South Shields railway station

South Shields
South Shields
	The station in 1963, just after de-electrification
General information
Location	South Shields, South Tyneside ; England
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	North Eastern Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway ; British Rail (North Eastern) ; British Rail (Eastern) ;
Key dates
1879	Opened
1938	Route electrified by LNER
1963	Route de-electrified by British Rail
1 June 1981	Station closed for conversion to Metro operation
1998	Demolished

Last updated September 23, 2024

South Shields railway station was the main railway station for South Shields, in Tyne and Wear, North-East England. The station was located on Mile End Road in the town centre. The station was opened by the NER in 1879 as the terminus of their newly extended Newcastle and South Shields Railway branch from Pelaw via Hebburn. It had two platforms and an ornate overall roof.

The town had been rail-served by some years prior to this - the Stanhope and Tyne Railway had opened their route from Washington back in 1834, whilst the Brandling Junction Railway followed with a branch from Brockley Whins five years later. However, both these companies (and the S&T's successor the Pontop and South Shields Railway) had though been purely concerned with mineral traffic and passenger provision was limited. The new route was built to carry passengers from the outset as well as coal & iron ore to/from Tyne Dock and had regular services to both Newcastle Central via Gateshead and to Sunderland, these running via the old BJR route via Tyne Dock and East Boldon.

The 1923 Grouping saw the station pass from the NER into the control of the London and North Eastern Railway. Services on both routes remained well used and in 1938, the line from Newcastle was electrified on the 660 V DC system as an extension of the existing North Tyneside suburban network.

Nationalisation in 1948 saw the station become part of British Railways North Eastern Region, but over the next few years services began to decline - those to Whitburn Colliery ended in November 1953,^[1] whilst the direct Sunderland trains fell victim to the Beeching Axe in May 1965 (passengers thereafter having to change at Pelaw). The Newcastle line was also converted to diesel multiple unit operation in 1963, with BR stating that it was cheaper to remove the third rail than renew the electrical equipment on the route. Though it survived the Beeching cuts, by the 1970s the station (and route) had become increasingly run down and so it was a logical choice to be included in the planned Tyne & Wear Metro network.^[2]

It was eventually closed on 1 June 1981, when the line was temporarily shut down for conversion to Metro operation. It was replaced by a new South Shields Metro station a short distance to the south, when the line reopened in 1984.^[3] The station building survived as an entrance to the Metro system until the 1990s, when it was demolished.

Today, a Shopmobility centre stands on the site of the original station building. The new building was built to a similar style as the station it replaced. The platforms behind have been removed, but the rest of the site is still used by Metro as carriage & engineers' sidings.

In early 2019 a new interchange opened there which is also a bus terminal. The same tracks are used but the platform has moved.

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References

↑ "Disused Stations - Marsden (2nd site)" Disused Stations; Retrieved 2014-04-10
↑ South Shields Station just before closure Clifton, Neil; Geograph.org; Retrieved 2014-04-10
↑ "Disused Stations: South Shields Metro Station".

External links

RAILSCOT - South Shields

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
High Shields Line and station closed		London and North Eastern Railway Tyneside Electrics (South Shields line)		Terminus
High Shields Line and station closed		London and North Eastern Railway Sunderland-South Shields		Terminus

54°59′59″N1°26′04″W / 54.9996°N 1.4344°W / 54.9996; -1.4344

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[1] "Disused Stations - Marsden (2nd site)" Disused Stations; Retrieved 2014-04-10

[2] South Shields Station just before closure Clifton, Neil; Geograph.org; Retrieved 2014-04-10

[3] "Disused Stations: South Shields Metro Station".

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Closed railway stations in Tyne and Wear
Blyth and Tyne Railway	Backworth Newcastle New Bridge Street Prospect Hill
Brandling Junction Railway	South Shields High Shields Oakwellgate Fugar Bar Wearmouth
Derwent Valley Railway	Swalwell Rowlands Gill
Durham and Sunderland Railway	Sunderland Town Moor Hendon (Tyne and Wear) Ryhope
Leamside Line	Usworth Washington Penshaw
Londonderry, Seaham and Sunderland Railway	Hendon Burn Ryhope East
Newcastle & Carlisle Railway	Ryton Scotswood Elswick Shot Tower Newcastle Forth Derwenthaugh Newcastle Redheugh
Newcastle and Berwick Railway	Dudley Colliery Annitsford Killingworth Forest Hall
Ponteland and Darras Hall Branch	West Gosforth Coxlodge Kenton Bank Callerton
Riverside Branch	Byker St. Peters St. Anthonys Walker Carville Point Pleasant Willington Quay
Scotswood, Newburn and Wylam Railway	Newburn Lemington
South Shields, Marsden and Whitburn Colliery Railway	South Shields (Westoe Lane) Marsden Cottage Halt Marsden (Whitburn Colliery)
Stanhope and Tyne Railway	South Shields Jarrow Docks Jarrow Boldon Biddick Lane Vigo
Team Valley Railway	Bensham Low Fell Lamesley Birtley
York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway	Monkwearmouth Fawcett Street Millfield Pallion Hylton Cox Green
Other	Gateshead East Gateshead West Heaton Newcastle Carliol Square Tyne Commission Quay