wall facing the northbound platform, and the White Wall that runs down to the Tweed. Just under three miles north of Berwick, the V2 will cross the border at Marshall Meadows, and its passengers will enjoy a thrilling clifftop ride with the North Sea 200 feet below.

Left Bottom: For a quarter of a century, Gresley’s iconic A4 Class 4-6-2s were the mainstay of East Coast Main Line expresses. This example was built in 1937 as LNER 4462 and was originally named Great Snipe. By the time it received its BR number 60004, it had been renamed William Whitelaw in honour of the former LNER chairman. Seen just after nationalisation, circa 1948, with the locomotive carrying garter blue livery and British Railways lettering on the tender, it brings a northbound train over the Royal Border Bridge into Berwick. Note the guy wires and stanchions around the signal gantry.

Gresley’s Class A3 Pacifics were an important stepping stone in the development of the streamlined A4s. 60041 Salmon Trout was one of the later members of the 79-strong class, built in 1934 as LNER 2506. Tweedmouth engine shed, just south of the Royal Border Bridge, was the location for this portrait taken on 6th May 1959. At that time, Tweedmouth’s allocation of 37 locomotives included two A3s and five V2s. This one, however, was allocated to Haymarket, Edinburgh. The shed closed in 1966, but a section of the building survives as part of a builders’ merchant’s premises.

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Tweedmouth station opened in 1847 as the northern terminus of the Newcastle & Berwick Railway. Once the Royal Border Bridge crossed the Tweed, Tweedmouth became very much secondary to Berwick station, and it eventually closed in 1964. Locomotives of the former North British Railway made regular cross-border incursions into Northumberland. One of William Reid’s Class D30 4-4-0s, 62424 Claverhouse, is facing north at Tweedmouth station in July 1954, with the engine shed in the right distance. 62424 was in service from 1914 until 1957.

Right Top: North of Berwick and to the south of Tweedmouth, the main line hugs the east coast. The village of Beal has a population of only about 180, but the Newcastle & Berwick Railway provided it with a substantial station that remained open until 1968.

The scale of the station building can be appreciated in this capture of Tweedmouth shed’s Gresley Class K3 2-6-0 61901 as it passed with a northbound freight train on 11th June 1960. The station was at one time known as Beal for Holy Island, with Lindisfarne being two miles away across its tidal causeway.

Right Bottom: On today’s East Coast Main Line, the first station south of Berwick is the outpost of Chathill, 46 miles from Newcastle and formerly the junction for Seahouses. Surprisingly spared the Beeching Axe, it is served by two Newcastle trains per day in each direction. Note the unofficial “Farne Islander” headboard adorning the smokebox of former NER Class H or LNER Y7 0-4-0T 68089, which has arrived with a mixed train from Seahouses on 21st October 1951, six days before the demise of the 4 mile branch line. The locomotive was built in 1923 to an 1880s design, and was withdrawn in 1952.

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The East-Coast Main Line - Northumberland

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The East-Coast Main Line - Northumberland Left Top: Eleven miles south of Chathill is Alnmouth station, a mile from the settlement of that name, in the neighbouring village of Hipsburn. Soon after the station saw its first passenger trains, a branch line was built to the far more important market town of Alnwick. Originally named Bilton Junction, Alnmouth had a small engine shed which provided motive power for the branch, which would eventually close in 1968. It is outside the shed that we see ex-NER Worsdell Class D20 4-4-0 62358 on 15th July 1952. This was one of a very successful class of sixty locomotives, entering service in 1900 as NER Class R and being withdrawn in 1954. No longer a junction, Alnmouth is still served by stopping trains to Chathill and several long distance services.

Left Bottom: Another wayside station that has survived is Acklington, 28 miles north of Newcastle.

The village is a mile to the east and has a population of 500. Each weekday, a total of three trains call here now. On 1st September 1959, Gresley V2 2-6-2 60952 is passing with a northbound express mixed freight. In the left background can be discerned the control tower of the former RAF Acklington, home to Hurricanes and Spitfires during World War Two, and which closed in 1972. Northumbrian architect Benjamin Green designed the Newcastle & Berwick Railway’s station buildings, and many remain, including Acklington as well as the long-closed Warkworth, Longhirst and Stannington. He was also responsible for Newcastle’s iconic Theatre Royal.

In 1945, Sir Nigel Gresley’s successor, Edward Thompson, rebuilt one of the former’s three-cylinder Class K4 2-60s into a simplified two-cylinder form, becoming Class K1/1 61997. This locomotive became the prototype for a class of seventy K1 2-6-0s introduced in 1949 by Arthur H. Peppercorn, who had replaced Thompson. K1 62024 is in charge of a southbound coal train as it passes the level crossing and signal box at Widdrington, 23 miles from Newcastle. The station was so far from its namesake settlement that a separate community grew up around it, known as Widdrington Station. The same situation occurred at Bedlington.

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Morpeth is the historic county town of Northumberland, with a population of over 14,000. Sixteen miles north of Newcastle, it was an important railway crossroads with the Blyth & Tyne Railway branching off to serve the coalfields to the east, and the North British Railway heading west into rural Northumberland. Those two companies formerly shared a separate station alongside that of the NER, and the building still stands. On Saturday, 14th July 1951, V2 2-6-2 60807 of Heaton shed was photographed departing the southbound main line platform with a northbound train. This may have been a Whitley Bay to Glasgow train routed via the Blyth & Tyne route, which has reversed here.

Right Top: Killingworth, situated six miles north of Newcastle, was one of ten main line stations in Northumberland to lose its passenger service in 1958.

It boasted additional sidings and bay platforms for passengers of both two- and four-legged varieties, for race days at the nearby Newcastle Racecourse.

On such a day in the 1950s, Gresley V1/V3 Class 2-6-2T locomotives 67640 and 67652 flank one of his Class J39 0-6-0s, 64919. The main lines are in the foreground. It was near here in 1814 that George Stephenson built his first locomotive, Blucher, proving the viability of steam traction. Dial Cottage, home to George and his son Robert, can still be seen.

Right Bottom: Forest Hall, nowadays very much a suburb of Newcastle, is about a mile south of Killingworth. Its station opened in 1856, nine years after most others on the main line, and two years after the North Eastern Railway had absorbed the York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway. It was another victim of the 1958 station cull. On 26th August 1964, a visitor from the Scottish Region, Gresley Class J38 0-6-0 65912, was passing Forest Hall with an express freight. The first LNER group standard type, only 35 were built from 1926 before the design was modified with larger wheels to form the more numerous Class J39.

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The East-Coast Main Line - Northumberland

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The East-Coast Main Line - Northumberland Left Top: Edward Thompson’s most successful design was his Class B1 4-6-0, of which 410 were built between 1942 and 1950. It was intended as a mixed traffic locomotive, the equivalent of Stanier’s ‘Black Fives’ on the London, Midland & Scottish Railway. 61369 of Leicester shed was only five years old when photographed passing Heaton Junction with a short freight on 5th August 1955. This was one of the 290 B1s built by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow. Heaton Junction is where the routes from Berwick and Tynemouth converged on the eastern approach to Newcastle.

Some of the extensive sidings can be seen in the background. Although diminished in status, Heaton is still used to service multiple unit stock today.

Left Bottom: Photographed on the same day as the nearly-new B1 seen above, ex-NER veteran Class J21 0-6-0 65039 was built at Gateshead works in 1889. It is propelling into the carriage sidings a rake of coaching stock of LMSR origin with a BR Mark 1 brake second nearest the camera. A Class J72 0-6-0T stands on the electrified line to Tynemouth. Heaton locomotive shed is on the left and the extensive turbine works of C. A. Parsons is to the right. All of these buildings have since been swept away, and Chillingham Road Metro station stands on this approximate site now.

On 17th August 1959, ex-NER Class Q6 0-8-0 63356 hustles a typical coal train through Heaton station, where my great-uncle was a signalman. The island platform on the left was for stopping trains on the main line, while the other was for electric trains on the North Tyne loop. The electrified third rail was lifted in 1967 and services were taken over by slower, noisier diesel multiple units. Heaton station closed in 1980 to be replaced by Byker Metro station. Fortunately one example of a Q6, 63395 (NER 2238), was saved by the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group. It is based at the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

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The East-Coast Main Line - Northumberland The Ouseburn is a tributary of the Tyne to the east of Newcastle. Once industrialised and polluted, it is now being reborn as a vibrant cultural centre. The East Coast Main Line and North Tyne loop cross its valley on the Ouseburn Viaduct. It was built in 1839 by the aforementioned Benjamin Green and his brother John for the Newcastle & North Shields Railway. A similar viaduct bridged Willington Dene, east of Wallsend. The arches were constructed of laminated timber. In 1869 it was doubled in width to carry four tracks, and the timber was replaced by ironwork.

On 17th August 1959, Peppercorn Class A1 4-6-2 60151 Midlothian heads for Newcastle. The Riverside branch of 1879 diverged to the right at the far end of the viaduct and followed the north bank of the Tyne as far as Percy Main.

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Northumberland & Durham Left Top: Just west of the Ouseburn was the junction for the Newcastle Quayside freight branch, which opened in 1870. Most of the route was in a tunnel which was very steeply graded, with a maximum gradient of 1 in 27.

Worse still, the line formed a horseshoe curve with both tunnel entrances facing the westerly prevailing wind, creating appallingly smoky conditions for steam footplate crews. From 1905 it was operated by the NER’s two purposebuilt Class ES1 electric locomotives, and following their 1964 withdrawal until the line’s closure in 1969, by diesel shunters.

Alongside the main line at Argyle Street were exchange sidings where electric would hand over to steam.

An ES1 can be seen here alongside Class J77 0-6-0T 68440 on 10th June 1954. First of the ES1s, BR 26500, is preserved at Locomotion, Shildon.

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The East-Coast Main Line - Northumberland Left Bottom: The electric locomotives were capable of taking power from the third rail or from overhead wires that were provided in sidings. Once they had safely delivered their short trains down to the Quayside, shunting was taken over by steam, usually an 0-6-0T such as Worsdell Class J72 0-6-0T 68713 of Heaton shed. A total of 113 J72s, previously NER Class E1, were built between 1898 and 1951. The Quayside’s rails and sidings stretched along the Tyne past the cranes and transit sheds, from the Guildhall to the Norway Wharf, just east of the Ouseburn, a distance of about a mile. The brick chapel in the background is known as the Sailors’ Bethel, and was the subject of a painting by L. S. Lowry. It is still standing, but visitors to Newcastle’s gentrified Quayside today will find no evidence of the railway that was once at the heart of the city’s commerce.

Below: Just over half a mile east of Newcastle Central is Manors station. This was where the former Blyth & Tyne line to Backworth diverged from the routes to Berwick and Tynemouth. Haymarket’s Peppercorn Class A2 4-6-2 60534 Irish Elegance is passing with “The Heart of Midlothian”, the 2pm from Edinburgh to King’s Cross. Above the locomotive can be seen one of the LNER’s North Tyneside electric trains on its way from the coast to Newcastle Central.

Beyond the station canopy, a line curved from east to north connecting the massive New Bridge Street goods depot with the Quayside branch. The viaduct between Manors and Newcastle Central incorporates a majestic arch over Dean Street, and as happened in Berwick, parts of the Norman castle were lost during construction of the railway.

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The East-Coast Main Line - Northumberland Left Top: Unlike many large British cities, Newcastle has only ever had one major railway station. Central station was built in the late 1840s by the great Tyneside architect John Dobson. BR Austerity Class 2-8-0 90451 is seen heading east with a mixed freight train on Newcastle Central’s avoiding lines on 20th June 1955. It was built at Vulcan Foundry, Newton-le-Willows in 1944 and began life with the War Department. Six of the bay platforms at the east end became redundant when the Metro went underground, and are now a car park. The vast overall roof over this end of the station was dismantled, leaving Dobson’s original elegant curved train shed.

It is one of the few Grade 1 listed railway stations in Britain.

Left Bottom: On 6th May 1959, Gresley A4 Pacific 60018 Sparrowhawk of Gateshead shed (code 52A) takes part in an engine change at the west end of platform 9, Newcastle Central, as an unidentified Thompson Pacific stands in platform 8. The avoiding lines are to the right, and next to them is Forth Street, where George Stephenson established the world’s first locomotive factory in 1822. This is where Locomotion and Rocket were built, and it was in operation until 1960 as Robert Stephenson & Hawthorn Ltd. The building still stands, and has been restored as an events venue known as The Boiler Shop.

