Ponteland Railway

The Ponteland and Darras Hall Branch was a 6.8 miles (10.9 km) single-track branch railway line, which opened in March 1905, under the North Eastern Railway. The line ran from South Gosforth in Tyne and Wear, to Ponteland in Northumberland, with a sub-line operating to Darras Hall.[1]

Ponteland and Darras Hall Branch
Overview
Type
  • Light railway (South Gosforth-Ponteland)
  • Heavy rail (Ponteland-Darras Hall)
StatusPartially operational
Locale
TerminiPonteland
South Gosforth
Stations7
Operation
Opened1 March 1905
(for freight)
1 June 1905
(for passenger services)
Closed17 June 1929
(for passenger services)
6 March 1989
(for freight)
OwnerNorth Eastern Railway
Technical
Line length6.8 miles (10.9 km)
Track gauge4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Route map

 Ponteland
 Darras Hall
 Airport (from 1991)
 Callerton
 Kenton Bank
 Coxlodge
 West Gosforth
towards Benton
 South Gosforth
towards Manors

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, with the line opening to freight on 1 March 1905. The line opened to passengers a few months later, on 1 June 1905.

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, with the branch line opening on 1 October 1913.[2]

As a result of poor passenger numbers the Ponteland and Darras Hall branch closed to passengers on 17 June 1929, but remained open for freight services. In the later years, the line was used primarily for the ICI chemicals plant at Callerton, and Rowntree's factory at Fawdon, which opened in 1958. Freight trains continued to use the route until the closure of the ICI chemicals plant at Callerton, in March 1989.

In May 1981, the alignment of the former Ponteland and Darras Hall branch was re-opened between South Gosforth and Bank Foot (formerly known as Kenton Bank), as part of the Tyne and Wear Metro network. The line was extended to Newcastle International Airport in November 1991, with a further section of the line being re-opened to passenger services.[3]

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See also

References
  1. "Ponteland & Darras Hall Branch". Northumbrian Railways. Archived from the original on 28 December 2010. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  2. "Disused Stations: Darras Hall". Disused Stations. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
  3. "Metro's airport extension celebrates its 25th year". Nexus. 17 November 2016. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
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