Blyth | |
|---|---|
 View from street in 1965 | |
| Location | Blyth, Northumberland England |
| Platforms | 2 |
| Other information | |
| Status | Disused |
| History | |
| Pre-grouping | North Eastern Railway |
| Post-grouping | London and North Eastern Railway British Railways |
| Key dates | |
| 3 March 1847 | First station opened |
| 1 May 1867 | Second station opened; first station closed |
| 1894–96 | Rebuilt |
| 2 November 1964 | Closed |
| 1972 | Demolished |
Blyth railway station served Blyth, Northumberland on the Blyth Branch line [1] in Northeast England.
The Blyth, Seghill and Percy Main Railway opened the line to Blyth on 3 March 1847 [2] and the first station was at Croft Street (now King Street). [3] On 1 May 1867 a new station was opened to replace the original station. [4] It was at the north end of Turner Street [1] (now part of Regent Street) on the site now occupied by Morrisons supermarket and the Community Hospital.
The Blyth, Seghill and Percy Main Railway became the Blyth and Tyne Railway in 1853 and was taken over by the North Eastern Railway (NER) in 1874. By the 1890s the increase in goods and passenger traffic [5] was such that a new station was needed. The NER originally planned to build a new station on newly reclaimed land on Bridge Street, between Union Street and Beaconsfield Street, but these were turned down after an objection from the neighbouring Thomas Knight Memorial Hospital, on the grounds of noise. [6]
The NER therefore rebuilt the existing station between 1894 and 1896, [7] at a cost of £20,000. Most of the building was by J & W Simpson of Blyth. [5] Despite being next to a through line, the station was a terminus. It faced Turner Street and had a single island platform projecting from the rear which was half covered by a glazed apex canopy. [5] Adjacent were a goods shed next to Delaval Terrace and a coaling stage. To the west stood South Blyth loco shed, first built in 1879 with three roads and extended to six roads in 1895, [8] and a cattle dock. To the north passed the freight-only lines to the NER coaling staiths, Blyth gas works, Blyth Harbour Commission and shipyard. [9]
The station originally had two signal boxes: Blyth Signal Box at the end of the passenger platforms and Blyth Crossing Box controlling the level crossing near the engine shed on Renwick Road (previously Alexandra Crescent). Blyth Signal Box was destroyed by a German parachute mine on the night of 25 April 1941, killing the signaller instantly. [10] Thereafter only Blyth Crossing Box was used.
Passenger services were withdrawn on 2 November 1964 [4] under The Reshaping of British Railways ; [11] the station buildings stood derelict until they were demolished in 1972. [7] Today nothing remains of the station itself or associated buildings, except for the Station Master's house in Delaval Terrace which survives as a private home.
By the 1990s local councils were considering the feasibility of restoring passenger services linking Ashington and Blyth with Newcastle Central. [12] These early, informal, proposals suggested serving Blyth, not by reopening the branch to Blyth, but by reopening Newsham station where the Blyth branch joined the now freight-only Blyth and Tyne main line.
Denis Murphy, the then Labour MP for Wansbeck, expressed support in the House of Commons in an adjournment debate in April 1999 and again in a debate in January 2007. [13] The Railway Development Society (renamed Railfuture in 2000) also endorsed the proposal in 1998. [12]
Later, in 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies published a £34 million proposal to restore passenger services from Newcastle to Ashington, serving Blyth in this way. [14]
In the early 2010s, Northumberland County Council (NCC) became interested in the reintroduction of passenger services onto remaining freight-only sections of the former Blyth and Tyne Railway network. In June 2013 NCC commissioned Network Rail to complete a GRIP 1 study to examine the best options for the scheme. [15] The GRIP 1 study was received by NCC in March 2014 and in June 2015 they initiated a more detailed GRIP 2 Feasibility Study at a cost of £850,000. [16]
The GRIP 2 study, which NCC received in October 2016, confirmed that the reintroduction of a frequent seven-day a week passenger service between Newcastle and Ashington was feasible and could provide economic benefits of £70 million with more than 380,000 people using the line each year by 2034. [17] The study suggested that due to redevelopment of sections of the former branch line, Blyth should be served by a new park and ride station close to the site of Bebside station, though Newsham would also be reopened to serve the Newsham area of the town. [18] At the time it was suggested that, subject to funding being raised for the £191 million [17] scheme, detailed design work could begin in October 2018 with construction commencing four months later and the first passenger services introduced in 2021 [17] though by October 2018 such works were yet to begin.