A wider aspect of Newcastle Central’s west end, taken circa 1961, reveals one of Worsdell’s Class J72 0-6-0Ts, 68736, engaged in station pilot duties. It is still carrying a 50A York shedplate, having recently been transferred from there to Gateshead. This was one of two J72s that were latterly painted in NER light green livery, adding a welcome splash of colour to the otherwise drab British Railways palette. To the right of the locomotive, the projecting gable on the rear wall of the station is part of the bridge that housed the signalling relay room. This has since been removed and an additional island platform now surrounds this outer wall. The 1891 NER water tank on the right survives today.

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Northumberland & Durham Left: This was the view west from Newcastle Central towards the huge Forth Goods station with the main line curving left onto the King Edward VII Bridge.

Coming off the Carlisle line under the impressive Newcastle No.3 signal box with a train of coal empties on 6th May 1959 is one of Worsdell’s ubiquitous Class J27 0-6-0s, 65807, probably returning from Stella Power Station. A total of 115 were built from 1906 onwards, and they could be seen all over the North Eastern Region until 1967, the end of steam in the area. Originally NER Class P3, they were a development of Worsdell’s Class P2, later J26.

Last of the class, 65894, is preserved by the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group and usually operates on the North Yorkshire Moors Railway.

Right: From 1885 to 1910, the North Eastern Railway amassed a fine fleet of motive power under the guidance of locomotive superintendents, brothers Thomas and Wilson Worsdell. Their successor was Vincent Raven, who perpetuated their designs as well as introducing some powerful three-cylinder types. Among these were his Class S3 4-6-0, 70 of which were built from 1919.

Classified B16 by the LNER, this is 61440 crossing the King Edward VII Bridge from Newcastle to Gateshead with a freight train on 8th October 1955. The bridge was completed in 1906, allowing main line trains to travel through Newcastle without reversal. Part of the arched roof of Central station can be seen to the right of the slender spire of St Mary’s Roman Catholic Cathedral.

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The East-Coast Main Line - County Durham

THE EAST-COAST MAIN LINE - COUNTY DURHAM As early as 1836, parliamentary authorisation was granted to build the Great North of England Railway from York to Newcastle. By 1841, the section south of Darlington was operational, and three years later it reached Gateshead. The original route ran north through Leamside to join the Brandling Junction Railway at Pontop. Subsequently, a shortcut was created via Wardley to Pelaw. In 1849 when the High Level Bridge opened, a continuous train journey from London to Newcastle was possible. Edinburgh was reached by through trains the following year, although they still had to reverse at Newcastle.

From 1872, the present route through Durham, Chester-le-Street and the Team Valley was adopted. When the King Edward VII Bridge opened in 1906, a unique, flexible circular layout was created, and trains could at last pass through Newcastle non-stop. Approximately 39 miles of today’s East Coast Main Line is within the old County Durham boundary before the Tees is crossed into the North Riding of Yorkshire.

At the south end of the High Level Bridge were the twin stations of Gateshead East and West, situated on two sides of the triangle where the line divides. They opened in 1850 and 1868 respectively, and all main line trains passed through one or the other until 1906. While the East station remained in use until 1981, West closed in 1965.

This is hardly surprising, as in the early 1950s, Gateshead East could boast 160 weekday departures, compared to its near neighbour’s four! Darlington shed’s Class B1 4-6-0 61040 Roedeer is seen passing through Gateshead West, and is about to cross the Tyne into Newcastle. Gateshead now has a Metro station, which in 1985 handled seven million passengers, but it is one of the largest towns in the UK without a main line railway station.

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Like Northumberland, County Durham also lost many of its main line stations. One of them was Low Fell, about two miles after crossing the Tyne. It was opened by the NER in 1868, and closed in 1952. Its lofty signal box would give the signaller an unobstructed view. In this undated image, Gresley Class V3 2-6-2T 67683 is passing with empty stock which includes travelling Post Office vehicles. Above the train can be seen the pithead gear and heaps of Allerdene Colliery, which ceased operating in 1962. These were familiar features of the landscape all over the Northumberland and Durham coalfield.

Right Top: An even earlier closure was Lamesley station, less than four miles from Newcastle. The last passenger train called there in 1945. The station was obliterated when BR built Tyne marshalling yard in the early 1960s. Gresley Class A4 4-6-2 60010 Dominion of Canada accelerates through with the up “Elizabethan”, which ran between Edinburgh and King’s Cross from 1953 until 1961. Uniquely, the former LNER 4489 was fitted with a Canadian Pacific bell and whistle. It is one of six A4s in preservation, and one of two that are preserved in North America, being in the care of the Canadian Railroad Historical Association. All six surviving A4s were temporarily reunited at York and Shildon in 2013-2014, an imaginative gesture to commemorate the 75th anniversary of 4468 Mallard’s famous speed record.

Right Bottom: Eight miles south of Newcastle, and still selling tickets today, is Chester-le-Street, one of just three operational stations remaining on the main line in County Durham. 21st century passengers will certainly never witness a scene like this, probably taken about 1960. A member of the station staff is in conversation with one of the footplate crew of Worsdell Class J25 0-6-0 65645 as it pauses with a southbound pick-up freight beneath the standard NER footbridge. Formerly known as NER Class P1, these locomotives were a development of Class P/J24, with a longer boiler.

They were in service from 1898 until 1963.

26

The East-Coast Main Line - County Durham

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Northumberland & Durham

28

The East-Coast Main Line - County Durham Left Top: Durham’s present station opened in 1857 on the route from Sunderland to Bishop Auckland. In 1872 it became a stop on the East Coast Main Line when it was connected to Ferryhill in the south, and via the new Team Valley line to Newcastle, 14 miles to the north. Numerically the last of Peppercorn’s Class A2 4-6-2s, 60539 Bronzino, was captured on a northbound express at Durham in 1960. The bay platforms, signal gantries and one of the centre roads have long since gone. The roof on the southbound platform was replaced when the track was realigned, but Durham station is still recognisable now. One Class A2 is preserved, 60532 Blue Peter, which is main line certified.

Left Bottom: Like the station, Durham’s picturesque sandstone viaduct dates from 1857. Its eleven arches carry it 100 feet above the streets, treating rail passengers to an unrivalled view of the venerable cathedral and castle. In this undated photograph, Worsdell Class G5 0-4-4T 67298 is coming off the viaduct and into the same platform as above.

It is probably en route from Bishop Auckland to Sunderland, a service that ended in 1964. 110 G5s (NER Class O) were built from 1894 and they were the backbone of local passenger trains all over the northeast until replaced by diesel multiple units. Many were fitted for push-pull operation. The last G5 was withdrawn in 1958. All were scrapped, but the 111th member of the class is now under construction by the Class G5 Locomotive Company at Shildon.

About eight miles south of Durham was the complex Coxhoe Junction, with branches east to Cornforth and Coxhoe, and another west to Spennymoor, necessitating a flyover. Just to the north of here was Tursdale Junction, where the ‘new’ main line diverged from the Leamside. On 1st May 1962, ex-NER Class Q6 0-8-0 63443 was photographed climbing to the flyover towards the Spennymoor branch. One of the NER’s distinctive gantry signal boxes, once commonplace, straddles the main line. Only two remain today, at Wylam and Hexham in the Tyne Valley, and both are Grade II listed structures.

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Northumberland & Durham

Darlington was one of the first great railway towns, thanks to the influence of Edward Pease, George Stephenson and the coming of the railway in 1825. At that time, Darlington’s population was about 12,000, but a century later that figure was 75,000. It grew around the railway’s substantial locomotive works and engine sheds. The shed was home to this LMSR interloper in 1958, Ivatt-designed Class 2MT 2-6-0 46471, several of which found their way to the North Eastern Region. They, along with the larger 4MTs (one of which is on the left) and BR Standard 2-6-0s, were often used in pairs on the formidable Stainmore line across the Pennines to Tebay and Penrith, replacing elderly ex-NER 0-6-0s.

Right Top: Another of Raven’s dependable Q6s, 63368 of 51D Middlesbrough shed, heads south at Ferryhill, 23½ miles from Newcastle, with a coal train on 6th September 1958. The first station here was opened in 1835 by the Clarence Railway, and the York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway arrived in 1844. A new, much larger station was built in 1876, four years after the main line was diverted through Durham. It was in the form of a wide island platform with bays at both ends. In 1895, seven passenger routes radiated from Ferryhill, but by 1952 the only trains to call here were main line ‘stoppers’, and closure came in 1967.

Right Bottom: Another former wayside station on the main line was Bradbury, 30 miles south of Newcastle, which was in use from 1844 until 1950. By 16th May 1959, weeds were taking over the redundant platforms as Gresley A3 Class 4-6-2 60081 Shotover passed with a down Pullman train. The locomotive was built in 1924 as LNER 2580 of Class A1. In 1928, in common with all of Gresley’s A1s, it received a higher pressure boiler with a larger superheater to become an A3. It was withdrawn in 1962. Only one Class A3 is preserved, the National Railway Museum’s 60103, LNER 4472 Flying Scotsman. Note the signalman’s Triumph twin motorcycle on the left.

30

The East-Coast Main Line - County Durham

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Northumberland & Durham

32

The East-Coast Main Line - County Durham Left Top: Darlington’s first station was North Road, on the Stockton & Darlington Railway. Bank Top station, a mile to the south, was originally the terminus of the Great North of England Railway from York, opened in 1841. The present station is the third on the site and was completed in 1887 to the design of NER architect William Bell and engineer Thomas Harrison. On the 9th September 1958, a very grimy Class D49 4-4-0 62753 The Belvoir, allocated to Starbeck shed, near Harrogate, stands in one of the south end bay platforms. Peppercorn Class A2 4-6-2 60526 Sugar Palm is alongside on the up main line.

The D49 had a year left in service, the A2 lasting a further three years.

Left Bottom: Also at Darlington shed, photographed on 27th March 1954 was nearly-new BR Standard Class 3MT 2-6-0 77003, having entered traffic from Swindon works a month earlier. This was probably the least known of the Standard classes, with only twenty built and none preserved. The twelve classes of Standards, totalling 999 locomotives were among the premature victims of dieselisation under BR’s ill-thought-out Modernisation Plan and none lasted longer than 17 years in service, some much less.

77003 had a working life of less than thirteen years, during which time it was allocated to West Auckland for a decade.

Like Newcastle Central, Bank Top has avoiding lines but here they are dead straight, permitting non-stop passenger trains to pass at speed. The crew of Class J94 Austerity 0-6-0ST 68016 won’t be worried about speed as they deal with a lengthy freight train beside the station on 1st June 1963. Behind the locomotive are two flat wagons conveying cars, one of which is identifiable as a Mk1 Ford Cortina. Almost 500 Austerity saddle tank locomotives were built by various manufacturers to this design, initially for the War Department then for industrial use. After the war, the LNER purchased 75 of them and the last was withdrawn in 1967. 68016 was built

by Hunslet of Leeds in 1944 as War Department 75148.

33

Northumberland & Durham About three miles after leaving Darlington, southbound trains cross the River Tees and enter Yorkshire. The last station in County Durham was Croft Spa, which opened in 1841 and closed in 1969. It replaced the adjacent Stockton & Darlington Railway Croft terminus of 1829. From 1958, main line trains no longer called here and latterly it was only used by branch services from Darlington to Richmond in Yorkshire. In this undated view, an unidentified Class A3 4-6-2 is passing with a northbound express, observed by two members of the station staff on the platform. We now leave the main line and return to the Scottish border, 100 miles to the north, to begin our exploration of branches.

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Rural Lines in the Border County

RURAL LINES IN THE BORDER COUNTY The vast, isolated expanses of wild Northumberland to the north of the Tyne valley and west of the main line were served by two main railway systems. The North Eastern Railway ran a branch along the Tweed to Coldstream en route to Kelso over the border. A more important NER branch connected Alnmouth to Alnwick from whence another line wandered its lonely way north to Coldstream.

Meanwhile, the North British Railway had reached the Tyne near Hexham with the Border Counties line from Riccarton Junction. One of the intermediate stations was at Reedsmouth Junction from where the NBR struck east to Morpeth, with a branch off that line to Rothbury.

None of these routes were very profitable and all are gone, although much of their infrastructure can be admired today.

Coldstream is a town on the north bank of the River Tweed in Scotland. The station of the same name was 1½ miles away across the river in Cornhill, Northumberland. In fact it was named Cornhill upon its opening in 1849 by the York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway. It later became part of the NER and was renamed Coldstream in 1873.

The line continued west to Sprouston Junction where it met end-on with the North British Railway from Kelso, a few miles beyond. Coldstream became a junction in 1887 when the rural line to Alnwick opened. In this undated scene, BR Standard Class 2MT 2-6-0 78049 has arrived with the single-coach train from Berwick. The station closed in 1964.

