Tees Valley Railway

Last updated

Tees Valley Railway
Balder Railway Viaduct - geograph.org.uk - 1593233.jpg
Balder Railway Viaduct
Overview
StationsFive
History
Opened12 May 1868 (1868-05-12)
Closed5 April 1965 (1965-04-05)
Technical
Line length8+3⁄4 mi (14.1 km)
Number of tracks1
Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Tees Valley Railway
BSicon exCONTg.svg
BSicon exHST.svg
Barnard Castle
BSicon exSTRc2.svg
BSicon exABZg3.svg
BSicon exSTR+1.svg
BSicon exCONTf@F.svg
BSicon exSTRc4.svg
BSicon exHST.svg
Cotherstone
BSicon exhSTRae.svg
Baldersdale Viaduct
BSicon exHST.svg
Romaldkirk
BSicon exHST.svg
Mickleton
BSicon exhSTRae.svg
Mickleton (Lune) Viaduct
BSicon exKHSTe.svg
Middleton-in-Teesdale

The Tees Valley Railway was an 8+3⁄4-mile (14.1 km) branch railway line that ran between Barnard Castle on the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway line between Bishop Auckland and Kirkby Stephen East, and Middleton-in-Teesdale via three intermediate stations Cotherstone, Romaldkirk and Mickleton. [1]

Contents

History

The first sod was cut on 19 June 1865 by the Duke of Cleveland, who owned a large portion of land that the railway would cross. Whilst building the line in August 1867, the foreman of works, in a hurry to build a viaduct at Baldersdale, removed the wooden frame from underneath the viaduct being built at Mickleton before the keystone was in place. Four men were injured due to falling bricks, but there were no fatalities. [2] Both viaducts survive, but only the grade II listed Mickleton Viaduct is used as part of the Tees Valley Walk; Baldersdale viaduct is in private hands. [3] [4]

Opening

Built as the southern section of a proposed a line from Barnard Castle to Alston that was never completed the section to Middleton-in-Teesdale was built by the Tees Valley Railway opening on 13 May 1868, with intermediate stations at Mickleton and Cotherstone. Romaldkirk opened later in the July of the same year.

Traffic

The line was primarily used to transport stone from first the Middleton Quarry and later the Park End and Crossthwaite Quarries. Although Middleton Quarry closed in the 1930s the other two quarries outlasted the line. [5] Stone was also forwarded from Greengates quarry and much of the stone from Lunedale quarry was railed out on a 2-foot-6-inch (0.76 m) tramway to exchange sidings between Mickleton and Middleton. Work started on a reservoir at Grassholme in 1914 and this provided extra traffic with the addition of transfer sidings for the construction site. [6] The original intention of the line was to rail out lead from the adjacent hills, but by the time that the line had opened, the lead industry boom had mostly gone into reverse. However, in 1911, the station at Middleton railed out 1,985 tonnes (2,188 tons) of barytes. [7]

A shed was provided at Middleton to service the steam trains up and down the line. Most trains worked beyond Barnard Castle and into Darlington with at least five out and back workings daily in 1922 which had risen to six each way by the 1946 timetable. [6]

Closure

The line closed for passenger traffic on 30 November 1964 and the line closed to freight on 5 April 1965. [1]

The site today

Much of the line now forms the Tees Valley Railway Walk, with parking provided at the former site of Mickleton station. [8] [9]

Related Research Articles

Eden Valley Railway Former railway

The Eden Valley Railway (EVR) was a railway in Cumbria, England. It ran between Clifton Junction near Penrith and Kirkby Stephen via Appleby-in-Westmorland.

Teesdale Valley in Northern England

Teesdale is a dale, or valley, in Northern England. The dale is in the River Tees’s drainage basin, most water flows stem from or converge into said river, including the Skerne and Leven.

Cotherstone Human settlement in England

Cotherstone is a village and civil parish in the Pennine hills, in Teesdale, County Durham, England. Cotherstone lies within the historic county boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire, but along with the rest of the former Startforth Rural District it was transferred to County Durham for administrative and ceremonial purposes on 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972.

Mickleton, County Durham Human settlement in England

Mickleton is a village and civil parish in Teesdale, County Durham, England, situated 8.5 miles (13.7 km) north west of Barnard Castle. Lying within the historic boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire, the village along with the rest of the former Startforth Rural District has been administered with County Durham since 1 April 1974, under the provisions of the Local Government Act 1972

Merrybent Human settlement in England

Merrybent is a linear village in the civil parish of Low Coniscliffe and Merrybent in County Durham, in England. It is situated on the A67 road to the west of Darlington, a short distance to the north of the River Tees and the Teesdale Way. At the beginning of the 20th century there were hardly any buildings here, and its main feature at that time was Merrybent Nurseries with its many glasshouses. The nursery was cut through by the A1 road in the 1960s; at this point it runs on the trackbed of the old Merrybent railway. The village is now a settlement of modern housing.

