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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.
After the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) in 1825 to transport coal from the Witton Park Colliery to Newport on the River Tees, railways had been expanding across County Durham to provide coal mine owners with access to cheap economic transport.
Bishop Auckland gained its first rail link in 1842, [1] when the S&DR backed Bishop Auckland and Weardale Railway (BA&WR) gained the powers via an Act of Parliament to build a railway line from the S&DR's station at Shildon via Bishop Auckland and Witton-le-Wear into Crook, County Durham. [2] After the completion of Shildon Tunnel, the BA&WR erected a permanent station in the town which opened to freight on 8 November 1843, and passengers on 30 January 1843. [2] All operations were sub-leased as agreed to the S&DR. [2]
The opening of Bishop Auckland created a new railway junction, with lines eventually progressing north to Crook and Weardale (accessing limestone reserves along the River Wear valley); and south to Tebay via Barnard Castle. However, there were still coal mines to the east of Bishop Auckland, and the substantial passenger traffic from Durham. [3]
Developed by North Eastern Railway (NER), they built a new terminus in Tenter Street, Bishop Auckland. The line to Durham opened to freight on 19 August 1856 and passengers on 1 April 1857. There were intermediate stations at Hunwick, Willington and Brancepeth, while a fourth station serving Brandon Colliery opened in 1861. [3]
However, the S&DR and NER quickly came to the agreement of development of a joint station at Bishop Auckland, and so rebuilt the existing former BA&WR station, with NER trains using it from December 1857. [2] [3]
Although there were three existing stations within Durham, the NER choose to develop a new fourth station site on the current location, requiring a viaduct over North Road and a further viaduct over the River Browney immediately to the south. As Durham gained connections to along both the Deerness Valley Railway and the Lanchester Railway, the three lines connected at Deerness Valley Junction. In 1871 the NER developed a new line from Tursdale through Durham, and onwards north to Newcastle Central via Chester-le-Street. This soon became the main line between London and Newcastle, the current East Coast Main Line. The existing lines connected with the new mainline via Rellymill Junction. [3]
Hunwick lost its freight service in 1958. Scheduled passenger services between Sunderland, Durham and Bishop Auckland ceased in May 1964, although in July 1964 a Durham Miners' Gala train used the line to pick up passengers. Freight services were ceased from Brancepeth, Willington and Brandon Collieries from 10 August 1964. The line remained in place until 1968, when contractors removed the residual track. [3]
Since closure of all three branchlines, the mainline between Rellymill Junction to Deerness Valley Junction has been incorporated into a realigned East Coast Main Line curve, eased to increase line speed. [3]
After lying derelict for over 25 years, 9 miles (14 km) of the former trackbed has been redeveloped by Durham County Council as the Brandon to Bishop Auckland rail trail. [4]
In January 2019, Campaign for Better Transport released a report identifying the line which was listed as Priority 2 for reopening. Priority 2 is for those lines which require further development or a change in circumstances (such as housing developments). [5]
The line served a number of collieries:
The Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) was a railway company that operated in north-east England from 1825 to 1863. The world's first public railway to use steam locomotives, its first line connected collieries near Shildon with Darlington and Stockton-on-Tees in County Durham, and was officially opened on 27 September 1825. The movement of coal to ships rapidly became a lucrative business, and the line was soon extended to a new port at Middlesbrough. While coal waggons were hauled by steam locomotives from the start, passengers were carried in coaches drawn by horses until carriages hauled by steam locomotives were introduced in 1833.
The Weardale Railway is an independently-owned British single-track branch line heritage railway between Bishop Auckland, Witton-le-Wear, Wolsingham, Frosterley and Stanhope. Weardale Railway began services on 23 May 2010, but decided to run special trains rather than a scheduled service for the 2013 season. The line was purchased by the Auckland Project in 2020 with a view to restarting passenger services. In 2021, a bid was submitted to the 'Restoring Your Railways fund. In October 2021, the Department for Transport allocated funding for the development of a business case.
Witton-le-Wear is a village in County Durham, North East England. It is situated on the north bank of the River Wear, 6 km (3.7 mi) to the north-west of Bishop Auckland.
Escomb is a village on the River Wear about 1+1⁄2 miles (2.4 km) west of Bishop Auckland, County Durham, England. Escomb was a civil parish until 1960, when it and a number of other civil parishes in the area were dissolved. In 2001 it had a population of 358. In 2011 the ward had a population of 3323.
Bishop Auckland is a railway station that serves the market town of Bishop Auckland in County Durham, North East England, 11 miles 77 chains (19.3 km) north-west of Darlington. The station is the Western terminus of the Tees Valley Line, which links it to Saltburn via Darlington. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
The Deerness Valley Railway was an 8-mile long single track branch railway line that ran along the valley of the River Deerness in County Durham, England. Built by the North Eastern Railway, it ran from Deerness Valley Junction, on the Durham to Bishop Auckland line, to the coal mines along the valley via two intermediate stations, Waterhouses, and Ushaw Moor.
West Auckland railway station served the villages of St Helen Auckland and West Auckland in County Durham, England, between 1833 and 1962. It was on the railway line between Bishop Auckland and Barnard Castle. There was a locomotive depot, which was the only one to be both closed completely and later reopened by the London and North Eastern Railway.
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.
The Lanchester Valley Railway was an English railway line that was developed by the North Eastern Railway to run between Durham to Consett. Extending 12 miles (19 km) along the valley of the River Browney, it opened on 1 September 1862. Closed under the Beeching Axe, it has been redeveloped by Durham County Council as a foot and cycle path as the Lanchester Valley Railway Path.
The Castle Eden Railway was a railway line built by the North Eastern Railway between Bowesfield Junction near Stockton-on-Tees and Wingate, County Durham, Northeast England. Although its route actually never went near Castle Eden, it was also informally known as the "Cuckoo Line".
Crook railway station served the town of Crook, County Durham, England. It was located on the Bishop Auckland and Weardale Railway line from Bishop Auckland to Blackhill between Wear Valley Junction and Tow Law, 17 miles (27 km) north west of Darlington.
Brancepeth railway station served the village of Brancepeth, County Durham, North East England from 1857 to 1964 on the Durham to Bishop Auckland Line.
Willington railway station served the town of Willington, County Durham, North East England from 1857 to 1964 on the Durham to Bishop Auckland Line.
Eastgate railway station, also known as Eastgate-in-Weardale, served the village of Eastgate in County Durham, North East England from 1895 to 1953 as a stop on the Wear Valley Line.
Harperley railway station served the Harperley Hall Estate and the nearby hamlet of Low Harperley, close to the village of Fir Tree in County Durham, North East England between 1861 and 1864 and again from 1892 to 1953 as a stop on the Wear Valley Line.
Witton-le-Wear railway station is a railway station on the Weardale heritage railway serves the village of Witton-le-Wear in County Durham, North East England, and is the penultimate stop for most of line's eastbound passenger services. The current station platform is located on the opposite side of the track to the original railway station which was operation between 1847 and 1953.
Etherley railway station served the village of Witton Park in County Durham, North East England, from 1847 to 1965 on the Wear Valley line. It was briefly reopened during the summers of 1991 and 1992 as Witton Park.