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Northumberland & Durham

Passengers who continued to Kelso could proceed to St Boswells on the famous NBR ‘Waverley’ route, which connected Carlisle and Edinburgh. If they then alighted at the desolate Riccarton Junction, they could board a train for Reedsmouth and Hexham to take them back into England. This North British line through very thinly populated territory was known as the Border Counties railway. Kielder Forest station gained the suffix to its name in 1948, by which time it was surrounded by Britain’s largest man-made forest. It opened in 1862 and saw its last train in 1956, three years after this photograph was taken on 1st August 1953. Just south of the station, the beautiful castellated, skew-arched Kielder Viaduct survives.

Right Top: Part of the Border Counties line south of Kielder is now submerged beneath the reservoir of the same name, but just below the dam stands Falstone station, which served a population of about 200. Worsdell Class J21 0-6-0 65119 is seen on a very short pick-up goods train at Falstone in 1953. There were 201 members of this useful class, originally NER Class C, introduced in 1886.

The majority were built as compounds but all were later rebuilt as ‘simples’. Like Kielder, the station building, just visible beyond the brake van, is now in residential use. One Class J21 survives in preservation, 65033, currently being restored to working order by the Locomotive Conservation and Learning Trust on behalf of Beamish Museum.

Right Bottom: The largest settlement on the 42 mile long Border Counties line was Bellingham, with a population of just 1,200. Incidentally, the idiosyncratic Northumbrian pronunciation is “Bellinjum”, as with most local place names ending “ingham”. Class J21 0-6-0 5111 (later BR 65111) was photographed there with a two-coach passenger train in the late 1940s. Bellingham station handled passengers from 1861 to 1956, and goods traffic ended in 1963. The station building still stands, in the care of the North Tyne and Redesdale Community Partnership. The Bellingham Heritage Centre stands on the trackbed and a tearoom occupies two ex-BR coaches.

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Rural Lines in the Border County

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Northumberland & Durham

Above: About two miles south-east of Bellingham was Reedsmouth Junction.

If you visit the location, it is spelled ‘Redesmouth’, on the River Rede, so why the NBR used a different spelling is a mystery. It opened in 1864, with the same closure dates as Bellingham. In this early 1950s scene, Gresley Class D49 4-4-0 62771 The Rufford has arrived with a Hawick to Newcastle train. The line to Morpeth via Scotsgap curves off to the right. The platforms remain to this day, the station building and imposing signal box are converted for private residential use and the engine shed now serves agricultural purposes.

Right: For much of its route, the Border Counties railway followed the River North Tyne. Just downstream of its confluence with the South Tyne, the Border Counties Bridge carried the railway across the newly united Tyne, a couple of miles west of Hexham.

Its location meant that it was prone to flood damage. Immediately after crossing the river, trains from the north reached Border Counties Junction, where the NBR met the NER. BR Standard Class 3MT 2-6-0 77011 is crossing the Tyne with a three-coach train in the 1950s. The Tyne Valley line is hidden in a cutting behind the hedgerow across the foreground.

38

Rural Lines in the Border County

39

Northumberland & Durham

40

Rural Lines in the Border County Left Top: Wooler, a parish of 1,500 people, was the only sizeable centre of population on the line from Coldstream to Alnwick. The stations built by the NER in 1887 were on a grand scale, as evidenced by nearby Ilderton, seen in the early 1950s with Class D20 4-4-0 62387 on a Stanier full brake and goods brake van. The railway lost out to increased competition with road haulage and passenger services were withdrawn in 1930 after 43 years, remaining open for goods. At that time it was the longest route in Britain to lose its passenger service. The line was severed between here and Wooler when a 1948 storm destroyed a bridge. The remaining freight traffic hung on between Ilderton and Alnwick until 1953, and Coldstream to Wooler lasted until 1965. Many of these attractive stations still stand, including Kirknewton, Wooler, Ilderton and Whittingham.

Left Bottom: The line from Coldstream meandered its way through the hills and eventually over the beautiful viaduct at Edlingham, another surviving structure, and into the splendid terminus at Alnwick.

Here it shared the platforms with the three mile branch to Alnmouth on the main line. The magnificent station here dates from 1887, replacing the original 1850 facility. Gresley Class V3 2-6-2T 67683, seen earlier at Low Fell, was present on 11th June 1957.

Happily, the station can be appreciated today in all its glory, as it houses one of the largest second-hand book shops in the country.

Although a V2 2-6-2 and even a 9F 2-10-0 were seen here, the usual Alnwick branch motive power in the last years of steam were Peppercorn’s Class K1 2-6-0s, such as 62050, seen under the watchful eye of the grand signal box. There were eight daily weekday departures in 1962, four of which were through trains to Newcastle.

Note the colour light signal, a surprisingly modern touch considering the line was to close in 1968. The goods yard was to the right behind the camera, and the line to Wooler and Coldstream branched off to the right beyond the road bridge. The Aln Valley Railway is restoring most of the Alnmouth to Alnwick branch and operates heritage steam trains.

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Northumberland & Durham

Earlier we saw Class Y7 0-4-0T 68089 at Chathill. The same diminutive locomotive is seen on 2nd October 1951 at the terminus at Seahouses. This is now a car park, whose boundary wall incorporates the former platform face. The line opened under a Light Railway Order in 1898 as the North Sunderland Railway, remaining independent until 1939 when it was absorbed by the LNER. It owned two locomotives, a Manning Wardle 0-60ST named Bamburgh, and Lady Armstrong, an Armstrong Whitworth diesel of 1933 which is now preserved at the Tanfield Railway. The NSR often had to resort to hiring locomotives from ‘the big railway’, as was the case here. Note the ancient 4 and 6 wheeled coaches, almost in the age of the jet airliner!

Right Top: Between Acklington and Widdrington on the main line was the small junction station of Chevington, the beginning of the five mile branch to the busy fishing port of Amble. It began operation in 1849 and, like the Coldstream to Alnwick line, passenger services ended in 1930. Freight was carried until 1969, which was mostly coal from nearby collieries such as Broomhill, for transfer to ships at the staithes on the River Coquet. Standing on the grassy mound that marks this spot today, it is hard to imagine the existence of a railway station and the nearby large-scale coal handling facilities.

Right Bottom: The remote North British line from Morpeth to Reedsmouth Junction, 25 miles to the west, was affectionately known as ‘The Wannie’, after the River Wansbeck, which it loosely follows upstream. The most important intermediate station on the line was Scotsgap, the junction for the Rothbury branch. The station opened in 1862 as Scots Gap, changing its name to Scotsgap in 1903, and closing to passengers in 1952. Freight traffic continued until 1966. Snowplough-fitted Class J25 0-6-0 65727 is seen here on goods duty circa 1952.

As at Reedsmouth, most of the station buildings have since found alternative uses and are still standing.

42

Rural Lines in the Border County

43

Northumberland & Durham The Northumberland Central Railway was intended to run north from Scotsgap to a junction on the Tweedmouth to Coldstream line. It got as far as the market town of Rothbury by 1870. By this time the North British Railway had taken over the line and it never got beyond the terminus at Rothbury, where we see J25 65727 again. Behind the camera was a turntable, which allowed locomotives to access the run around loop. The last passenger train left in 1952, although like many rural railways in Northumberland, occasional excursion trains ran until goods traffic also ceased in 1963. There is almost no trace of the station now, though some of the bridges on the line can still be seen, including the beautiful Fontburn Viaduct.

Between Scotsgap and Reedsmouth was wild country indeed, mostly uninhabited. The tiny Woodburn station served the hamlets of East and West Woodburn, each of which was ¾ mile away. Troop trains used the station, as the MOD’s Otterburn ranges were nearby. After its inevitable closure in 1952, goods trains continued until 1966, by which time it was a terminus at the end of the line from Morpeth. The end was nigh on 15th September 1966, when Class J27 0-6-0 65869 was captured, framed artistically by the overbridge. As with so many rural stations, it would have been a waste to demolish the sturdy buildings and they are now houses.

44

The Blyth & Tyne Railway

THE BLYTH & TYNE RAILWAY The contrast between the rural Northumberland we just left and the territory of the former Blyth & Tyne Railway could not be greater. This was the most intensively mined area of the Northumberland coalfield, encompassing about fifty collieries. In my childhood, it seemed every town in south-east Northumberland and north-east Durham had pithead gear and a spoil heap.

This part of Northumberland had seen some of Britain’s first wagonways, there was one carrying coal from Bedlington to the River Blyth as early as 1608. Some of those wagonways evolved into sections of the fiercely independent Blyth & Tyne Railway, which finally succumbed to takeover by the omnipotent North Eastern Railway in 1874. It had spread from Blyth northwards to Morpeth and Newbiggin, and south to the Tyne at Newcastle, Percy Main and Tynemouth. Its raison d’être was the carriage of coal to navigable water for onward shipment, but passengers were also conveyed.

The northern extremity of the Blyth & Tyne Railway in terms of passenger services was Newbiggin, sometimes referred to as Newbiggin-by-the-Sea. Passenger trains ran from here to Newcastle from 1872 to 1964. The company had ambitions to reach as far north as Warkworth, but this extension never happened. On 5th August 1955, Gresley Class V1 2-6-2T 67645 awaits departure from the terminus at Newbiggin with a train for Manors North, Newcastle. Four years later the locomotive would receive a higher pressure boiler and be reclassified as a V3. There is no trace of Newbiggin station today.

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Northumberland & Durham

46

The Blyth & Tyne Railway Left Top: Ashington was known as ‘the biggest pit village in the world’, and the colliery had its own railway system connecting several surrounding communities with a passenger service for its miners. The town grew around the pit and by 1911 the population was over 20,000. BR Class J27 0-6-0 65789 is on shared NCB metals beside the colliery’s locomotive shed with a coal train in this undated view. Ashington station was to the south, opening in 1878 and served by Newbiggin trains until that service stopped in 1964. The line has been in operation for freight traffic ever since. At the time of writing, new stations are being built on the line between Tyneside and Ashington, and passenger services are due to be reinstated in December 2024.

Left Bottom: The Blyth & Tyne line to Ashington is notable for the viaducts that span the deep valleys of the Rivers Blyth and Wansbeck. They were formerly built of timber, the latter being reputedly the largest wooden structure in Britain, but both were rebuilt as steel girder bridges by 1930. North Seaton viaduct over the Wansbeck is over 1,000 feet long, and is known locally as ‘The Black Bridge’. In what would have been an everyday sight, a Class J27 0-6-0 hauls a northbound train of coal empties across the river in this undated photograph.

Just south of North Seaton viaduct is Marcheys House, the north end of a triangular junction for a branch to the east which leads to North Blyth. This freight-only line served Cambois colliery, North Blyth locomotive shed, the massive coal staithes on the River Blyth and the coal-fired power station. At the eastern apex of the junction is Winning signal box, which still sees occasional freight workings. Here on 2nd August 1966, Peppercorn Class K1 2-6-0 62005 makes a fine sight beneath the semaphore signals as it rumbles over the level crossing with a train of hoppers. Thankfully, 62005 is preserved by the North Eastern Locomotive Preservation Group, and has regularly worked special trains on the main line.

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Northumberland & Durham

North Blyth shed, code 52F, supplied the motive power to move vast amounts of coal from multiple local collieries to Blyth power station and to the staithes for shipping. Inside the roundhouse on 2nd October 1954, a pair of Class J27 0-6-0s, 65811 and 65786, flank three Class J77 0-6-0Ts, 68397, 68427 and 68399. That trio belonged to a class of sixty locomotives which were rebuilds of Fletcher’s NER Bogie Tank Passenger (BTP) 0-4-4Ts. Their power to weight ratio and small diameter wheels were perfect for working on the inclines up to the timber staithes. The last of them disappeared in 1961, after an 86 year career.

Right Top: Services commenced at Bedlington station, 1½ miles from Bedlington town centre, in 1850. As mentioned earlier, a separate community grew up around the railway here, which appears on maps as Bedlington Station. Like other stations on the line it closed in 1964, but remarkably the platform and buildings have remained fairly intact. After a sixty year hiatus it will see passenger trains again when the new Newcastle to Ashington service, branded the Northumberland Line, begins. G5 0-4-4T 67281 was one of only two to receive the later BR crest. It is seen departing Bedlington for Newbiggin on 20th September 1957. The track in the foreground upon which the photographer appears to be standing is the line to Morpeth.

