Willington Quay railway station

Last updated

Willington Quay
General information
Location Willington Quay, North Tyneside
England
Coordinates 54°59′33″N1°29′42″W / 54.9924°N 1.4951°W / 54.9924; -1.4951 Coordinates: 54°59′33″N1°29′42″W / 54.9924°N 1.4951°W / 54.9924; -1.4951
Grid reference NZ324665
Platforms2
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company North Eastern Railway
Pre-groupingNorth Eastern Railway
Post-grouping London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
1 May 1879 (1879-05-01)Opened
2 October 1967Closed to freight
23 July 1973 (1973-07-23)Closed to passengers

Willington Quay was a railway station on the Riverside Branch, which ran between Byker and Willington Quay. The station served Willington Quay in North Tyneside.

Contents

The station was opened to passengers on 1 May 1879 by the North Eastern Railway. [1] It was situated adjacent to Armstrong Road off Howdon Lane.

History

The Newcastle and North Shields Railway received Royal Assent on 21 June 1836, with the line opening between Carliol Square and North Shields on 18 June 1839. [2] It ran along the north bank of the River Tyne, although due to the meandering course of the river, it ran some distance from the shoreline at the eastern end.

The branch line, which was designed to more closely follow the shoreline of the Tyne, serving the rapidly developing industries and communities, was authorised in 1871. It was built along a route "that consisted for the most part of tunnels, bridges, cuttings, retaining-walls, and embankments". [3]

The branch line opened on 1 May 1879. [4] The delay in opening the line reflected the scale of the engineering works required to build the many tunnels, cuttings and retaining walls. Despite being a loop line, the line was officially known as the Riverside Branch. [5]

In the early 1900s, tramway competition caused a rapid decline in the number of passengers using the North Eastern Railway's local services in North Tyneside. Therefore, in 1904, the branch line was electrified, using a 600 V DC third-rail system. [6]

Demise and closure

Between 1909 and 1948, an hourly all-day service ran on the line. In the late 1940s, passenger services on the branch were reduced to peak hours only, catering primarily for commuter traffic from the shipyards along the River Tyne.

The station's goods facilities, serving the Union Cement Company, North Eastern Marine Engineering Company and Wallsend Slipway, closed on 2 October 1967.

Along with the rest of the electric network in North Tyneside, the line was de-electrified in 1967, and converted to diesel multiple unit operation. By the early 1970s, traffic on the line had dwindled. [7]

The last passenger train operated from Willington Quay on 20 July 1973, [1] with the branch line officially closing to passengers three days later. The station was located about 200 m (220 yd) from Howdon, which offered a suitable alternative for passengers after closure.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Tyneside</span> Metropolitan borough in England

North Tyneside is a metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of Tyne and Wear, England. It forms part of the greater Tyneside conurbation. North Tyneside Council is headquartered at Cobalt Park, Wallsend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howdon Metro station</span> Tyne and Wear Metro station in North Tyneside

Howdon is a Tyne and Wear Metro station, serving the suburb of Howdon, North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear, England. It joined the network on 14 November 1982, following the opening of the fourth phase of the network, between Tynemouth and St James via Wallsend.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyneside Electrics</span>

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 North Tyneside Loop refers to the railway lines in North Tyneside from Newcastle upon Tyne via Wallsend, North Shields, Whitley Bay, Backworth, Benton and South Gosforth back to Newcastle. Since the 1980s, it has formed part of the Tyne and Wear Metro, albeit in modified form.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newcastle and North Shields Railway</span> Former English railway

The Newcastle & North Shields Railway opened in June 1839 from a temporary terminus in Carliol Square in Newcastle upon Tyne to North Shields. The railway was absorbed by the Newcastle & Berwick Railway in November 1844. The Newcastle & Berwick Railway was itself absorbed by the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway, and this became part of the North Eastern Railway in 1854.

