Railways of Northumberland & Durham

.Railway history is in abundance in the border county of Northumberland and the Land of the Prince Bishops, County Durham, with evidence of some of Britain’s earliest wagonways, the economic harnessing of steam power thanks to local heroes Hedley, Hackworth and the Stephensons, and of course the Stockton & Darlington Railway which is about to celebrate its bicentennial. Outside of the once smoke-blackened conurbations of Tyneside, Wearside and Teesside there are few major towns, and this is reflected in today’s railway map. On the modern railway, so much of the former North Eastern Railway has gone and nothing remains of the Northumbrian section of the North British Railway. Of the railways that did close forever, there is still much to see. Driving across Northumberland and Durham the motorist frequently encounters viaducts, bridges and embankments, substantial stations and other buildings converted into accommodation or other imaginative uses.