Ponteland Railway

Ponteland and Darras Hall Branch
Legend Ponteland Darras Hall Callerton Kenton Bank Coxlodge West Gosforth Blyth and Tyne Railway South Gosforth Blyth and Tyne Railway

The Ponteland and Darras Hall Branch was an 11 km (6.8 mi) single-track branch railway line^[1] in Northumberland, England, that ran from South Gosforth via four intermediate stations to Ponteland past a sub-line to Darras Hall.

History

Authorised in 1899 as the Gosforth and Ponteland Light Railway, the line was built to provide a passenger service to link the communities to the north west of Newcastle upon Tyne — including Ponteland, Kenton, Fawdon, Coxlodge, and West Gosforth, with the city and the North Eastern Railway's network.^[1] Construction started in 1900, and the line opened to freight on 1 March 1905, and passengers a few months later on 1 June. As passenger numbers failed to reach expectations, electrification plans were put on hold.

An extension to the "garden city" of Darras Hall was authorised in 1908 and opened on 1 October 1913.^[2] As a result of poor passenger numbers the line closed to passengers on 17 June 1929, but stayed open for freight. In the later years, the line was used primarily for the ICI chemicals plant at Callerton and the Rowntree's chocolate factory at Fawdon, which opened in 1958. Parts of the line were taken over in stages to become part of the Tyne and Wear Metro, which opened on the line in 1981. Until 1989, freight trains continued to use the route.

References

1. http://www.northumbrian-railways.co.uk/index.php?page=ponteland-branch
2. http://www.subbrit.org.uk/sb-sites/stations/d/darras_hall/index.shtml

External links

• The line on Northumbrian Railways
• Ponteland on Disused Stations including a history of the Cornhill Branch
• Tyne and Wear Metro: Routes: Airport