North Sunderland Railway

North Sunderland Railway
Locale Northumberland Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 1⁄2 in)
Legend
East Coast Main Line Chathill    East Coast Main Line   Pasture Hill Quarry North Sunderland    Bamburgh (proposed) Seahouses

The North Sunderland Railway was a four-mile single track branch railway line in Northumberland, England, that ran from Chathill on the East Coast Main Line to Seahouses via the station of North Sunderland with a proposed extension to Bamburgh.

History

Opening

Authorised in 1892 the North Sunderland Railway was built privately to serve the newly constructed harbour at Seahouses. Construction started in 1896, and the line opened in 1898 for freight on 1 August, and passengers on 18 December.

Operation

The line was rarely profitable and thus the proposed station at Fleetham, and the extension to Bamburgh were never constructed. Management of the line was taken over by the LNER in 1939. Trains took 20mins. on the branch, with 6 trains a day before closure. It was initially operated by Manning Wardle 0-6-0 Bamburgh, which was scrapped about 1948. 'Bamburgh' was replaced by an 0-4-0 Armstrong Whitworth diesel electric locomotive, 'Lady Armstrong', delivered in 1934. They were replaced until closure by NER Class H (LNER Class Y7) and passenger trains had two Great Eastern Railway 6-wheel coaches.

Closure

The line closed on 27 October 1951 and was officially wound up in April 1952.

External links

• North Sunderland Railway Brief History
• Line history with plans and video footage
• British Pathé - The Four Mile Railway 1928
• Urban Ghosts website with photo of British Railways Class Y7 at Seahouses