South Shields, Marsden, and Whitburn Colliery Railway

South Shields, Marsden, and Whitburn Colliery Railway
South Shields, Marsden, and Whitburn Colliery Railway
Overview
Locale	County Durham
Technical
Track gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)

South Shields, Marsden,
& Whitburn Colliery Railway

Legend

						South Shields

						Jarrow and Sunderland
					Westoe Lane
						Westoe Colliery
						Trow Rocks Quarry
					Marsden Cottage Halt
						Marsden Quarry
					Marsden, County Durham
						Whitburn Colliery
						Paper Manufactory
					Whitburn Colliery

The South Shields, Marsden, and Whitburn Colliery Railway was a Whitburn Coal Company built twin track branch railway line that ran along the North Sea coast in County Durham, England, from Westoe Lane in South Shields to Whitburn Colliery at Marsden via two intermediate stations, Whitburn Colliery station (renamed Marsden in 1926), and Marsden (which closed in 1926).^[1]

History

Opening

The line was built in the late 1870s without an Act of Parliament to serve the newly constructed Whitburn Colliery and was opened as a private railway in May 1879. Apart from the colliery and those working there the line served the Lighthouse limestone quarry, a paper manufactory, and local farms. The line opened to the public on 19 March 1888.

Nationalisation

On 1 January 1947 the coal company was vested in the National Coal Board so the railway became the first nationalised passenger line in Britain.^[1] (Most of the railways in Britain were nationalised on 1 January 1948 under the terms of the Transport Act 1947).

Closure

Passenger service was officially withdrawn on 14 November 1953, but trains ran until 23 November. The majority of the line closed to freight with the Whitburn Colliery on 8 June 1968 although the section running through Westoe Lane to Westoe Colliery remained open until 1993.^[2]

References

^ ^a ^b "Marsden Station (2nd site)". Disused Stations. Retrieved 13 September 2013.
^ http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/m/marsden/index1.shtml ^{[bare URL]}

"South Shields, Marsden & Whitburn Colliery Railway (The Marsden Rattler)". Marsden Banner Group. 2013.

External links

[subbrit1-1] "Marsden Station (2nd site)". Disused Stations. Retrieved 13 September 2013.

[2] ttp://www.disused-stations.org.uk/m/marsden/index1.shtml ^{[bare URL]}

[1]

[2]