The North Sunderland Railway
The North Sunderland Railway
1898-1951
This picture of Seahouses station in 1923 is displayed on the side of the tourist information centre which sits on the site of the railways goods yard.
Introduction & History
The North Sunderland Railway was opened in 1898 and linked the coastal village of Seahouses with North Sunderland and Chathill, a station on the East coast mainline between Newcastle and Berwick.
The first railway in Seahouses was built to aid the construction of the new north Pier. This short contractors railway was worked by a small Andrew Barclay 0-4-0 saddle tank No.185 of 1877. This short tramway lead to discussions locally about the possibility of a railway being built to link Seahouses with the mainline. The North Eastern Railway were approached but they were not interested in constructing a railway. The orignal plan was for the pier tramway to link with the NSR, but this never happened. Seahouses station would also have been closer to the pier being located opposite the lime kilns.
The trustees of lord Crewe, who had also obtained the permission to build the new pier decided the best way to build the new railway was to raise the necessary money and build it themselves. Approval for construction of the railway was given in 1892 but funding the construction of the railway was a sizeable task and several construction options were looked at. Such as building the railway to narrow gauge and as a roadside tramway like the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway. The narrow gauge idea was dismissed as it would not have allowed for through running of goods vehicles.
A contract for the construction of the railway was let in November 1896 so physical construction could finally begin. The railway finally opened to goods traffic on the 1st of August 1898 and to passenger traffic on the 18th of December that year. This was after a visit in October of that year by an inspector from the board of trade. They were dissatisfied with several points including the lack of continuous brakes on the second hand coaching stock (Ex Highland Railway 4 wheelers). Thankfully these issues were quickly rectified so passenger trains could commence.
The railways first locomotive (pictured below) was Manning Wardle class L “Altered” 0-6-0ST “Bamburgh”. The engine was bought on a hire purchase agreement. it was briefly replaced by a North Eastern Railway locomotive in December 1902. But returned in January of 1903 and is reported to have worked well into the 1940s. Before finally being cut up in 1948.
“Bamburgh” at Seahouses station. © J.W Armstrong/ ARPT no unauthorised use. Please contact the ARPT if you wish to use it. www.arpt51a.com/
The timetable was for 5 trains each way with a journey time of around 15 minutes with the railway operating the one engine in steam system. Permission was granted for an extension of the railway north to Bamburgh in 1892. This work would also have included converting the existing railway to light railway standards. But this work sadly never happened.
In 1933 the railway acquired Armstrong Whitworth 0-4-0 Diesel Electric “The Lady Armstrong”, pictured below. It was also acquired on a hire purchase agreement. The railway had previously tried a similar AW diesel, some shots of that loco in use on the line do exist.
“Lady Armstrong” entering Chathill with a train from Seahouses. ©Walter Dendy reproduced here via Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.0
Two near identical Armstrong Whitworth Diesel Electrics survive in preservation and can both be found at the Tanfield Railway, a railway that takes a lot of inspiration from the NSR. The below picture was taken by myself during the 2019 “North Sunderland Railway day” and shows D22 and 2 former NER coaches shortly after leaving Andrews house station.
During the second world war the railway experienced a surge in traffic and modifications to allow two train running was undertaken. By this time the North Eastern railway had became part of the LNER. and by the end of the 1930s they were owed £4500 by the NSR. The LNER took over the line in 1939 due to these debuts.
The railway hired in a number of locomotives from the LNER and later BR. These were;
Class J71 0-6-0 No. 1690
Class J79 Nos. 407 & 1787
Class Y7 Nos. 68089 & 68086
Sentinels Nos.81 & 106
“Pug” No.51217
NER H class/LNER Y7 No.68089 at Seahouses in 1951 .© J.W Armstrong/ ARPT no unauthorised use. Please contact the ARPT if you wish to use it. www.arpt51a.com/
Traffic began to steadily decline during the 30s and 40s. And by the time nationalisation happened in 1948 the decision had been made to close the railway as it was no longer viable to run. The final train ran on the 27th of October 1951. The company was officially wound up by April of the next year.
The Route
Original station name board still on display at Chathill. ©Matt Ditch
Chathill station was the railways mainline interchange station. And is today still open served by 2 services a day to & from Newcastle. There are a number of historical artifacts on display at the station, including an orignal name board as pictured above. In the up platform shelter a number of historical images can also be seen.
68089 in the bay at Chathill with a train bound for Seahouses. © CJB Sanderson/ ARPT no unauthorised use. Please contact the ARPT if you wish to use it. www.arpt51a.com/
NSR trains had access to a single track bay platform located on the up platform. There was also a sizeable goods shed and a small number of sidings. The railway also had its mainline connection here.
The overgrown area is the site of NSR bay platform. June 2020
The below picture shows Y7 68089 shunting in the yard at Chathill. Presumably the picture was taken close to the station building in the above shot. Today this area is overgrown and little to no trace of the railways goods yard can be seen. The connection with the ECML was out of shot to the left of the train.
© J.W Armstrong/ ARPT no unauthorised use. Please contact the ARPT if you wish to use it. www.arpt51a.com/
After leaving Chathill the railway curved sharpy to the east and passed the site of the railways loop and water tower, which stood just before Long Nanny Burn. The railway crossed over the burn via a small girder bridge and then headed in the direction of Fleetham , where it had been proposed to build a station.
After Fleetham the railway crossed Swinhoe Burn. It was near here where a short branch line served Pasture Hill quarry. From here the line turned more towards the coast and crossed over Engine Inn Burn.
After Engine Inn Burn the railway reached the station at North Sunderland. A single track platform with a long siding which ran parallel to the running line existed here. Today the station site is a local tip.
The disused remains of Seahouses in 1957. ©Walter Dendy reproduced here via Creative Commons Attribution Share-alike license 2.0
A short distance from North Sunderland lies the site of the railways terminus at Seahouses. Today the station site and goods yard are the towns main car park. But if you know where to look there are a few reminders of the areas previous role. It is also possible to walk the section of trackbed between these two stations.
68089 shunting at Seahouses. The coaches are parked in the station © CJB Sanderson/ ARPT no unauthorised use. Please contact the ARPT if you wish to use it. www.arpt51a.com
A short section of the platform at Seahouses survives and has been used to build the below wall. A small plaque, just visible above the car reads “North Sunderland Railway. Site of Seahouses station platform 1898-1951”. The water supply for the old engine shed was also reused when the new toilet block was built.
©Roy Lambeth
Seahouses station had a run round loop with the platform alongside. The headshunt lead into the engine shed. Two sidings branched off the run round loop at the North Sunderland end. These served the small goods yard with its good shed, dock and weighbridge. The tourist information centre sits on the site of the goods shed.
While it seems unlikely that the railway will ever reopen, one can hope that one day it might! It is still possible to experience something similar by visiting the Tanfield Railway. A railway very much inspired by the NSR. And for those who may wish to model the NSR body kits for all the locos & stock are available from Recreation21.
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