Right Bottom: South Blyth shed was situated adjacent to the town’s station, on the other side of the River Blyth to North Blyth, a five mile journey by road and even further by rail. In this undated view, Class J77 0-6-0T 68431 is bunker to bunker with Class G5 0-4-4T 67277. It was the introduction of Worsdell’s successful G5 Class that made Fletcher’s BTP 0-4-4Ts surplus to requirements, leading to their rebuild into what became the J77s around the turn of the century. All traces of South Blyth shed and Blyth station have been obliterated by subsequent development.

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The Blyth & Tyne Railway

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Northumberland & Durham

Another photographer is captured in the frame as Class G5 0-4-4T 67261 climbs the gradient out of Blyth station on 20th September 1957. The terminus, serving the largest town in Northumberland outside of the Tyneside conurbation, opened in 1867. It was rebuilt in the 1890s and dispatched its last passenger train in 1964. Closure meant that Ashington, Bedlington and Blyth, with a total population of about 100,000, were among the largest towns in Britain without a train service. The coaling stage for South Blyth shed can be seen on the left, with the goods shed right of centre behind the signal post. The curving track to the left of the signal gantry continued to the harbour.

50

The Blyth & Tyne Railway

While Ashington and Bedlington are shortly to enjoy train services once more, Blyth’s nearest stations on the new Northumberland Line will be Bebside to the west, and Newsham to the south. The latter will be slightly south of the original station shown here, and two miles from Blyth town centre. This was formerly the junction where Blyth trains diverged from the line to Ashington and Newbiggin. The station was in operation from 1851 to 1964 but the Ashington line has been in continuous use ever since for freight traffic. Taken on the same day as the photograph above, here is G5 0-4-4T 67261 again at Newsham (change for Blyth) station. The platform for Blyth trains is on the far left. This photograph is truly a railway modeller’s delight, with the lamps, signal gantries, signal box, subway, telegraph pole and signage.

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Northumberland & Durham

Two miles south of Newsham was the junction station of Hartley, where trains could either curve sharply to the west towards Seaton Delaval and down to the Tyne, or continue straight on to the Avenue branch to Monkseaton.

Hartley was open to passengers for the same timespan as Newsham. Class J27 0-6-0 65789 has taken the former route and we can almost hear the squeal of wheel flanges on rails as the hoppers slowly negotiate the curve. The station building, now enlarged into a house, is a rare 21st century Blyth & Tyne Railway survivor.

Nearby is the memorial to the tragic Hester Pit disaster of 1862 in which 204 men and boys lost their lives.

The flat landscape of south-east Northumberland is punctuated by the pit heap of Seghill Colliery in the left distance, as Class Q6 0-8-0 63359 passes Holywell Junction with coal for the staithes on the Tyne. The National Coal Board line to Burradon Colliery curves off to the left. The train is on BR metals, formerly the Blyth & Tyne line, with the NCB’s Cramlington Colliery railway running parallel. Only about 300 yards to the west was yet another parallel railway, that of the Backworth Colliery. Further south they were joined by the Seatonburn Wagonway and together they formed a busy corridor carrying thousands of tons of coal to Northumberland Dock on the Tyne for shipment.

52

North Tyneside

NORTH TYNESIDE The North Tyne loop evolved piecemeal as a result of two companies vying for passenger traffic between Newcastle and the popular resort of Tynemouth. The Newcastle & North Shields Railway operated from its terminus at Carliol Square, near Manors, from 1839. By 1847, when it was extended to Tynemouth, it was owned by the Newcastle & Berwick Railway, and it then accessed Newcastle Central. The Blyth & Tyne Railway’s Tynemouth branch opened in 1860, then in 1864 it struck west from Backworth to its own terminus at New Bridge Street in Newcastle. Next, Backworth and Monkseaton were connected, so that B&TR trains could run from New Bridge Street to Tynemouth via Backworth.

By 1882 the NER owned all of the above, and built a new alignment from Tynemouth to Monkseaton, closer to the coast. Trains now ran from Newcastle Central via Wallsend and Tynemouth to New Bridge Street. The loop was complete when the latter was replaced by Manors North in 1909, by which time the line was electrified. A touch of glamour was brought to the line with the Glasgow Fair Fortnight specials, and the boat trains to the Tyne Commission Quay.

From 1980 onwards, the North Tyne loop formed the basis of the first section of the Tyne & Wear Metro. I should point out that the chapter headings North & South Tyneside refer to the suburban railways north and south of the river, and not the modern metropolitan boroughs.

Manors North, together with Manors station, formed the junction where the North Tyne loop divided. In this, our third encounter with Class V3 2-6-2T 67683, it appears to be departing with a Newbiggin train on 24th May 1958. To the right are the platforms for electric trains between Newcastle Central and the coast via Jesmond and Benton. The east-west platforms for the main line and trains to the coast via Wallsend are beyond the far end of the train. All Saints Church is prominent on the horizon. All of the railway infrastructure visible here was swept away with the arrival of the Metro. Bizarrely, the clock tower from the station building, seen above the V3’s bunker, now crowns a seafront pub in South Shields.

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Northumberland & Durham

South Gosforth car sheds housed the NER’s electric trains. It was built in 1923 to replace the previous facility at Heaton, which was damaged by fire in 1918. The blaze destroyed 34 vehicles of the original 1904 stock. Car E29376E, seen here at South Gosforth on 15th April 1960, is one of the 1920-built replacements. The depot would eventually be taken over by the Tyne & Wear Metro for the maintenance of its fleet. After 100 years of continuous use it was demolished so that a purpose-built depot could be built on the site for the new fleet of Stadler trains due to enter service at the time of writing.

Right Top: Branching off the loop at South Gosforth was the short-lived passenger line to Ponteland. It opened in 1905 and lasted only 24 years, although freight traffic continued until 1967. From 1913 trains, usually consisting of a BTP 0-4-4T and push-pull ‘autocar’, reversed here to travel the short distance to Darras Hall. Class V3 2-6-2T 67620 was photographed at Ponteland station on 29th September 1963 with the North East Railtour, which lasted five days and used fifteen different steam locomotives! In 1981, part of the Ponteland branch was incorporated into the Tyne & Wear Metro system, as far as Bank Foot, then ten years later an extension was built to Newcastle Airport, about 1½ miles south-east of Ponteland.

Right Bottom: Monkseaton was the junction between the North Tyne loop and the Avenue branch to Hartley and Blyth. The name derives from The Avenue leading to Seaton Delaval Hall, which the line crossed. Monkseaton station was designed by William Bell and built in 1915 to replace the earlier Blyth & Tyne facility, which was on a different alignment to the east. There was also a goods yard and carriage sidings. Class G5 0-4-4T 67340, with extended side tanks, is on an Avenue branch pushpull train in 1955. The impressive station roof survives as part of the present Metro station, with the addition of attractive stained glass panels in the end screens by artist Mike Davis.

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North Tyneside

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Northumberland & Durham

Above: Every July, Glasgow’s factories and Clyde shipyards would shut down for what was known as Fair Fortnight.

Glaswegians would pour out of the city for hard-earned holidays on the Ayrshire coast and further afield. A favourite destination was Whitley Bay, and special trains were provided, bringing glamorous express locomotives to the North Tyne loop. The clock tower and overall roof of Whitley Bay station can be seen behind Heaton shed’s Class A3 4-6-2 60051 Blink Bonny on a Glasgow train about 1963. The previous station of 1882 was deemed inadequate for the increasing holiday traffic and the larger facility seen here opened in 1910. It too is now a Metro station.

Right: The grandest station on the North Tyne loop, apart from Newcastle Central, was the NER’s 1882 edifice at Tynemouth, another of William Bell’s designs. It replaced Benjamin Green’s Newcastle & Berwick Railway terminus of 1847, which still stands, and that of the Blyth & Tyne of 1864, which had itself replaced two earlier stations! The 1847 station remained in use as a coal yard until the 1970s. With the coming of the Metro, Tynemouth station was saved from demolition following a campaign by a local pressure group. The beautiful red brick buildings, unique double footbridge and extensive canopy are now restored and host a busy weekend market. In this 1950s view, an EMU departs from one of the bay platforms.

Note the vans for fish traffic to the right.

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North Tyneside

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Northumberland & Durham Percy Main was another significant railway location. Here the North Tyne loop met the southern extremity of the Blyth & Tyne and crossed several colliery railways where they converged before fanning out across the docks and staithes on the Tyne. It was also the start of the Riverside line to Byker via Walker.

Percy Main engine shed had been the Blyth & Tyne Railway’s locomotive workshops, established in 1855. In later years it was synonymous with Class J27 0-6-0s, such as 65796, seen here on 25th October 1952 from Wallsend Road bridge with a train of imported pit props bound for the coalfield. The Blyth & Tyne station of 1844, which closed in 1864, can be seen top left. The North Tyne loop station and engine shed lie beyond it.

Just over a mile to the south-east of Percy Main was the austere looking Tyne Commission Quay station, a late addition to the railway map in 1931. It was located between the river and the Albert Edward Dock. Surrounding the dock was a complex maze of railway sidings which handled the import of timber and the export of coal.

Immediately upstream from here was the Northumberland Dock with its multiple coal staithes. Scheduled trains, such as that headed by Class V1 2-6-2T 67641 photographed sometime in the 1950s, connected with the regular passenger ships to Norway. There was even a through train from here to London King’s Cross, named “The Norseman”. The last passenger train, a humble diesel multiple unit, to use the station was in 1970.

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The West Line

THE WEST LINE The first railway to cross Britain was the Newcastle & Carlisle Railway, which opened throughout in 1838, the sixty-mile route having first been proposed as a canal. Usually known as the Tyne Valley line, I have heard railwaymen refer to it simply as The West Line. Originally, the railway’s eastern terminus was at Redheugh in Gateshead. Within a year, the Tyne was bridged between Blaydon and Scotswood, and a station was provided about half a mile west of the site of Newcastle Central, which was accessed by the N&CR from 1851.

For over 130 years, services used this route via Elswick and Scotswood before crossing the river and entering County Durham at Blaydon. West of Blaydon the line re-enters Northumberland, following the River Tyne and then its tributary, the South Tyne, until it crosses the border into Cumberland at Gilsland.

This superb photograph dating from the late 1940s shows LNER Class V3 2-6-2T 7689 (later BR 67689) storming through Scotswood with a local passenger train. After Scotswood station, behind the photographer, it could either cross the Tyne and take the Derwent Valley line to Blackhill or go through Blaydon towards Hexham; or take the North Wylam line along the north side of the river. Off to the right here, and stretching along the bank of the Tyne for a mile, was Armstrong Whitworth’s works, which manufactured ships, armaments, hydraulic machinery and locomotives. Sadly, none of Gresley’s V1/V3 tank locomotives survive in preservation.

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Even though it was only about four miles west of Gateshead, Blaydon possessed a sizeable engine shed of its own. In 1959 it had an allocation of 53 locomotives, ranging from 0-6-0 tanks up to B1 4-6-0s and Q6 0-8-0s.

This photograph from 3rd March 1957 shows some of the variety that could be admired there, with Class V3 2-62T 67657, Q6 0-8-0 63356, Q7 0-8-0 63472 and J72 0-6-0T 69024 gathered around the turntable. The J72 is one of the 1951 batch. Vincent Raven’s Q7s (NER Class T3) were a more powerful three-cylinder development of his Q6s.

Right Top: As well as the railway crossing the Tyne from Scotswood, Blaydon station, which was behind the photographer here, was also approached from Gateshead and Dunston. The engine shed was located in the angle between the two lines. Making its third appearance, Class Q6 0-8-0 63356 was heading west with a short freight from the Dunston direction on 6th September 1958. A solitary Austin Cambridge is parked in Railway Street. To the right of the locomotive stands a redundant gas light, probably used formerly to illuminate the points. Blaydon was gas lit by 1853, and was possibly one of the earliest goods yards to benefit. This route is now taken by trains from Newcastle to Carlisle, the Scotswood line and bridge having closed in 1982.

Right Bottom: Heddon-on-the-Wall, named for its situation on Hadrian’s Wall, had a station of the same name, but to reach the village from the railway involved a 1½ mile hike up a steep hill. It was operational on the line between Scotswood and North Wylam from 1881 until 1958. A Newcastlebound Metropolitan-Cammell diesel multiple unit is seen shortly before closure, which took place ten years before the remainder of the North Wylam loop.

The railway here was built on the trackbed of the former Wylam Wagonway of 1748, and ran past the front door of the cottage where George Stephenson was born. It was here that William Hedley successfully steamed Puffing Billy and Wylam Dilly, shortly before Stephenson’s first locomotive ran at Killingworth.