After receiving the GRIP 2 study, NCC initially announced that they were preceding with a GRIP 3 Study from Network Rail but such a report was not commissioned at the time. [19] Despite a change in the political leadership of Northumberland County Council following the 2017 local elections [20] the authority continued to work towards the reintroduction of a passenger service onto the line, [21] encouraged by the Department for Transport's November 2017 report, A Strategic Vision for Rail, which named the line as a possible candidate for a future reintroduction of passenger services. [22] [23] Consequentially, NCC commissioned a further interim study in November 2017 (dubbed GRIP 2B) to determine whether high costs and long timescales identified in the GRIP 2 Study could be reduced by reducing the initial scope of the project but the report failed to deliver on this. [19]
The county council has, however, continued to develop the project, announcing an additional £3.46 million in funding for a further business case and detailed design study [24] (equivalent to GRIP 3) [19] to be completed by the end of 2019. However, the revised proposals, released in July 2019, are reduced in scope from the plan considered in the 2016 GRIP 2 study and propose 4-phase project [25] to reduce the initial cost of the scheme. Indeed, under the £90 million Phase 1, [24] Newsham would be the only station reopened to serve Blyth on the Newcastle to Ashington Northumberland Line passenger service; [25] possibly occurring as early as 2022. [24] The park and ride station at Bebside proposed in the GRIP 2 study is instead proposed as an additional station to be added in Phase 2. [25]
The North East Joint Transport Committee's bid for £377 million of funding from the UK Government's £1.28 billion Transfroming Cities Fund, submitted on 20 June 2019, includes £99 million to fund the reintroduction of passenger services between Newcastle, Newsham and Ashington, [26] while further work is ongoing to secure additional public and private investment for the project. [27]
Blyth is a town and civil parish in southeast Northumberland, England. It lies on the coast, to the south of the River Blyth and is approximately 13 miles (21 km) northeast of Newcastle upon Tyne. It has a population of about 37,000, as of 2011.
Morpeth is a railway station on the East Coast Main Line, which runs between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley. The station, situated 16 miles 50 chains (27 km) north of Newcastle, serves the market town of Morpeth, Northumberland, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Newcastle Central Station is a major railway station in Newcastle upon Tyne. It is located on the East Coast Main Line, around 268 miles (432 km) north of London King's Cross.
The North Eastern Railway (NER) was an English railway company. It was incorporated in 1854 by the combination of several existing railway companies. Later, it was amalgamated with other railways to form the London and North Eastern Railway at the Grouping in 1923. Its main line survives to the present day as part of the East Coast Main Line between London and Edinburgh.
The North Tyneside Steam Railway and Stephenson Steam Railway are visitor attractions in North Tyneside, North East England. The museum and railway workshops share a building on Middle Engine Lane adjacent to the Silverlink Retail Park. The railway is a standard gauge line, running south for 2 miles (3.2 km) from the museum to Percy Main. The railway is operated by the North Tyneside Steam Railway Association (NTSRA). The museum is managed by Tyne and Wear Archives and Museums on behalf of North Tyneside Council.
Northumberland Park is a Tyne and Wear Metro station, serving the village of Backworth and suburbs of Northumberland Park and West Allotment, North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It joined the network on 11 December 2005.
