Ferryhill railway station: Difference between revisions

| borough = [[County Durham]]▼

| original = [[Clarence Railway]]▼

| postgroup = [[London and North Eastern Railway]]▼

The first station was developed by the Clarence on the current site in 1840, serving a village population of 850. The Clarence also developed a goods yard on the site, which latterly became one of the busiest in [[Europe]] between the 1920s and the 1950s. During [[World War II]], the goods yard became the main alternative for all freight to {{stnlnk|York}},<ref name=LHist/> mainly due to volume of traffic but also occasional [[Nazi]] [[Luftwaffe]] bombing.▼

In 1844, the [[Newcastle and Darlington Junction Railway]] ran a line parallel to the Clarence south along the same route. After the Clarence was taken over by the Hartlepool Docks and Railway Company, they added a third branch east to {{stnlnk|Hartlepool}}, with services beginning in October 1846.<ref name=RBritCR>{{cite web|url=http://www.railbrit.co.uk/Clarence_Railway/frame.htm|title=Clarence Railway|publisher=RailBrit.co.uk|accessdate=24 March 2013}}</ref>▼

After the two competing lines were amalgamated within the [[North Eastern Railway (UK)|North Eastern Railway (NER)]], in June 1887 that railway company rebuilt the station as an island platform at a cost of £13,612. This was to allow the NER to make the station a stop for trains to and from [[Edinburgh Waverley railway station|Edinburgh]] to London [[London King's Cross railway station|Kings Cross]]. These services were continued when the station became part of the [[London and North Eastern Railway]] in 1923.<ref name=LHist/>▼

The branch lines serving the station had closed to passenger traffic by the early 1950s - the last to go being those to Middlesbrough via Stockton on 31 March 1952 and to Hartlepool on 9 June the same year. In 1963 as part of the [[Beeching Axe]], it was recommended that the station close. However, strong local opposition resulted in the station remaining open for passengers until 6 March 1967.<ref>Body, p.69</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.disused-stations.org.uk/f/ferryhill/index.shtml| title=Disused Stations - Ferryhill| work=Disused Stations| accessdate=4 November 2013}}</ref> It remained open as a goods-only station, but after the closure of Dean and Chapter in 1969, the station burnt down.<ref name=LHist/> The demolition contractors for the colliery in the 1970s also demolished the residual station building structures.<ref name=LHist/>▼

==Present==▼

Little remains of the former station in 2014, although freight trains still service the [[Lafarge (company)|Lafarge]] cement works at Thrislington Quarry to the north, which is scheduled to be redeveloped as a landfill site.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://durhamcc-consult.limehouse.co.uk/portal/planning/cdp_ce/new_sites?pointId=1287653688184 |title=4 Decisions on Strategic Sites Proposed in the Core Strategy Issues |publisher=[[Durham County Council]] |date=July 2011 |accessdate=24 March 2013 }}{{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The junction between the ECML and line to Stockton & Middlesbrough remains in use, though the latter route is only open for freight traffic and occasional diversions.▼

{{rail start}}▼

{{rail line|previous={{stnlnk|Bradbury}}|next={{stnlnk|Croxdale}}|route=[[London and North Eastern Railway]]<br /><small>[[East Coast Main Line]]</small>}}▼

{{rail line|previous=''Terminus''|next={{stnlnk|Shincliffe}}|route=[[London and North Eastern Railway]]<br /><small>[[Leamside Line]]</small>}}▼

{{rail line|previous={{stnlnk|Sedgefield}}|next={{stnlnk|Bradbury}}|route=[[London and North Eastern Railway]]<br /><small>[[Clarence Railway]]</small>}}▼

{{rail line|previous=''Terminus''|next={{stnlnk|Spennymoor}}|route=[[London and North Eastern Railway]]<br /><small>[[Clarence Railway]] (Byers Green Branch)</small>}}▼