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The West Line

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The West Line Left Top: In this 1950s scene at North Wylam station, a mile west of the Stephensons’ cottage, we see a BR Derby ‘Lightweight’ diesel multiple unit alongside a Gresley Class V1/V3 2-6-2T, which is headed for Newcastle. The station opened in 1876, and lasted until 1968. Wylam station, dating from 1835 and lying south of the Tyne, continues in use on the parallel Newcastle to Carlisle line. Immediately before 1968 there had been some uncertainty in the British Railways hierarchy about which Wylam line would close, and for a while it seemed that North Wylam would be the one to remain.

Left Bottom: Although latterly North Wylam operated as a terminus, the rails continued west, crossing the Tyne on the graceful Hagg Bank Bridge of 1876 and rejoining the main Newcastle to Carlisle line at West Wylam Junction. This was often used as a diversionary route and here, sometime in the 1950s, Thompson Class B1 4-6-0 61238 Leslie Runciman heads west with an express for Carlisle. The locomotive was named after a Newcastle shipping magnate. The bridge still stands and can be walked or cycled across. It predated the similar, more famous Tyne Bridge by more than half a century. Note the standard NER quarter milepost in the foreground.

Back on the original Newcastle to Carlisle route now, almost 18 miles west of Newcastle (a little further now that trains run via Dunston) is Corbridge, a place of great antiquity with its excavated Roman town, Anglo-Saxon church and beautiful 17th century bridge across the Tyne. Trains were running here by 1835, when the extent of the line was from Blaydon to Hexham. The handsome station building is now a successful restaurant offering a ‘Curry Train’ package from Newcastle. The cast iron canopy in front of the building is visible on the left as Class J21 0-6-0 65103 heads west in the 1950s.

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The historic market town of Hexham is 20 miles west of Newcastle, and with a population of about 12,000 it is the largest town between Newcastle and Carlisle. The station opened in 1835, and was subsequently extended several times. An extensive goods yard was provided as well as a small engine shed. Class V1 2-6-2T 67658 has arrived from Newcastle in this view, taken circa 1950. The busy coal yard, once a common sight all over the country, is in the foreground along with an inspection trolley. Hexham, like Wylam, has retained its original NER gantry signal box, and is one of the last bastions of semaphore signalling in the north-east.

Right Top: The Tyne Valley line has often served as a valuable diversionary route, notably following the tragic Penmanshiel Tunnel collapse in 1979. It continues to do so, especially now that it is the only cross-country railway north of Leeds and south of Edinburgh. In this evocative capture, taken 9th September 1954, Gresley Class A4 4-6-2 60008 Dwight D. Eisenhower is on such a diversion as it heads east past Warden, three miles west of Hexham.

The train is “The Elizabethan”, consisting of a uniform rake of Thompson coaches in BR crimson & cream livery. Built as LNER 4496 Golden Shuttle, the locomotive was renamed in 1945, and now resides in the National Railroad Museum in Wisconsin, USA.

Right Bottom: Eight miles west of Hexham is Haydon Bridge, one of the fourteen intermediate stations that still remain on the railway between Newcastle and Carlisle, which is now marketed as the Hadrian’s Wall Line. Peppercorn’s Class A1 4-6-2s were the final development of the LNER Pacific. On 21st March 1965, A1 60131 Osprey has paused for a photo stop at Haydon Bridge with the RCTS Tyne-Solway Rail Tour, which covered a circular route from Leeds to Carlisle.

Although all 49 of the A1s were scrapped by BR after a ridiculously short working life, in 2008 new-build 60163 Tornado filled that gap in the heritage railway world.

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The West Line

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South Tyneside Left: Greenhead station, 40 miles from Newcastle, saw its first train in 1836 and the station was in operation until 1967. In this photograph taken on 7th June 1965, the original Newcastle & Carlisle Railway building with the projecting gable is set back to the right behind the wooden platform building. The station building still stands, along with the small N&CR locomotive shed. A few hundred yards north of the station, the line crossed the course of Hadrian’s Wall. At Gilsland, two miles further west on the border with Cumberland, the Wall is recrossed and here it is seen clearly from the train. The excavated remains of a Roman milecastle lie beneath the railway viaduct over Poltross Burn.

Below: Leaving the Tyne Valley line immediately west of Border Counties Junction was the 12 mile branch to Allendale, which opened to goods traffic in 1867, and to passengers two years later. Allendale is in a wild, upland part of Northumberland which lies to the south of the Tyne. The railway’s main source of revenue was traffic from the local lead mines. Unfortunately, the coming of the railway coincided with the decline of the lead industry. The branch closed to passengers in 1930 but goods traffic lingered for two more decades. There were three intermediate stations, one of which was Staward. There, on 17th November 1950, three days before the end, Worsdell Class J21 0-6-0 65082 was on a short pick-up goods. Staward station is another building now in residential use.

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Northumberland & Durham Left Top: The Hexham & Allendale Railway was taken over by the NER in 1876. The terminus at Allendale, formerly named Catton Road, was a mile short of the town, although an extension had been planned. It was almost 650 feet higher than the Tyne Valley line, necessitating a ruling gradient of 1 in 50 for most of the route. Always a thinly populated area, the demise of the lead industry saw two-thirds of Allendale’s residents move away. On the same date as above we see 65082 again, having reached the simple terminus at Allendale. The station is now incorporated into a holiday park.

Left Middle: Haltwhistle station, which survives today almost intact, was the junction for the branch to Alston in Cumberland, which opened in 1852.

The route immediately curved southeast away from the Carlisle line to cross the South Tyne on a viaduct, most of which stands to this day. The railway recrossed the same river on an even more impressive structure at Lambley, which can be walked across today. It can be seen here behind Class G5 0-4-4T 67241 which is heading for Alston. Beyond Lambley station buildings on the left was a line to Brampton via Midgeholme Colliery, part of which began operation in 1775. Stephenson’s Rocket, following its retirement from the Liverpool & Manchester Railway, worked here.

Left Bottom: Like the Allendale line further east, the 13 mile Alston branch featured challenging gradients, climbing to 1,000 feet above sea level. It outlasted all other rural railways in the north-east because the inadequate local roads were impassable in the worst winter weather.

By 1976 though, road improvements had been made and closure of the railway was inevitable. Happily, Alston station is now the headquarters of the South Tynedale Railway, a five mile narrow gauge steam railway built on the trackbed as far as Slaggyford. It was near here that this undated view was captured, of Class J39 0-6-0 64842 with G5 0-4-4T 67315. This pairing was probably to save a separate light engine movement.

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South Tyneside

SOUTH TYNESIDE Gateshead, on the opposite bank of the Tyne to Newcastle, was of huge importance as a railway town, with its locomotive workshops and engine sheds, as well as being the terminus of three of the earliest railways. From here, the line eastwards to South Shields followed the broad sweeping curve of the Tyne past the major shipping facilities at Tyne Dock. All along its route there was rail-served industry, from the massive Cooperative Wholesale Society factory at Pelaw to the staithes, shipyards and docks of Hebburn, Jarrow and South Shields.

Like the North Tyne loop, it served commuters of all classes as well as seaside daytrippers. The line was electrified, though not until 1938, 34 years later than the North Tyne lines. It too forms the basis of a section of today’s Metro network.

The North Eastern Railway had its Greenesfield locomotive workshops at Gateshead, directly across the river from Newcastle Central station. It was the largest employer in the town with over 3,000 workers. It incorporated much of the fabric of the original Gateshead station of 1844, which was redundant by 1849 when the High Level Bridge allowed trains to cross the Tyne to Newcastle. Adjacent to it was Gateshead shed, inside which is pictured Worsdell Class N10 0-6-2T 69090, on 18th May 1954. Twenty were built, as NER Class U, the tank engine version of the J25 0-6-0. All were withdrawn by 1962. The ornate wrought iron arches seen behind the locomotive chimney were part of the original 1844 station roof.

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South Tyneside Left Top: Gateshead shed had an allocation of 91 locomotives in 1950, all confined within a cramped site hemmed in by the two railway bridges over the Tyne, Askew Road, the steep river bank and the east to west running lines. That allocation always included ‘Top Link’ main line locomotives such as Gresley’s magnificent Class A4 4-6-2s, and later the prestigious Deltic diesel-electrics. A4 60012 Commonwealth of Australia looks resplendent on 26th August 1954.

Most of the site has been redeveloped as housing, but some of the original Greenesfield buildings stand, and the railway still runs past the site.

Left Bottom: For almost sixty years, Robert Stephenson’s High Level Bridge carried all East Coast Anglo-Scottish trains. It was built with three tracks on the top deck and a roadway beneath. 175 years later, now double-tracked, the bridge is used by modern passenger trains while double-decker buses cross the Tyne on the lower deck. In this undated image, Worsdell Class G5 0-4-4T 67342 has crossed from Northumberland to County Durham and is entering Gateshead East station. It is probably heading for Sunderland. Note the third rails for electric trains to South Shields. The mediaeval lantern tower of St Nicholas’ Cathedral can be seen through the smoke.

Having crossed the Tyne out of Newcastle Central on either of the bridges, trains could head west for the Team Valley route to Durham, or the Dunston line to Blaydon; or east for South Shields, Sunderland or the old main line through Washington. Shortly after leaving Gateshead East, Borough Gardens engine shed was reached.

This supplied freight locomotives, such as Worsdell Class P or LNER J24 0-6-0 5600, seen here around the time of nationalisation, circa 1948. Behind is sister locomotive 5644, which appears to have the E prefix before its number with British Railways lettering on the tender. Neither survived long enough to receive its five-digit BR number.

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The community of Pelaw grew up around the huge Co-operative factory, which was built next to the railway. Its products included furniture, soap, pharmaceuticals and shoe polish. Pelaw station was 3½ miles from Newcastle, and to its east was a three-way junction. Trains could continue east for Sunderland, turn north for the South Shields branch, or south onto the Leamside line. All three routes can be seen in this view taken on 25th June 1956 from the footbridge east of the station. A Class A8 4-6-2T stands in the sidings as a BR-built electric multiple unit on a South Shields to Newcastle service picks its way across the pointwork. When the South Shields branch was dieselised in 1963, these trains, dating from the mid-1950s, were sent to the Southern Region, becoming part of the 2-EPB fleet.

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South Tyneside

Nine miles from Newcastle, along the serpentine curves of the River Tyne, lay Tyne Dock. Here, iron ore was transferred from ship to train to supply Consett steelworks. The line to Consett was steeply inclined, and the ex-NER 0-8-0s were pushed to the limit on this duty, carrying more than one million tons annually. When in the 1950s, ten new BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 locomotives were allocated to Tyne Dock shed for the task, even they required a banking engine on the most arduous stretches of the line. 92098 waits under the discharge bunker at Tyne Dock while its 56-ton bogie hopper wagons, built at Shildon and introduced in 1953, are loaded.

The 9Fs were not the only massive locomotives that could be seen at Tyne Dock shed. Wilson Worsdell’s NER Class X, later classified T1 by the LNER, was a powerful three-cylinder 4-8-0T designed for shunting heavy coal trains. Fifteen were built between 1909 and 1925, and they could be seen in Teesside, Hull and as far south as March in Cambridgeshire. The last T1 was withdrawn in 1961. This is 69917 at Green Lane, Tyne Dock moving a train of 21 ton hoppers on 12th May 1959, with another NER gantry signal box and associated signal gantries in the background, and the engine shed off to the left.

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Northumberland & Durham

South Shields station, eleven miles from Newcastle, was built in 1879 by the North Eastern Railway. As early as 1834, the town had been the eastern terminus of the Stanhope & Tyne Railroad. As well as the electric trains to Newcastle, there was a regular service to Sunderland. Class G5 0-4-4T 67247, with BR number and LNER lettering is seen awaiting departure beneath South Shields’ overall roof on such a service circa 1948. In 1981 the station was replaced by a new Metro terminus a short distance away. Despite its Grade II listing, the station was demolished in 1990.

The direct line between South Shields and Sunderland used to cut across country from Tyne Dock to East Boldon.

Class G5 0-4-4T 67338 was photographed near Harton, propelling its push-pull train towards Sunderland on 14th August 1956. In 1965 this line fell victim to Beeching-era rationalisation, after which passengers had a choice of travelling by direct bus down the coast or changing trains at Pelaw, more than double the previous distance by rail. It was no contest. The trackbed here is now surrounded by modern housing developments.

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Around the Durham Coast

AROUND THE DURHAM COAST A journey around the Durham coast has always been fascinating. At the time these photographs were taken, much of it would be in the shadow of massive collieries with their waste heaps, expanses of sidings and spidery overhead conveyors tipping spoil on the beaches. This oncebleak landscape was immortalised in the thrilling final sequence of the film ‘Get Carter’. Beyond the coalfields, industrial Teesside was approached, with its skyline of steelworks and chemical plants.