The Tyneside Electrics were the suburban railways on Tyneside that the North Eastern Railway and the London and North Eastern Railway electrified using the third rail system. The North Tyneside Loop was electrified from 1904 onwards and formed one of the earliest suburban electric networks; the South Tyneside line to South Shields via Pelaw was electrified in March 1938. British Railways converted these lines to diesel operation in the 1960s: the line to South Shields in January 1963 and the North Tyneside lines in June 1967 when the electrical supply infrastructure and the rolling stock had become life expired. In addition, the system was losing passengers and suffering from costly vandalism. Since the late 1970s, much of the system has been converted to form the Tyne and Wear Metro.
The Blyth and Tyne Railway was a railway company in Northumberland, England. It was incorporated in 1853 to unify several private railways and waggonways that were concerned with bringing coal from the Northumberland coalfield to Blyth and to the River Tyne. Over the years, it expanded its network to include Ashington, Morpeth and Tynemouth. As coal output increased, the company became very prosperous in hauling the mineral to quays for export and, in addition, a residential passenger service based on Newcastle built up.
Manors is a railway station on the East Coast Main Line, which runs between London King's Cross and Edinburgh Waverley. The station serves the Shieldfield and Quayside areas of Newcastle upon Tyne, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains. The Tyne and Wear Metro station of the same name is not directly connected, and is located a short walk away.
Ashington is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, with a population of 27,864 at the 2011 Census. It was once a centre of the coal mining industry. The town is 15 miles (24 km) north of Newcastle upon Tyne, west of the A189 and bordered to the south by the River Wansbeck. The North Sea coast at Newbiggin-by-the-Sea is 3 miles (5 km) away.
Ashington railway station was a station on the Newbiggin-by-the-Sea branch of the Blyth and Tyne Railway network which served the town of Ashington in Northumberland, North East England. The station was closed by British Railways in 1964, but it has been the subject of a reopening campaign since at least the 1990s.
The Wansbeck Railway was a single track railway line in Northumberland, England, that ran from Morpeth to Reedsmouth, where it made a junction with the Border Counties Railway. Conceived as part of a through trunk route for the North British Railway, it never achieved its potential. It opened in stages from 1862 to 1865. The population was sparse and mineral traffic kept the line going.
South Gosforth Traction Maintenance Depot (TMD) is a vehicle cleaning, maintenance and stabling facility used by the Tyne and Wear Metro. It was originally constructed for the London and North Eastern Railway, opening in October 1923.
Bedlington railway station was a railway station that served the town of Bedlington, Northumberland, England from 1850 to 1964 on the Blyth and Tyne Railway. The station was closed by British Railways in 1964, but it has been the subject of a reopening campaign since at least the 1990s.
Bebside railway station was a railway station that served the village of Bebside in Northumberland, North East England from 1850 to 1964. It is proposed that a new station should be opened close to the original to serve Blyth as part of the Northumberland Line project.
Newsham railway station served the village of Newsham near Blyth, England from 1851 to 1964 on the Blyth and Tyne Railway. It was located at the junction of the Percy Main to Blyth and Bedlington lines of the Blyth and Tyne Railway. The station was closed by British Railways in 1964, but it has been the subject of a reopening campaign since at least the 1990s.
Seaton Delaval railway station served the village of Seaton Delaval in Northumberland, North East England, from 1841 to 1965 on what became part of the Blyth and Tyne Railway. The construction of a new station has been proposed nearby as part of the Northumberland Line project.
Seghill railway station served the village of Seghill, Northumberland, England from 1841 to 1965 on the Blyth and Tyne Railway.
Woodhorn was a railway station proposed as part of the project to reintroduce passenger rail services onto the Ashington, Blyth & Tyne Railway which closed to passenger traffic in 1964. It was initially proposed that the newly reopened line could terminate at a new station, close to the Woodhorn Colliery Museum and Northumberland Archives, rather than at Ashington, the previous station however revised plans, released in July 2019 appear to have dropped Woodhorn station from project scope.
| Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Newsham Line open; station closed | Blyth and Tyne Railway | Terminus | ||