The Blyth and Tyne Railway was a railway company in Northumberland, England, incorporated by Act of Parliament on 30 June 1852. It was created to unify the various private railways and waggonways built to carry coal from the Northumberland coalfield to Blyth and the River Tyne, which it took control of on 1st January 1853. Over time, the railway expanded its network to reach Morpeth (1857/8), North Seaton (1859), Tynemouth (1860/1), Newcastle upon Tyne (1864), and finally Newbiggin-by-the-Sea (1872). It became part of the much larger North Eastern Railway in 1874.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Howdon</span> Place in England

Howdon is a largely residential area in the eastern part of Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, England. It consists of High Howdon and the smaller settlement of East Howdon. Much of the High Howdon area was formerly called Willington prior to post-World War II urbanisation. The North Tyneside ward population at the 2011 Census was 11,129.

Willington Quay is an area in the borough of North Tyneside in Tyne and Wear in northern England. It is on the north bank of the River Tyne, facing Jarrow, and between Wallsend and North Shields. It is served by the Howdon Metro station in Howdon. The area from 2006 onwards has been an area of new housing built on brownfield sites. The house building continues into 2013 and is changing the social and economic balance in the area. The area has also had a make over of the bowling green off Howdon Lane and further warehousing next to the bowling green has been demolished to make way for further new housing. The changes made recently at Willington Quay are now making it an attractive place to live within North Tyneside.

The Riverside Branch was a 6+1⁄2-mile (10.5 km) double-track branch line, which ran between Riverside Junction in Heaton and Percy Main West Junction in Percy Main.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tyne Valley line</span> Railway line in north of England

The Tyne Valley Line is a 58-mile (93 km) route, linking Newcastle upon Tyne with Hexham and Carlisle, England. The line follows the course of the River Tyne through Tyne and Wear and Northumberland. Five stations and two viaducts on the route are listed structures.

The Hexham and Allendale Railway was a railway company formed in 1865 to build a branch line from the lead mining district of Allendale in Northumberland to a junction near Hexham on the Carlisle to Newcastle line. It opened to goods and mineral traffic in two stages from 1867, and to passengers in 1869.

West Stanley railway station was a railway station on the North Eastern Railway, in County Durham.

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

Redmarshall railway station was a railway station on the North Eastern Railway, in County Durham.

Walker was a railway station on the Riverside Branch which ran between Byker and Willington Quay. The station served Walker in Newcastle upon Tyne.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Byker railway station</span> Former railway station in Tyne and Wear on the Riverside Branch

Byker was a railway station on the Riverside Branch, which ran between Byker and Willington Quay. The station served Byker in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Point Pleasant was a railway station on the Riverside Branch, which ran between Byker and Willington Quay. The station served Willington Quay in North Tyneside.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South Gosforth TMD</span> Tyne and Wear Metro depot

South Gosforth Traction Maintenance Depot 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carville railway station</span> Former railway station in Tyne and Wear on the Riverside Branch

Carville was a railway station on the Riverside Branch, which ran between Byker and Willington Quay. The station served Wallsend in North Tyneside.

St. Anthonys was a railway station on the Riverside Branch, which ran between Byker and Willington Quay. The station served Walker in Newcastle upon Tyne.

St. Peters was a railway station on the Riverside Branch, which ran between Byker and Willington Quay. The station served Byker in Newcastle upon Tyne.

References

  1. 1 2 Quick, Michael (2009). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology. Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 430. ISBN   978-0901461575.
  2. ↑ Allen, Cecil J. (1974). The North Eastern Railway. London: Allan. pp. 81 and 82. ISBN   0-7110-0495-1. OCLC   1255585.
  3. ↑ Tomlinson, William Weaver (1914). The North Eastern Railway: Its Rise and Development. Newton Abbot: David and Charles.
  4. ↑ Allen, Cecil J. (1974). The North Eastern Railway. London: Allan. p. 115. ISBN   0-7110-0495-1. OCLC   1255585.
  5. ↑ Young, Alan (1999). Suburban Railways of Tyneside. ISBN   1-871944-20-1.
  6. ↑ Hoole, Kenneth (1974). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Volume IV, The North East. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. p. 204. ISBN   0-7153-6439-1. OCLC   643508708.
  7. ↑ Young, Alan (1999). Suburban Railways of Tyneside. ISBN   1-871944-20-1.
Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Point Pleasant
Line and station closed		  North Eastern Railway
Riverside Branch 		  Percy Main
Line and station closed
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.