Whereas the coal mines are gone and the beaches have been cleaned up, Teesside still retains its industrial feel. In the days of steam, the busy coast line enjoyed daily timetabled long distance services from Newcastle via Sunderland to London and Colchester. It is only recently that a direct train service between Sunderland and London has been reinstated.

Travelling from Pelaw towards Sunderland, Boldon Colliery was the first station reached. It had opened in 1839 as Brockley Whins, and in its present guise as a Metro station it has reverted to its original name. On 1st August 1958, Raven Class A8 4-6-2T 69878 is departing bunker-first for Newcastle while Gresley Class J39 0-6-0 64921 waits with a goods train in a siding, which was the truncated stub of a curve towards Washington. Behind the signal box on the left, another curve leads to Tyne Dock. Two flat-capped railway employees enjoying their ‘bait’ and another photographer complete the scene.

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Around the Durham Coast Viewed from the top of the pit heap, Class A8 4-6-2T 69850 disturbs some happy campers as it rattles over Pontop Crossing on the approach to Boldon Colliery with a train from Middlesbrough or Sunderland to Newcastle on 1st August 1958. It has just crossed the Pontop and South Shields branch, which went to Washington, and was used by Tyne Dock to Consett iron ore trains. The J39 in the previous image is standing on the severed south to west curve, which is behind the photographer. This curve was used by the first London to Gateshead trains until the Leamside line opened.

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The line between Pelaw and Sunderland is today shared between ‘heavy rail’ trains on the Durham coast route and Metro services between Airport and South Hylton. The next station after Brockley Whins is East Boldon, originally called Cleadon Lane and also dating from 1839. Here, on 14th September 1954, Worsdell Class J25 0-60 65661 is passing with a lengthy southbound freight train, as a passenger train heads into the distance towards Pontop Crossing. The signalman here would be fully occupied operating the level crossing gates on this busy section of line.

Right Top: As well as local passenger services and frequent freight trains, the coast line also saw timetabled longer distance expresses. Complete with its poster advertising Brylcreem, this is Seaburn station, 10½ miles from Newcastle and 1½ from Sunderland, on 9th April 1956, with Gresley Class A3 4-6-2 60036 Colombo heading south. The station was built by the LNER in 1937 to serve Sunderland’s expanding northern suburbs. Like the other intermediate stations on the line now, only Metro trains call here while Northern Rail diesel multiple units run non-stop between Heworth interchange (west of Pelaw) and Sunderland.

Right Bottom: Thompson Class A2/3 4-6-2 60518 Tehran has stopped beside Wearmouth goods yard with a short freight train on 3rd August 1955, and a Class J71 or J72 is on the rear performing a shunting manoeuvre. Edward Thompson built 26 Pacifics, seven of which were controversial rebuilds of iconic Gresley locomotives. None were preserved. 60518 was built in 1946 and withdrawn in 1962. The prominent tower on the right was part of an iron and steel works, beside which the floodlights of Roker Park, Sunderland AFC’s former ground, can be seen on the horizon. According to the chalk markings, the van nearest the camera is for South Shields.

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Around the Durham Coast

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Around the Durham Coast Left Top: Like almost every building in the north-east at the time, Monkwearmouth’s elegant, Greek-revival station was blackened by decades of soot. Class V3 2-6-2T 67690 of Gateshead shed was photographed there on 14th June 1954 with a train from either Newcastle or South Shields. Monkwearmouth was built in 1848 by the ‘Railway King’, George Hudson, as the southern terminus of the Brandling Junction Railway from Gateshead. It wasn’t until 1879 that the North Eastern Railway finally continued the line across the River Wear into Sunderland via the Wearmouth Bridge and tunnels under the town centre. Monkwearmouth closed to passengers in 1967 but the fine building survives as a museum.

Left Bottom: Sunderland Central station, 12 miles from Newcastle, was built in 1879 with the platforms below street level, giving it a dingy, subterranean atmosphere. Its overall roof was badly damaged in a 1943 air raid. The attractive clock tower of the modest entrance building can be seen top right as Class A8 4-6-2T 69874 passes a Peppercorn A2 4-6-2 at the south end of the station on 28th May 1955. The A8s were built as 4-4-4Ts of Class H1 (NER Class D) and were in service from 1913 until, in rebuilt form, the last was withdrawn in 1960. Today, Sunderland station’s underground island platform is shared by the Metro and Northern services between Newcastle to Middlesbrough. The surface buildings have been replaced by a more modern block.

At South Dock, Sunderland, less than a mile east of the station, was another large engine shed. It supplied motive power for the Durham coalfield, which lay mostly to the south. Outside the brick-built roundhouse with its broken window panes is one of Peppercorn’s versatile Class K1 2-6-0s, 62026, in a very workstained state.

All 70 of the K1s were built by the North British Locomotive Company in Glasgow. In 1959, Sunderland shed had an allocation of 45 locomotives including A8 4-6-2Ts and Q7 0-8-0s. The closure of the roundhouse in 1967 coincided with the end of steam in the North Eastern Region, and it was replaced by a much smaller facility for diesel locomotives.

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Northumberland & Durham A couple of miles south of Sunderland was Ryhope Grange Junction. The track in the foreground is the freight line branching off to Hendon and South Dock. Clanking past the NER signal box on 30th August 1961 is WD Austerity 2-8-0 90434 on a northbound freight train consisting mostly of vans.

Even though BR had over 700 of these locomotives, none of them lasted into preservation. However, over two hundred more were built to the same design for overseas use, and a Swedish example built at Vulcan Foundry in 1945 has been restored to BR condition on the Keighley & Worth Valley Railway.

Five miles south of Sunderland is the mining town of Seaham, which was also a major coal-handling port.

Class Q7 0-8-0 63469 is crossing Londonderry Road and is about to pass Seaham station with a northbound freight train on 21st August 1959. The station opened in 1855 as Seaham Colliery on the Londonderry, Seaham & Sunderland Railway, which linked Seaham Harbour to Ryhope Grange. Taken over by the NER in 1900, the line was extended south to Hartlepool via Horden in 1905. Beyond the signal box, the curve to the right leads down to Seaham Colliery. From here, loaded coal trains descended to the harbour on an incline, the bridge over which can be seen on either side of the Q7’s tender. Note the advertisement on the signal box advertising daily excursions such as Redcar for 6 shillings and 6d. That’s 32½p today!

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Horden, six miles south of Seaham, was another major colliery town. Its attractive station was built as late as 1905 as part of the NER’s new coastal line, which was constructed in order to avoid the gradients of the inland Wellfield route, as well as connecting several large coal mines. In this image captured on 21st August 1959, Class Q6 0-8-0 63349 is drawing a loaded train out of the colliery sidings. Note the allotments above the station, with their characteristic pigeon ‘crees’. Above the Q6’s tender, the track in the goods yard appears to have been recently lifted. The station closed five years after this photograph was taken, but a new station opened in 2020, 200 yards from its predecessor.

Hartlepool’s first station, a terminus, opened on the Headland in 1839. This was eventually superseded in 1880 by West Hartlepool station, designed by William Bell. The station, which is thirty miles from Newcastle, is situated in the middle of a sharp ‘S’ bend. Now known simply as Hartlepool, it had for many years managed with only one platform for trains in both directions, but recently the second platform has been brought back into use. Doublechimneyed Class A3 4-6-2 60073 St. Gatien of Heaton shed makes a stirring sight as it departs the tightly curved station for the north, circa 1960.

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Just south of the station was West Hartlepool engine shed, which in 1959 had an allocation of 57 locomotives.

It closed in 1967 and was demolished three years later. In this undated photograph, Worsdell Class J73 0-6-0T 68358 stands outside the shed with sister locomotive 68364. A class of only ten locomotives, originally NER Class L, they were designed specifically for working the inclines at Newcastle Quayside, pre-electrification, and at Redheugh in Gateshead. They were Wilson Worsdell’s first design, introduced in 1891, after he took over from his brother.

Adjacent to West Hartlepool shed was Newburn Junction, where multiple sidings fanned out to serve a range of industrial locations to the south and the docks to the north. LMSR-designed Fairburn 2-6-4T 42094 is passing the substantial signal box with a passenger train for Teesside. The locomotive was built at Brighton in 1951 and was initially allocated to the Southern Region. When the photograph was taken on 6th August 1955, it was shedded at Gateshead, one of several to find its way to the North Eastern Region. It was withdrawn in 1962 after just eleven years in service. Hartlepool’s Headland can be seen in the right distance, and part of the engine shed is on the extreme left.

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Teesside

Teesside South of Hartlepool, the coast line turns inland and enters the northern edge of the Teesside conurbation. The River Tees marked the historical boundary between County Durham and Yorkshire, therefore Thornaby and Middlesbrough, both of which were in the North Riding, are omitted. The prosperity and growth of Teesside, especially of Middlesbrough, came about because of the success of the Stockton & Darlington Railway and other lines that followed, such as the Clarence Railway.

The railways brought coal from the Durham coalfield and ironstone from North Yorkshire to the Tees. They were the catalyst for the building of the docks, shipyards, ironworks and chemical refineries that together formed a huge, sprawling industrial landscape. The railways transported steel stock from here to the north-east’s shipyards, and chemical products in tank wagons to customers all over the country. To say that the railways transformed Teesside is no exaggeration.

Haverton Hill, located between Billingham and the River Tees, first appeared on the railway map in 1834 when the Clarence Railway, an early competitor to the Stockton & Darlington, started carrying coal to the Tees.

Haverton Hill had a secondary engine shed, surrounded by a typical Teesside industrial landscape. There were 21 locomotives based there in 1950, all of them freight engines of 0-6-0 and 0-8-0 wheel arrangement. Perhaps slightly more glamorous is Class K1 2-6-0 62058 which is among the motive power present on 17th July 1954. A Class J26 or J27 is on the left, and the coaling stage is on the right. The shed closed in 1959 when its stock was transferred to the new depot at Thornaby, BR’s last purpose-built steam shed.

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Just over two miles north of Stockton station is the triangular Norton Junction. This is where the route from Ferryhill meets the Hartlepool to Stockton line. Class V2 2-6-2 60856 has left Stockton and is taking the eastbound line at Norton South Junction towards Hartlepool and the coast. Unusually, the 1870-built signal boxes both here and at Norton East have their gables facing the railway. Gresley’s V2s were versatile locomotives, equally at home on express passenger or freight duties, and known for prodigious feats of haulage during World War Two. First of the class of 184 locomotives, 4771 Green Arrow, is preserved in Danum Museum in Doncaster.

Right Top: As V2 60856, above, departed Stockton, passengers on the right-hand side of the train would have enjoyed a good view of the engine shed from the embankment on the left beside the signal box. In 1950, Stockton had an allocation of 54 locomotives including Thompson B1 4-6-0 61220, which is visible in this photograph taken on 15th March 1959. A solitary J26 or J27 is there too, along with Peppercorn K1 2-6-0s, a J94 saddle tank, some WD Austerity 2-8-0s and just visible inside the shed is a 350hp diesel shunter. Two young trainspotters are having a look around, hoping for a ‘cop’ or two in their notebooks. The site is now a housing development.

Right Bottom: Stockton station is the location for this 1st April 1956 portrait of BR Standard Class 4MT 2-6-4T 80117 in charge of a local passenger train, which includes two vans. 80117 was one of five Standard 4MT tank locomotives allocated to Whitby shed. It resided there from new in 1954 until 1958. The folk of Stockton, of course, saw their first passenger train in 1825, and the station pictured here was the sixth in the town. It was built on the site of the Leeds Northern Railway station of 1852, and opened in 1893.

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Teesside

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Northumberland & Durham Seen earlier in the book at Haydon Bridge in the Tyne Valley, here is Class A1 4-6-2 60131 Osprey on the RCTS Tyne-Solway Rail Tour again, this time posed under William Bell’s arched roof at Stockton on 21st March 1965. Some of its smartly-attired passengers can be seen on both platforms, intent on photography. 60131 entered traffic in 1948, receiving its name in 1950. It was withdrawn from service in October 1965, seven months after this railtour. The station lost its fine overall roof in 1979 and is now much rationalised, a sad legacy for a town of such significance in railway history.

Photographed at Eaglescliffe station on 25th March 1961 was BR WD Class 2-8-0 90090 with an express unfitted freight, including a low-loader wagon behind the tender. 90090 began life in 1944 as War Department 78528, then three years later became LNER Class O7 no.3090. Established by the Leeds Northern Railway in 1852, Eaglescliffe became a railway crossroads, where passengers could depart west for Darlington, north for Stockton, Wellfield or Ferryhill, east for Middlesbrough and Saltburn, or south for Northallerton, York and Leeds. Originally there were two island platforms with ornate canopies.

