Lambton Collieries

Last updated

Lambton Collieries was a privately owned colliery and coal mining company, based in County Durham, England.

Contents

History

The name derives from Lambton Castle, the ancestral family home of the Lambton family.

With coal having been extracted in the area from the 1600s, [1] the commercial extraction of coal was developed by John Lambton in the lands surrounding the castle through the Wear Valley. The first of seven pits was sunk in the village of Bournmoor from 1783 onwards, which together were to make up what was known as Lambton Colliery. [2]

The company was first formed when Lambton's grandson, John Lambton the first Earl of Durham, entered Parliament as a Whig politician. The formal name change to Lambton Collieries was adopted in 1896.

In 1910 the company merged with Hetton Collieries to form Lambton & Hetton Collieries. In 1924, that company merged with Joicey Collieries to form Lambton, Hetton & Joicey Collieries.

In 1947, along with all of the other private coal companies of the United Kingdom, it was nationalised under the Coal Industry Nationalisation Act 1946 to form the National Coal Board.

Lambton Railway

Ex-Lambton Collieries 0-6-2T No.29 at the NCB works, Philadelphia, Tyne and Wear No 29 ready for duty at Philadelphia NCB shed.jpg
Ex-Lambton Collieries 0-6-2T No.29 at the NCB works, Philadelphia, Tyne and Wear

To enable the coal extracted from the collieries to be transported to the River Wear, from 1737 the company had constructed a horse-drawn tramway from Fatfield to Cox Green. In 1819 the Lambton's bought the Newbottle wagonway, and connected this to the Lambton Railway with a line between Bournmoor and Philadelphia. This now meant that the company had a direct route from its collieries to the River Wear, where it constructed Lambton Staithes within the Port of Sunderland. [3]

The company went steam powered from 1814, initially with a series of 0-6-0T locomotives. However, due to the steepness of the route over Warden Law, which lies 570 feet (170 m) above sea level, the route was worked as a rope-incline with stationary engines until 1864. [3] By 1860, the Lambton was the largest of all the colliery railways in the northeast, totalling across its mainline and branches alone some 70 miles (110 km) of track. [4] Still mainly rope-incline worked and developed from original horse-drawn tramways, in the next 20 years it was reengineered to be mainly steam locomotive powered. [4]

In 1854 the North Eastern Railway was formed, which gave it control of the mainline from Darlington to Newcastle via the Leamside Line. In 1865, the NER opened a branch from Penshaw to Sunderland, which brought about a running-rights agreement between the Lambton and the NER to allow the company to run its trains over NER metals when required. This resulted in the company buying a new series of 0-6-0 tender locomotives to power these heavier mainline trains. [3] [4]

After Lambton Collieries merged with Hetton Collieries in 1911, the company gained control over the Hetton Railway, which was surveyed and laidout by George Stephenson from 1822 primarily for the use of steam locomotives. This was still mainly a rope-incline railway, which was made redundant through access to the Lambton Railway. The company did however additionally connect Lambton staithes to the Hetton staithes within the docks. [3]

In 1924 after the merger with Joicey Collieries, the company gained control of the Beamish Railway, although this remained a separate operation.

In 1959 the Hetton Railway via Warden Law was closed. A further spate of closures occurred in 1967 with Lambton Staithes being closed in January and the line to Pallion closing in August of the same year. [3]

Collieries

NameLocationSunkDepthClosedNotes
Lambton A Bournmoor 1783
Lambton B Bournmoor
Lambton C Bournmoor
Lambton D Bournmoor
Lambton E Bournmoor
Adolphus Pit [5] High Pittington 1826Named after Lord Adolphus Vane-Tempest, a son of the Marquess of Londonderry. All pits in the area were served by the Sherburnhouse branch of the Lambton Railway [5]
Londonderry Pit [5] High Pittington 1828Named after the Marquess of Londonderry [5]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanfield, County Durham</span> Human settlement in England

Tanfield is a village and former civil parish, now in the parish of Stanley, in the County Durham district, in the ceremonial county of Durham, England. It is near Stanley, and the location of Tanfield Railway, the Causey Arch and Tanfield School. The village was formerly a mining village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hetton-le-Hole</span> Town in Tyne and Wear, England

Hetton-le-Hole is a town and civil parish in the City of Sunderland, Tyne and Wear, England. It is in the historic county of Durham. A182 runs through the town, between Houghton-le-Spring and Easington Lane, off the A690 and close to the A1(M).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tanfield Railway</span> Preserved railway in County Durham, England

