REPORT ON THE JUNE 2009 MEETING

Railways to Rookhope

It is not immediately apparent to a casual modern day traveller passing through the towns, villages and settlements of the North Pennines that the area was, at one time, criss-crossed by a complex and sophisticated system of railways. The contours of the landscape make it difficult to imagine the extent of the rail network. However, to the more observant there are many indications of the long-gone rail era. Track beds are still visible even though the track itself is long gone and there are also bridges and remains of buildings to confirm the extent of the network.

Given that locomotives are not able to traverse more than very modest inclines, the obvious obstacle to building the railways was the hilly terrain to be negotiated. However, such was the determination of the entrepreneurs of the 1800's to capitalise on the rich mineral resources of the North Pennines, that it was only a question of time before the engineers and mine owners found ways of moving bulk supplies of minerals to companies in Tyneside and Wearside to sate the insatiable appetites of the new and burgeoning industries. The previous method of transportation i.e. using horse power, was unable to cope with the quantities required.

At the June meeting of the Alston Moor Historical Society, Dr. Tom Bell gave a detailed presentation on railways of the North Pennines in his talk entitled ‘Railways to Rookhope'. He indicated that not only was Rookhope served by rail, but that it was actually a rail junction as it was the meeting point of two railways. Over many years he has accumulated an indepth knowledge of Pennine railways and, in conjunction with the North Pennines Heritage Trust, expects to release a book on the subject later in the year.

Railways were used largely for goods traffic and operated from 1834 until gradually running out of steam after the Second Word War. The final section of line to close was from Consett to Burnhill Junction in 1969. There were originally two main operating companies, namely the Stanhope and Tyne and the Weardale Iron and Coal Company Railway, although others were to follow. The problem of the hilly ground was solved by the use of inclines from one level to another and over which the trains were hauled by stationary steam engines or self-acting inclined planes. Horses were used for less steep gradients. Whilst construction costs were high, it was deemed that the risks were justified by the profit potential.

Construction of the Stanhope and Tyne Railway commenced at Stanhope in 1832 and Robert Stephenson was one of the engineers. This railway was the first to reach the main ore fields of the North Pennines and instead of the usual practice of acquiring land by way of an Act of Parliament, it negotiated wayleaves with land owners over whose land the track was to be built. It was one of the first railways to be built, predating the Great Western. However it was also to be the first rail company to go bankrupt, one of the main reasons being paying too high a rental for some of the wayleaves. In 1834 the 15 mile section between Stanhope and Annfield was opened with due ceremony, but was marred by an accident when a shackle broke and 4 wagons carrying 40/50 people ran down the Crawley incline and was stopped by diverting into a siding containing loaded trucks. A man and a 9 year old boy were killed. 6 months later the track extension to South Shields was opened.

The company quickly ran into financial trouble as a result of a combination of paying too much rental for wayleaves, reduced traffic, high operating costs and unsound financial practices. The initial capital was £150,000 but by 1841 the debts and liabilities were £440,000. Shareholders lost a lot of money although some invested in a new company, The Pontop and South Shields Railway formed from parts of the old S&TR, in the hope of mitigating their losses.

The second railway was the Weardale Iron Company Railway, which became not only the largest private industrial railway in the North Pennines, but for more than half a century provided a general freight service to the upper Weardale and Rookhope valleys. In places the line ran near the 1100 foot contour line. The line was extended many times and vast quantities of materials were moved in what was another example of the contribution made by the North Pennines in promoting the age of industrial progress which we now know as the Industrial Revolution.

In the 1890's the line was pushed through to Wearhead although by then problems, which were to prove terminal, began to appear. A depression in the demand for ironstone, on the heels of a similar fall in the lead market a few years earlier, resulted in successive sections of the line being closed. By 1923 the only activity was a twice-weekly horse-drawn wagon taking supplies to cottages at Bolts Law. The track was not lifted until WW11 and the final demolition was in 1943. Some other operators struggled on for a few years but the last train ran in 1969

Over a period of 100 years the North Pennines landscape was interlaced with tracks and engines, static and tracked, and the ingenuity of the engineers has to be admired. That trains could run on such high ground was a miracle of determination and genius.