Today there is just one with a simple shelter, the ornate glazed canopies having been flattened.

A wider view of the spacious layout at Eaglescliffe, also taken 25th March 1961, with Thompson Class L1 2-6-4T 67765 passing Eaglescliffe North signal box on a delightfully mixed parcels train.

The leading vehicle is an ex-LNER Thompson matchboard full brake, then there are some 10-foot wheelbase vans and at the rear, an ex-GWR Collett full brake. A hundred Class L1s were built in total, 99 of which entered traffic after nationalisation. All were withdrawn by 1962, their duties having been largely taken by diesel-multiple-units.

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The Old Main Line & Central Durham

THE OLD MAIN LINE & CENTRAL DURHAM Although geographically half the size, Durham’s population was double that of Northumberland.

It is no surprise, therefore, that there was a greater density of railways south of the Tyne. Running north to south between the East Coast Main Line and the Durham Coast was the old main line, with many interconnecting routes, branches and colliery railways. Further east, there was yet another north to south line. This began as the original Durham & Sunderland Railway which turned inland at Ryhope, a mile south of Ryhope Grange Junction, and headed west through Hetton to Shincliffe and eventually Durham Elvet. At Murton, a branch line ran south to Haswell where it met the Hartlepool Dock & Railway Co. Eventually, under the NER this branch formed a continuous inland route from Sunderland to Hartlepool, via Wellfield, Castle Eden and Hart, which was eventually superseded by the new line along the coast in 1905.

Many of these lines were deemed surplus to requirements as industry declined, and as a result several large centres of population have been without rail services for sixty years or more. This was an area characterised by pit villages with ‘specials’ to the Durham Miners’ Gala. Even though the railways have gone, the Gala, at least, is still an annual fixture.

Returning north to Pelaw, we now travel along the old main line, or Leamside line. This northernmost section of it began operation in 1850. Before trains began using the new Team Valley route via Durham in 1872, it carried the East Coast Main Line’s Anglo-Scottish traffic. In this photograph taken circa 1959, Class V1 2-6-2T 67637 heads a Washington to Newcastle train past Wardley towards Pelaw with the pit heaps of Follonsby, or Follingsby Colliery, in the background. Subsequently, BR built a Freightliner terminal here, now also long gone. The terraced row on the left still exists, facing the embankment of a busy motorway intersection.

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Washington station was eight miles from Newcastle on the Leamside line. It was some distance from the town but conveniently situated for industries such as the chemical works, visible above the locomotive. It opened in 1850 along with the new line to Pelaw, replacing the previous Washington station of 1835 on the Stanhope & Tyne Railroad. By 1962 the passenger service consisted of one train each way on weekdays, and unsurprisingly that provision was withdrawn the following year. Class Q6 0-8-0 63364 threads through Washington with a coal train on 8th August 1955, and passes a wonderful assortment of mineral wagons. The Leamside was in use as a diversionary and freight route long after timetabled passenger trains ceased, but complete closure came in 1992.

Right Top: Pallion station, 1¾ miles from Sunderland, was used by services from Sunderland to Bishop Auckland via Durham. It was built by the York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway, and served the local shipyards from 1853 until its closure by British Railways in 1964. The nearby Doxford shipyard was famous among enthusiasts for its busy little crane tank locomotives. Class A8 4-6-2T 69873 was photographed at Pallion on 4th August 1958 with a Sunderland train. Opposite the locomotive is the unusual sight of two boats on the platform. In 2002, on a parallel alignment, Pallion Metro station opened on the South Hylton extension.

Right Bottom: Hylton station had the same opening and closure dates as Pallion. On 31st August 1956, Class G5 0-4-4T 67259 was heading towards Durham. It will join the old main line at Penshaw and leave it at Leamside, joining the new main line at Newton Hall Junction. The route saw a fairly frequent service, especially for weekday commuters, until the end. Parts of it were retained for freight use until 1984. The present Metro terminus of South Hylton is just north-east of this location. There is a proposal to extend this westwards to form a loop to Washington and Pelaw via the Leamside route.

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The Old Main Line & Central Durham

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The Old Main Line & Central Durham Left Top: The Durham & Sunderland Railway began operation in 1836, opening in stages. Its western terminus by 1839 was Shincliffe, not Durham. Hetton station, behind the photographer in this view looking east, served the pit village of Hetton-le-Hole and opened on the route the following year. On 23rd July 1949, Class J39 0-6-0 64853 was on one of two special Miners’ Gala trains to Durham Elvet waiting to enter the station. Hetton lost its passenger service in 1953 and freight working ended in 1963. The bridge in the distance allowed the Durham & Sunderland line to pass beneath the former Hetton Colliery Railway, built by George Stephenson in 1822 and closing in 1959.

Left Bottom: In 1893, just over twenty years after the East Coast Main Line was diverted through Durham station, the NER opened Elvet station, a terminus to the east of the city at the end of an extension of the Shincliffe line. This was in fact Durham’s third station, as the Newcastle & Darlington Junction Railway had built its Gilesgate terminus, whose buildings still stand, to the north in 1844. The Elvet branch was not a success and its passenger service was withdrawn in 1931. However it remained in use until 1953 to receive trains for the annual Durham Miners’ Gala. A Gala special was photographed here on 23rd July 1949 with J21 0-6-0 65078 at the head. Nothing remains of Elvet station today other than some railway cottages and a few relics relocated to the student residences that occupy the site.

Striking north from Bowesfield Junction, Stockton, was the so-called Castle Eden Railway, which ran through Wynyard to Wellfield, near Wingate. Here it met the former Hartlepool Dock and Railway Company line which had a station at Castle Eden. This was in use from 1839 until 1952 for passengers and 1964 for goods traffic. The station building is now a private house. Raven Class B16 4-6-0 61443 was photographed heading west, past the signal box and water column with the Stephenson Locomotive Society’s Tees Tyne Rail Tour on 2nd September 1956. Although closed to passengers, the line was obviously still in regular use, evidenced by the ‘off’ signal in the eastbound direction.

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The NER possessed a variety of attractive signal box designs, such as this neat overhanging example at Wellfield. Enthusiasts spill out onto the permanent way as Class Q7 0-80 63460 pauses for a photo stop on another railtour. This was the RCTS ‘North Eastern Limited’ of 2nd May 1964, which ran from Newcastle to York behind A3 60051 Blink Bonny.

There, B1 61031 Reedbuck took the train via Malton and Whitby to Middlesbrough. It was then replaced by the Q7 which headed through Wynyard, Wellfield and Sunderland for Newcastle. 63460 had been withdrawn eighteen months previously and stored for preservation, but was steamed specially for the railtour. It is now exhibited at Locomotion, Shildon.

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The Old Main Line & Central Durham

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Sedgefield station, located about two miles west of the town, opened in 1835 on the Clarence Railway between Ferryhill and Stockton. Sometime in the 1950s, Thompson Class B1 4-6-0 61053 was passing with a southbound passenger train composed of Gresley, Thompson and BR Mk1 coaches, mostly in BR crimson & cream livery.

Although the station closed in 1952, it continued to handle racecourse traffic until 1960. Freight traffic still uses the line, and for many years it was a weekend diversionary route for passenger trains.

About six miles south-east of Sedgefield station was Stillington, also originally on the Clarence Railway.

Stillington North Junction was two miles west of the station, and here we see BR Sulzer Type 2 diesel-electric D5155 on 10th June 1961. It had arrived brand new at Thornaby depot exactly a week earlier, and is bringing a freight train around the curve from Ferryhill towards Stockton. The line in the foreground is to Newton Aycliffe and Shildon, which was formerly the electrified route to Newport yard, near Middlesbrough. For this, the NER built ten Bo-Bo electric locomotives of Class EB1, operating from 1,500 volt DC overhead wires. Like the diesel in the photograph, they were built at Darlington works, but 47 years earlier.

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West of Durham

WEST OF DURHAM This final section features County Durham to the west of the main line, an area steeped in railway antiquity. As well as the groundbreaking Stockton & Darlington Railway, there was the long distance Stanhope & Tyne Railroad (the term ‘railroad’ was used here as well as in the USA) and the Tanfield lines of The Grand Allies.

These and other early railway companies opened up County Durham’s relatively uninhabited west for the extraction of minerals and quarried stone. They transported those mineral riches to the Tyne, Wear and Tees, and facilitated the large-scale production of iron and steel. Long branch lines threaded their way optimistically along the Durham dales into the north Pennines, areas just as remote as north Northumberland. As in the border county, most of these railways have disappeared altogether.

Predating all of the railways seen in this book was the Tanfield Wagonway, with its famous Causey Arch of 1725, which still stands and is the oldest railway bridge in the world. Its construction was financed by pioneering colliery owners Charles Montague and Colonel Liddell, and its purpose was to expedite the movement of coal to the Tyne. Today’s passengers on the delightful preserved Tanfield Railway can alight here and walk over and under the Grade 1 listed Scheduled Ancient Monument. Where heritage trains now carry tourists, on 12th May 1959, Class N10 0-6-2T 69097 was photographed in the sylvan setting of Causey Wood with loaded coal hoppers.

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West of Durham Left Top: Shattering the peace of Beamish station on 10th June 1961 was Class Q6 0-8-0 63344 heading east with a coal train past the timber signal box.

It has just passed through the short tunnel above which was the railway serving Beamish Colliery. The single slip ahead of the locomotive controls access to the small goods yard. The station was open to passengers from 1894 until 1953, and the line closed entirely after Consett steelworks was shut down in 1980, the last coal train running in 1983. Half a mile north of here is the entrance to the wonderful Beamish, the Living Museum of the North, where the experience includes a working 1825 colliery wagonway and a 1913 pit village.

Left Bottom: South Pelaw Junction had no direct relationship with Pelaw, the latter being six miles away to the north. It was situated just west of where the Tyne Dock to Consett iron ore trains crossed the East Coast Main line, north of Chester-le-Street.

A chord ran down to meet the main line at Ouston Junction. At South Pelaw, the loaded iron ore trains would stop in order for a banking engine to be attached to the rear for the arduous climb to Consett.

In this undated photograph, the bespoke iron ore hoppers can be seen clearly as the sunlit exhaust from Thompson Class O1 2-8-0 63760 contrasts sharply against a leaden sky. The 58 members of this class were rebuilds of Great Central Railway Class O4s. Five were allocated to Tyne Dock and were fitted with Westinghouse pumps to operate the hopper doors.

From Beamish, the line climbed through the mining towns of Stanley and Annfield Plain on its way to Consett.

Making a volcanic ascent westwards towards Annfield on 19th November 1966 was BR Standard Class 9F 2-10-0 92063, banked by English Electric Type 4 diesel D277, with the last steam-hauled iron ore train from Tyne Dock to Consett. The 9F has been specially ‘bulled up’ and carries the unofficial headboard “The Tyne Docker” to commemorate the occasion. There are two brake vans at the rear and at least one of them is full of enthusiasts!

Scandalously, 92063 was withdrawn five days later, not quite eleven years old, and scrapped the following April.

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Consett consisted of a few buildings scattered across a wide area of moorland when iron was discovered there.

The Derwent Iron Company was established in 1840, and the Stanhope & Tyne Railroad of 1834 was conveniently situated for transportation. In 1887 the NER built the new line to South Pelaw with slightly easier gradients and on this route Consett station was eventually opened in 1896. It closed to passengers in 1955, but on 10th April 1965, the still-intact station saw the arrival of Tyne Dock 9F 2-10-0 92097 with The North Eastern No.2 Rail Tour from Leeds. At Consett the passengers transferred to a diesel multiple unit for a trip to Waskerley.

Right Top: Consett’s locomotive shed was located to the south-west of the town, and on 14th October 1956 there were several Q6 0-8-0s in evidence. The clean one is 63455, which has a Class T1 4-8-0T marshalled behind it. In the background can be seen part of the steelworks, which employed 6,000 people out of Consett’s population of 39,000, a figure which peaked at 12,000 during World War Two. By the time of this photograph, the former Derwent Iron Co, later Consett Iron Co, which had its own independent railway system, was part of the nationalised Iron & Steel Corporation of Great Britain. Today in Consett there is hardly a trace of the steelworks or the railway.

Right Bottom: Slightly further south-west of Consett is the deep ravine of Hownes Gill. For the first 25 years of its existence, the Stanhope & Tyne Railroad traversed it using a series of inclined planes. From 1858 the valley was bridged by a slender, graceful viaduct, engineered by Thomas Bouch. Robert Stephenson advised Bouch to incorporate inverse arches into Hownsgill Viaduct’s piers to reduce weight without compromising strength. When in 1879 Bouch’s Tay Bridge collapsed with fatal results, his reputation was destroyed with it. Class Q6 0-8-0 63404 was photographed crossing the viaduct in the 1950s. The spectacular structure still soars 150 feet above the valley and now carries the Waskerley Way path.