The Tanfield Railway is a 4 ft 8+12 instandard gauge heritage railway in Gateshead and County Durham, England. Running on part of a former horse-drawn colliery wooden waggonway, later rope & horse, lastly rope & loco railway. It operates preserved industrial steam locomotives. The railway operates a passenger service every Sunday, plus other days, as well as occasional demonstration coal, goods and mixed trains. The line runs 3 miles (4.8 km) between a southern terminus at East Tanfield, Durham, to a northern terminus at Sunniside, Gateshead. Another station, Andrews House, is situated near the Marley Hill engine shed. A halt also serves the historic site of the Causey Arch. The railway claims it is "the world's oldest railway" because it runs on a section dating from 1725, other parts being in use since 1621.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bowes Railway</span> British preserved standard gauge cable railway system (built 1826)

The Bowes Railway, built by George Stephenson in 1826, is the world's only operational preserved standard gauge cable railway system. It was built to transport coal from pits in Durham to boats on the River Tyne. The site is a scheduled monument. The railway is open every week on Thursday, Friday and Saturday as well as on a number of event days throughout the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Tyneside Steam Railway</span> Visitor attraction in North East England

The North Tyneside Steam Railway and Stephenson Steam Railway are visitor attractions in North Shields, 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bournmoor</span> Human settlement in England

Bournmoor is a village in County Durham, England, and is situated a short distance from Chester-le-Street.

<i>Eppleton Hall</i> (1914) Paddlewheel tugboat built in 1914

Eppleton Hall is a paddlewheel tugboat built in England in 1914. The only remaining intact example of a Tyne-built paddle tug, and one of only two surviving British-built paddle tugs, she is preserved at the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park in San Francisco, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Durham Coast Line</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">NER Class P3</span>

The North Eastern Railway (NER) Class P3, classified J27 by the LNER, is a class of 0-6-0 steam locomotive. The P3 Class was designed by Wilson Worsdell and was a relatively minor modification of the existing North Eastern Railway Class P2. The most significant change was a deeper firebox with shallower sloping fire grate. This was achieved by raising the boiler slightly, and by reducing the clearance between the firebox and the rear axle. The P3 Class were a freight engine by nature and used for hauling long trains of freight.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hetton colliery railway</span>

The Hetton colliery railway was an 8-mile (13 km) long private railway opened in 1822 by the Hetton Coal Company at Hetton-le-Hole, County Durham, England. The Hetton was the first railway to be designed from the start to be operated without animal power, as well as being the first entirely new line to be developed by the pioneering railway engineer George Stephenson.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gateshead TMD</span> Locomotive maintenance yard in the North of England

Gateshead TMD was a railway traction maintenance depot situated in Gateshead, England. The depot code was 52A during the steam era and GD later on.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Joicey, 1st Baron Joicey</span> English coal magnate and politician (1846–1936)

James Joicey, 1st Baron Joicey JP DL was an English industrialist, politician, and aristocrat known primarily for being a coal mining magnate from Durham and a Liberal Party Member of Parliament (MP).

John Joicey, DL was a British Liberal Party politician and wealthy coal owner.

The Stanhope and Tyne Railway was an early British mineral railway, that ran from Stanhope in County Durham, to South Shields at the mouth of the River Tyne. The object was to convey limestone from Stanhope and coal from West Consett and elsewhere to the Tyne, and to local consumers. Passengers were later carried on parts of the line.

The Lambton Railway was a private industrial railway in County Durham, England, constructed initially as a tramway from 1737, to enable coal to be transported from Lambton Collieries to the Port of Sunderland. It closed under the ownership of the National Coal Board in August 1967.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wellfield railway station</span> Former railway station in Wingate, County Durham, England

Wellfield railway station was a railway station that served the village of Wingate in County Durham, England. It was 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shotton Bridge railway station</span> Former railway station in England

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hart railway station</span> Disused railway station in Hart, County Durham

Hart railway station was a station that served the villages of Hart and Crimdon in County Durham, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">LCR 29</span> Preserved British 0-6-2 locomotive

Lambton Colliery Railway No.29 is a preserved 0-6-2 tank locomotive built by Kitson and Company for the Lambton Colliery network in 1904. It was the first 0-6-2T to be employed on that system, and it was later joined by No.5. No.29 was designed to work between Philadelphia and Sunderland. In February 1969, No.29 was withdrawn from service and placed into dead storage. The following year, the locomotive was purchased by volunteers from the North Yorkshire Moors Railway, and it was restored to working order. As of 2023, the locomotive remains operational on the NYMR.

References

  1. "Lambton Colliery". Durham Records Office. Archived from the original on 21 November 2015. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  2. "Bournmoor Colliery". AllThingsBournmoor. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Brief History of the Lambton Railway". LambtonLocomotivesTrust.co.uk. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  4. 1 2 3 "Lambton Engine Works". Industrial Railway Society. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  5. 1 2 3 4 David Simpson (10 July 2009). "Colliery history defined shape of village's growth". Durham Times. Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved 17 March 2013.