Blackhall Rocks railway station

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Blackhall Rocks
Blackhall Rocks Station site of 1814212 25d76923.jpg
The northern end of the site of the station in 1970.
Location Blackhall Rocks, County Durham
England
Coordinates 54°44′34″N1°16′34″W / 54.7429°N 1.2761°W / 54.7429; -1.2761 Coordinates: 54°44′34″N1°16′34″W / 54.7429°N 1.2761°W / 54.7429; -1.2761
Grid reference NZ467389
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company North Eastern Railway
Pre-grouping North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping
Key dates
July 1907 (1907-07)Opened
4 January 1960Closed to passengers
7 December 1964 (1964-12-07)Closed completely

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, [1] it came to primarily serve the more southerly village of Blackhall Rocks.

Contents

History

On 1 April 1905, the North Eastern Railway opened a new coastal line to link together the former Londonderry, Seaham and Sunderland Railway at Seaham and former Hartlepool Dock and Railway at Hart. [2] This line was built, primarily, to avoid the steep gradients of the older inland route at Ryhope and Hesleden Banks [3] but also provided access to the newly developing collieries of the Durham Coast. [4]

In July 1907, the NER added a station to serve the Blackhalls at what would become Blackhall Rocks. [5] The first station was likely sited here as the sinking of Blackhall Colliery would not begin until 1909 and thus, at the time, it was anticipated that the station would primarily be used by tourists visiting the caves at Blackhall Rocks. [1] This meant that the village that developed to serve the colliery was left some distance from their nearest railway station. Between the summer and 1 October 1919, the station was only served on Wednesdays and Saturdays. [5]

The NER became part of the London and North Eastern Railway as part of the 1923 grouping [3] and, on 24 July 1936, that company opened an additional station, [1] approximately 1 mile (1.6 km) to the north, to serve the colliery village. Although this meant that the station ceased to primarily serve that village, a community had begun to grow close to Blackhall Rocks station during the 1920s, making it not entirely redundant. LNER lines in the North East came under the control of the North Eastern Region of British Railways following its nationalisation in 1948. [3] By this time, passenger and goods traffic across the country was in decline and this was the case for Blackhall station, which closed to passengers on 4 January 1960 [5] and then to all traffic on 7 December 1960. [6]

Passenger services continue to pass through the site of the station, but the only station between Seaham and Hartlepool to have been reopened (as of 2021) is at Horden. [7]

Related Research Articles

Horden Human settlement in England

Horden is a village and electoral ward in County Durham, England. It is situated on the North Sea coast, to the east of Peterlee, approximately 12 miles south of Sunderland. Horden was a mining village until the closure of the Horden Colliery in 1987. Main features include the Welfare and Memorial Parks and St Mary's church. It is connected to the villages of Blackhall Colliery and Blackhall Rocks to its south by a spectacular rail viaduct which spans Castle Eden Dene near Denemouth. Horden Dene provides Horden's northern boundary with Easington Colliery.

Durham Coast Line

The Durham Coast Line is an approximately 39.5-mile (63.6 km) railway line running between Newcastle and Middlesbrough in North East England. Heavy rail passenger services, predominantly operated Northern Trains, and some freight services operate over the whole length of the line; it provides an important diversionary route at times when the East Coast Main Line is closed. Light rail services of the Tyne and Wear Metro's Green Line also operate over the same tracks between a junction just south of Sunderland station and Pelaw Junction.

Seaham railway station Railway station in County Durham, England

Seaham is a railway station on the Durham Coast Line, which runs between Newcastle and Middlesbrough via Hartlepool. The station, situated 5 miles 11 chains (8 km) south-east of Sunderland, serves the seaside town of Seaham in County Durham, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Clarence Railway Railway company

The Clarence Railway was an early railway company that operated in north-east England between 1833 and 1853. The railway was built to take coal from mines in County Durham to ports on the River Tees and was a competitor to the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR). It suffered financial difficulty soon after it opened because traffic was low and the S&DR charged a high rate for transporting coal to the Clarence, and the company was managed by the Exchequer Loan Commissioners after July 1834. An extension of the Byers Green branch was opened in 1839 by the independent West Durham Railway to serve collieries in Weardale.

Ferryhill railway station

Ferryhill was a railway station located in Ferryhill in County Durham, Northeast England. It was located on what became the East Coast Main Line between Darlington and Durham, close to the junctions with several former branches, including the extant freight-only Stillington Line to Norton-on-Tees and Stockton.

Durham to Bishop Auckland Line Railway line in County Durham, England

The Durham to Bishop Auckland Line was a railway line originally built by the North Eastern Railway (NER) to provide rail transport access to coal mines in West County Durham. It closed under the Beeching Axe to passenger traffic in May 1964, and freight in 1968. Today it forms the major part of the 9 miles (14 km) Brandon to Bishop Auckland rail trail.

Ryhope East was one of two railway stations to have served the village of Ryhope, Tyne and Wear, North East England. Opened in 1858 as a stop on the short Londonderry, Seaham and Sunderland Railway, it became a minor stop on the Durham Coast Line following that line's incorporation into it in 1905.

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 (20 km) south-east of Sunderland, serves the town of Peterlee and villages of Blackhall Colliery and Horden in County Durham, North East England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Blackhall Colliery railway station

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.

Coundon railway station

Coundon railway station was a railway station that served the villages of Coundon and New Coundon in County Durham, North East England from 1885 to 1939. It was located on the Bishop Auckland to Ferryhill of the North Eastern Railway (NER), an extension of the earlier Byers Green Branch of the Clarence Railway (CR).

Thorpe Thewles railway station

Thorpe Thewles railway station was a railway station on the Castle Eden branch of the North Eastern Railway (NER) from 1880 to 1931. It was located approximately 5 miles north of Stockton and was designed to serve the village of Thorpe Thewles and the civil parish of Grindon in Stockton-on-Tees, part of the Ceremonial County of Durham, North East England but, despite its name, was actually located further from the village of Thorpe Thewles than Carlton station on the main line of the Clarence Railway.

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.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Cliffs, Caves and Coal: A Short History of the Blackhalls Area up to 1920. Hartlepool: Deneholme Publishing. 2001. pp. 9, 19, 53, 55. ISBN   0954149203.
  2. ↑ Body, Geoffrey (1989). PSL Field Guides - Railways of the Eastern Region Volume 2. Patrick Stephens Limited. pp. 66, 85, 150. ISBN   1852600721.
  3. 1 2 3 Hill, Norman (2001). Teesside Railways A View From The Past. Ian Allan Publishing Ltd. pp. 48, 58, 65. ISBN   0711028036.
  4. ↑ "blackhall_history_1_7" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  5. 1 2 3 Quick, M. E. (2001). Railway passenger stations in England, Scotland and Wales - a chronology. Richmond: Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 81. OCLC   931112387.
  6. ↑ "Site of Blackhall Rocks Station © Ben Brooksbank cc-by-sa/2.0 :: Geograph Britain and Ireland". Geograph. Retrieved 10 February 2021.
  7. ↑ "temporary-timetable-for-mondays-to-saturdays-4167-qmvpwa.pdf" (PDF). Retrieved 16 February 2021.
Preceding station Historical railways Following station
Hart
Line open; station closed		  London and North Eastern Railway
Durham Coast Line 		  Blackhall Colliery
Line open; station closed


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