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West of Durham

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Another railway approached Consett from a more northerly direction, following the valley of the River Derwent.

This line was built by the NER, branching off the Tyne Valley route just east of Blaydon, and began operation in 1867. Before World War One it was carrying half a million passengers per year. The passenger service between Newcastle and Blackhill (see below) ended in 1955, and complete closure came when freight traffic ceased in 1963. One of the intermediate stations was Rowlands Gill, the setting for Peppercorn Class K1 2-6-0 62059 on 31st August 1958 at the head of the SLS West Durham Rail Tour. This visited several redundant County Durham lines, and we will see it again.

Blackhill, on the west side of Consett, was the usual passenger terminus for Derwent Valley line trains. Originally named Benfieldside station, it was open from 1867 until 1955, having also been known as Consett & Blackhill for a short time. Until 1939, as well as the trains to Newcastle, there was a through service to Darlington via Tow Law and Crook. Gresley Class V1 2-6-2T 67658 has arrived from Newcastle and stands at the northbound platform.

The complete lack of activity on the platforms and empty goods yard do not bode well for the future of the line.

Following passenger closure however, the coal yard, accessed from Consett Low Yard, continued in operation for another 25 years.

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West of Durham

A very early passenger closure was 1,150 feet up on the bleak Durham moors at Waskerley, where the Stockton & Darlington Railway arrived from Bishop Auckland in 1845. Passengers were carried, but only until about 1860. It was already on the Stanhope & Tyne Railroad connecting Weardale to South Shields. The line continued to carry limestone until the 1960s, since when much of the village that grew around the railway has been abandoned. In this pre-1946 photograph, Waskerley’s simple engine shed was home to LNER Class N8 0-6-2T 1105, former NER Class B, later to be renumbered as BR 69389. One of a class of 62, they were Thomas W. Worsdell’s first design in 1886. The Class C 0-6-0, LNER J21, was the tender locomotive version.

Tow Law’s Stockton & Darlington Railway station of 1847 was sited at the top of the rope-worked Sunniside incline on the way to Waskerley. A new locomotive-worked route was engineered by the NER, opening in 1868, which necessitated a new station, seen here. From 1939 it became the terminus of the line from Darlington via Crook, following the demise of the section north to Blackhill. In this form it survived until 1956 after which it handled freight only, and total closure followed in 1965. Robinson Great Central Railway design Class A5 4-6-2T 69842, one of several allocated to the North Eastern Region, has arrived with a train from Darlington.

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West of Durham Left Top: The Stockton & Darlington Railway’s original line north from Crook to Consett via Waskerley used a series of rope-worked inclined planes, and as mentioned above, all were eventually bypassed by deviations on gentler gradients. Crook was reached by 1844 and it became the terminus for trains from Darlington, 18½ miles away, when the line to Tow Law was severed in 1956. The last train for Bishop Auckland and Darlington departed in 1965. In this photograph from 1st June 1963, a three-car BR Derby-built diesel multiple unit stands at the single platform. At this time there were nineteen trains every weekday. A Gresley full brake is in a siding to the left.

Left Bottom: The Durham to Bishop Auckland route had just four intermediate stations; Brandon Colliery, Brancepeth, Willington and Hunwick. It opened in 1857, and from 1872 the new main line to Ferryhill diverged from it at Relly Mill Junction. Several collieries were served by the line. Closure occurred in 1964 when the Sunderland to Bishop Auckland service ended, the line continuing to carry through freight trains until 1968. Class A8 4-6-2T 69893 was photographed heading south at Hunwick on 3rd September 1958. Between here and Bishop Auckland the train would cross the eleven arches of Newton Cap viaduct, which now carries the A689 road over the River Wear.

The NER’s Lanchester branch connected Blackhill with Durham and provided a more direct route for ironstone from Teesside to Consett. The line opened in 1862 and along its route several new collieries were sunk, taking advantage of the new transport link. The West Durham Rail Tour of 31st August 1958, seen earlier at Rowlands Gill, traversed the line and K1 2-6-0 62059 was photographed at Lanchester. It closed to passengers in 1939 but remained open for freight until 1965. The station building, right of the locomotive, shared its stepped-gable architecture with North Yorkshire’s Esk Valley line stations, and Goathland. Their architect was Thomas Prosser, later better known for York’s magnificent 1877 station.

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What began as the Deerness Valley Railway was sold to the NER before it was built. It commenced freight operation in 1858, and passengers were carried from 1877. It was principally a coal-carrying concern and passenger traffic was a lower priority. It was famous for its unusual timber trestle viaduct near Ushaw Moor.

There were multiple branches serving collieries and other industries. Waterhouses station was on the edge of the pit village of Esh Winning. By 1949 there was just one passenger train per weekday, and closure came in 1951.

Flass Junction, just east of Waterhouses, gave access to Esh Colliery, and here we see G5 0-4-4T 67283 on its way from Durham to Waterhouses, probably with a Durham Miners’ Gala train. Coal traffic continued until 1964.

Right Top: Between Darlington and Bishop Auckland is the railway town of Shildon, which developed around the Stockton & Darlington Railway, and which was until 1984 the site of a major BR wagon works.

On 7th August 1961, LMSR-design Ivatt Class 4MT 2-6-0 43129 heads a westbound passenger train past extensive sidings where a Drewry diesel-mechanical shunter is on duty. The line was part of the original 1825 route along which George Stephenson’s Locomotion hauled its first train. That locomotive, along with Robert Stephenson’s Rocket and its Rainhill Trials rival, Hackworth’s Sans Pareil, now occupy the National Railway Museum’s Locomotion outstation, built on the sidings on the right, where they share the space with more modern exhibits.

Right Bottom: Looking in the opposite direction from the same overbridge, Shildon station curves to the right towards Bishop Auckland, from which direction a Gresley Class J39 0-6-0 is hauling a freight train.

The rails on the left once continued to West Auckland via the Brusselton Incline, where today the original stone block sleepers and winding engine house can be seen in situ. The wagon works, which in employment terms was to Shildon what the steelworks was to Consett, was a short distance along this line. Timothy Hackworth’s Soho locomotive workshop, his cottage, and the substantial Stockton & Darlington Railway coal drops can all be seen today. Shildon signal box, above the third wagon, also survives.

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West of Durham

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West of Durham Left Top: The town of Bishop Auckland possessed a junction station on a triangular site. Its first station was opened by the Stockton & Darlington Railway in 1843 and several rebuilds followed before the 1905 NER station was completed. There were curved platforms to the north for Durham, and a straight platform pointing west for trains to Crook or Weardale. There was also a west to north curve completing the triangle. The Crook platform is seen here on 10th April 1965, with the Durham platforms beyond. Preserved Gresley Class K4 2-6-0 3442 The Great Marquess in LNER livery is on its way to St Johns Chapel in Weardale with The North Eastern No.2 Rail Tour, seen at Consett with 9F 92097. Several of its excited passengers have spilled onto the track in front of the locomotive to get their photographs.

Left Bottom: Diverging from the Bishop Auckland to Crook line at Wear Valley Junction was the 22 mile rural branch into Weardale, terminating at Wearhead. The principal reason for its existence was the conveyance of minerals and stone from various quarries, but passengers were also carried. The first section from Wear Valley Junction to Frosterley opened in 1847. That included Wolsingham, seen in this undated photograph of Class J21 0-6-0 65061 with a train for Wearhead. Note the fine station building on the left, which survives as a private house, and the charming signal box. It lost its passenger service in 1953.

In 1862 the railway was extended from Frosterley to the town of Stanhope. Much earlier in the book we saw the five-day North East Railtour at Ponteland. On the previous day of its itinerary, 28th September 1963, it visited Stanhope behind Thompson Class B1 4-6-0 61037 Jairou. This is now part of the heritage Weardale Railway, which operates the sixteen miles between here and Bishop Auckland, mostly with diesel trains but has used steam on occasion. The aforementioned Stanhope & Tyne Railroad was not connected, and started almost a mile to the north-west at Lane Head.

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The final section of the Weardale railway through Eastgate to Wearhead was completed as late as 1895. The previous terminus, whose building still stands, at Stanhope was replaced by a new through station. Following the end of passenger services on the line, Eastgate, three miles west of Stanhope, was for many years the end of the branch, its cement works generating freight traffic until 1993. It was the reason the line was able to be saved for heritage use. Eastgate station was open from 1895 until 1953, serving a population of fewer than 200, which was unable to sustain economic passenger traffic. Gresley Class J39 0-6-0 64927 was photographed there with a westbound coal train.

Right Top: The line continued through St Johns Chapel to the terminus at Wearhead. There had been an early ambition to extend it further, climbing out of the valley over the moors to Alston, ten miles away, and eventually Carlisle but this never came to fruition.

Like Eastgate, its passenger service operated from 1895 to 1953, but freight was curtailed in 1961. In an image obviously predating 1953, Worsdell Class J21 0-6-0 65068 is taking water and a drop of lubricating oil at Wearhead before returning down the valley to Bishop Auckland. Trains were allowed a generous 1 hour and 40 minutes to cover the 37 miles to Darlington.

Right Bottom: West Auckland was first served by passenger trains of the Stockton & Darlington Railway via rope-worked inclines from Shildon. By 1863, West Auckland found itself on the route of the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway between Barnard Castle and Bishop Auckland. The company had opened its ambitious line west from Barnard Castle to Tebay in Westmorland two years earlier. Iron ore was brought east, with coal and coke heading west. The line featured the breathtaking Belah Viaduct, another of Thomas Bouch’s designs, which is now sadly gone. On 23rd April 1962, shortly after closure of the Stainmore line, West Auckland engine shed hosted Q6 0-8-0 63407, Standard 4MT 2-6-0 76048 and J26 0-6-0 65735. This latter class was the precursor to the more numerous J27, which had a deeper firebox.

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As well as the line from Bishop Auckland to Barnard Castle, the latter station was also reached by a direct route from Darlington. Piercebridge, beside the River Tees, was one of the intermediate stations, and was in passenger use from 1856 until 1964. By that time it was served only by trains on the Darlington to Middleton-in-Teesdale service. Like many smaller stations, gas lighting sufficed even in BR days. Worsdell Class J21 0-6-0 65110 is seen here heading east. This locomotive was built at Gateshead works and lasted in service from 1892 until 1960.

Although Piercebridge’s station building was demolished, its station house and goods shed survive in residential use.

As mentioned previously, the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway crossed the Pennines on a difficult route to Kirkby Stephen and Tebay via Stainmore Summit, altitude 1,370 feet. Just like the modern A66 which runs parallel, it was often the first route to be blocked by snow, as depicted in the famous 1955 BFI documentary, ‘Snowdrift at Bleath Gill’. By 11th June 1962, the date of this photograph, the only trains beyond Barnard Castle were on the Middleton-in-Teesdale branch, the likely origin of this train hauled by Stanier LMSR design 2-6-4T 42553. Barnard Castle closed to passengers in 1964 and to freight the following year, yet another casualty of the “Beeching Axe”.

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RAILWAYS OF

NORTHUMBERLAND & DURHAM Railways of Northumberland & Durham

It is a land of great contrasts, though less so since the demise of its traditional industries. Outside of the once smoke-blackened conurbations of Tyneside, Wearside and Teesside there are few major towns, and this is reflected in today’s railway map. On the modern railway, so much of the former North Eastern Railway has gone and nothing remains of the Northumbrian section of the North British Railway. With hindsight, some of those closures are regrettable, but at least one line is making a passenger comeback in the 21st century.

Of the railways that did close forever, there is still much to see. Driving across Northumberland and Durham the motorist frequently encounters viaducts, bridges and embankments, substantial stations and other buildings converted into accommodation or other imaginative uses. This book sets out to ISBN 978-1-913251-87-1 portray the railways of those two counties as they were in the latter days of steam between nationalisation and rationalisation.

Published by Transport Treasury Publishing Ltd. £14.95

Compiled by Colin Alexander

The border county of Northumberland and the Land of the Prince Bishops, County Durham, are both steeped in history. From the uninhabited uplands of the Pennines and Cheviots to the coast there are ancient hillforts, substantial Roman remains and dozens of castles. Railway history is in abundance too, with evidence of some of Britain’s earliest wagonways, the economic harnessing of steam power thanks to local heroes Hedley, Hackworth and the Stephensons, and of course the Stockton & Darlington Railway which is about to celebrate its bicentennial.

Compiled by Colin Alexander