Winston, County Durham Village in County Durham, England

Winston is a village and civil parish in County Durham, England. It is situated approximately 6 miles (9.7 km) east of Barnard Castle, on a crossroads between the A67 and B6274 roads. According to the 2011 UK Census the population was 431, the parish includes the hamlets of Little Newsham and South Cleatlam.

North Road railway station Railway station in County Durham, England

North Road is a railway station on the Tees Valley Line, which runs between Bishop Auckland and Saltburn via Darlington. The station, situated 1 mile 23 chains (2.1 km) north-west of Darlington, serves the market town of Darlington in County Durham, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

Baldersdale

Baldersdale is a dale, or valley, on the east side of the Pennines in England, northwest of Barnard Castle. Its principal settlements are Hury and Briscoe. Baldersdale lies within the traditional boundaries of the North Riding of Yorkshire. Under provisions of the Local Government Act 1972, it was incorporated into County Durham for administrative purposes on 1 April 1974, along with the rest of the former Startforth Rural District.

River Balder River in County Durham, England

The Balder is an English river that rises on the eastern slope of Stainmore Common in the Pennine Chain and flows eastwards for about 13 miles (21 km) to the River Tees at Cotherstone.

Lunedale

Lunedale is the dale, or valley, of the River Lune, on the east side of the Pennines in England, west of Middleton-in-Teesdale. Its principal settlements are Grassholme, Thringarth and Bowbank.

South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway English railway company

The South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway (SD&LUR) built a railway line linking the Stockton & Darlington Railway near Bishop Auckland with the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway at Tebay, via Barnard Castle, Stainmore Summit and Kirkby Stephen. The line opened in 1861 and became known as the Stainmore Line.

Cotherstone railway station Former railway station in County Durham, England

Cotherstone railway station was situated on the Tees Valley Railway between Barnard Castle and Middleton-in-Teesdale. It served the village of Cotherstone. The station opened to passenger traffic on 12 May 1868, and closed on 30 November 1964.

Romaldkirk railway station Former railway station in County Durham, England


Romaldkirk railway station was situated on the Tees Valley Railway between Barnard Castle and Middleton-in-Teesdale. It served the village of Romaldkirk.

Mickleton railway station was situated on the Tees Valley Railway between Barnard Castle and Middleton-in-Teesdale. It served the village of Mickleton. The station opened to passenger traffic on 12 May 1868, and closed on 30 November 1964. The site, to the south of the village, now serves as a car parking area for walkers using the Tees Valley Railway walk.

Middleton-in-Teesdale railway station was the terminus of the Tees Valley Railway from Barnard Castle. It served the town of Middleton-in-Teesdale. The station opened to passenger traffic on 12 May 1868. It closed for passengers on 30 November 1964 and freight traffic on 5 April 1965.

Darlington and Barnard Castle Railway

The Darlington and Barnard Castle Railway, was an east–west railway line that connected Darlington and Barnard Castle in County Durham, England. Besides the main running line, it had two branches that headed south into Yorkshire that were only used for freight. The whole system opened up by July 1856 and was closed completely by 1966. The former Merrybent freight branch is now used as part of the A1(M) road that bypasses to the west of Darlington.

Piercebridge railway station was a railway station serving the village of Piercebridge in County Durham, England. It was located on the Darlington and Barnard Castle Railway. The station opened in 1856 and closed as part of the Beeching cuts in 1965.

References

  1. 1 2 "Disused Stations: Mickleton Station". www.disused-stations.org.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  2. ↑ Lloyd 2018, p. 58.
  3. ↑ Historic England. "Lune (Mickleton) viaduct) (Grade II) (1121839)". National Heritage List for England . Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  4. ↑ "Tees Railway Path" (PDF). durham.gov.uk. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  5. ↑ Lloyd 2018, p. 59.
  6. 1 2 Burgess, Neil (2011). The lost railways of Yorkshire's North Riding. Catrine: Stenlake. p. 7. ISBN   9781840335552.
  7. ↑ Hoole, K. (1985). Railway stations of the North East. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 177. ISBN   0-7153-8527-5.
  8. ↑ "Long Distance Walkers Association".
  9. ↑ Rediscovering the Tees Valley Railway , retrieved 13 December 2021

Sources

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.