Blackhall Colliery railway station

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Blackhall Colliery
Blackhall Colliery Station site of 1814182 121752de.jpg
Site of Blackhall Colliery station in September 1970.
General information
Location Blackhall Colliery, County Durham
England
Coordinates 54°45′02″N1°17′30″W / 54.7505°N 1.2917°W / 54.7505; -1.2917 Coordinates: 54°45′02″N1°17′30″W / 54.7505°N 1.2917°W / 54.7505; -1.2917
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company LNER
Post-grouping LNER
British Rail (North Eastern)
Key dates
24 July 1936Station opened
4 May 1964Station closed

Blackhall Colliery railway station served the village of Blackhall Colliery in County Durham, North East England. It was located on the Durham Coast Line, north of Blackhall Rocks and south of Horden.

Contents

History

The North Eastern Railway opened their new coastal line linking the former Londonderry, Seaham and Sunderland Railway at Seaham and the former Hartlepool Dock and Railway at Hart to passenger traffic on 1 April 1905. [1] This line was built, primarily, to avoid the steep gradients of the inland route at Ryhope Bank and Hesleden [2] but also provided access to the newly developed collieries along the Durham Coast. [3]

However, when the line was opened, the NER chose to build the station to serve the Blackhalls at what became Blackhall Rocks as sinking of the colliery at Blackhall did not begin until 1909 and thus the main traffic that was expected to use the station was that of tourists visiting the caves at Blackhall Rocks. [4] This meant that the village that developed to serve the colliery was left some distance from their nearest railway station.

Eventually, the London and North Eastern Railway (LNER), who had absorbed the NER in 1923, agreed to open an additional station to serve Blackhall Colliery. Construction of the station began on 6 July 1936 and was opened, just 18 days later, on 24 July 1936 by the then manager of Blackhall Colliery and county councillor Ernest Chicken who then proceeded to purchase the first ticket from the station ticket office. [5]

The station was recommended for closure in the Beeching Report and was duly closed on 4 May 1964 [6] when all stopping services on the line between Sunderland and Hartlepool were withdrawn. Passenger services continue pass through the site of the station but run non-stop between Seaham and Hartlepool. [7]

Related Research Articles

Durham Coast Line

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Castle Eden Railway

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Seaham Hall Dene railway station Disused railway station in Seaham, County Durham

Seaham Hall Dene railway station was a private railway station that served Seaham Hall, the then a home of the Marquess of Londonderry close to the town of Seaham, County Durham, England from 1875 to 1925 on the Durham Coast Line.

Greatham railway station Disused railway station in Greatham, County Durham

Greatham railway station served the village of Greatham in the Borough of Hartlepool, North East England, from 1841 to 1991 on what became the Durham Coast Line.

Norton-on-Tees railway station Disused railway station in Norton, County Durham

Norton-on-Tees railway station served the village of Norton, County Durham, England from 1877 to 1960, originally on the Port Clarence Branch of the Clarence Railway. For much of its later life the station was also a minor stop on the Durham Coast Line.

Horden railway station Railway station in County Durham on the Durham Coast Line

Horden is a railway station on the Durham Coast Line, which runs between Newcastle and Middlesbrough via Hartlepool. The station, situated 10 miles 74 chains (17.6 km) south-east of Sunderland, serves the town of Peterlee and villages of Blackhall Colliery and Horden in County Durham, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Wellfield railway station

Wellfield railway station was a railway station built by the North Eastern Railway (NER) on the route of the Hartlepool Dock & Railway (HD&R) to allow interchange between the existing line and their newly opened line from Stockton-on-Tees which had opened to passenger traffic just two years earlier. When first built, the station was located in a rural area, being located immediately to the north of the bridge carrying the Durham to Hartlepool road over the railway line. However the village of Wingate in County Durham, North East England gradually expanded northwards over the course of the station's life and as a result, the station became one of two to serve the village. It was also located only a relatively short distance from the Castle Eden Brewery and thus served the northern district of Castle Eden that surrounds it.

Seaham Harbour railway station

Seaham Harbour railway station was a railway station that served the town of Seaham Harbour in County Durham, North East England. For much of its existence, it was the southern passenger terminus of the Londonderry, Seaham and Sunderland Railway but declined in importance after the opening of the nearby Seaham Colliery station and the extension of the line to West Hartlepool by that company's successor.

Easington railway station

Easington railway station served the town of Easington Colliery and Easington Village in County Durham, North East England. It was located on the Durham Coast Line between the stations at Horden and Seaham.

Shotton Bridge railway station

Shotton Bridge railway station was a railway station built by the North Eastern Railway (NER) on the route of the Hartlepool Dock & Railway (HD&R) as part of a programme of works to modernise that line and link it with the Durham & Sunderland Railway (D&SR) so as to create a railway through-route between West Hartlepool and Sunderland. On opening, the station served the relatively new village of Shotton Colliery, which grew around the nearby Shotton Grange Colliery, as well as Old Shotton on the Stockton to Sunderland turnpike road, further to the east.

Ryhope railway station Disused railway station in Ryhope, Tyne and Wear

Ryhope was one of was one of two railway stations to have served the village of Ryhope, Tyne & Wear, North East England. For much of its existence, it was served by the Durham–Sunderland and Hartlepool–Haswell–Sunderland lines.

Hart railway station Disused railway station in Hart, County Durham

Hart was built as rural railway station in 1839 to serve the village of Hart, approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) to the south west, and the settlement of Crimdon, approximately 0.5 miles (0.80 km) to the north, in County Durham, North East England. By the time of the station's final closure in 1963, it had also come to serve the small settlement of Hart Station that had grown around it and which would later become a suburb of Hartlepool.

Blackhall Rocks railway station Disused railway station in Blackhall Colliery, County Durham

Blackhall Rocks was one of two railway stations to have served the Blackhalls in County Durham, North East England, and was a stop on the Durham Coast Line. The station was poorly sited for the village that grew around Blackhall Colliery in the years following its opening and, after the opening of the more conveniently sited Blackhall Colliery station in 1936, it came to primarily serve the more southerly village of Blackhall Rocks.

References

  1. ↑ Body, Geoffrey (1989). PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2. Patrick Stephens Limited. pp. 66, 85 &150. ISBN   1852600721.
  2. ↑ Hill, Norman (2001). Teesside Railways A View From The Past. Ian Allan Publishing Ltd. p. 48. ISBN   0711028036.
  3. ↑ "blackhall_history_1_7" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  4. ↑ Cliffs, Caves and Coal A Short History of the Blackhalls Area up to 1920. Deneholme Publishing. 2001. pp. 9, 19, 53 & 55. ISBN   0954149203.
  5. ↑ Blackhall Between The Wars - Part One - The Colliery and its influence. Blackhalls Local History Group. 2004. p. 49. ISBN   0954149211.
  6. ↑ Waller, Paul (2013). Rail Atlas The Beeching Era. Ian Allan Publishing ltd. pp. 67 & 104. ISBN   9780711035492.
  7. ↑ "Route 02 - Nunthorpe and Middlesbrough to Newcastle and Metrocentre" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Blackhall Rocks
Line open; station closed		  London and North Eastern Railway
Durham Coast Line 		  Horden
Line open; station closed


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