Blackhill railway station

Blackhill
Blackhill
General information
Location	Blackhill, County Durham; England
Coordinates	54°51′31″N 1°50′46″W / 54.8587°N 1.8461°W
Grid reference	NZ099515
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	North Eastern Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	LNER; British Rail (North Eastern)
Key dates
2 December 1867	Opened as Benfieldside
1 November 1882	Renamed Consett
1 May 1885	Renamed Consett & Blackhill
1 May 1896	Renamed Blackhill
23 May 1955	Closed to passengers
1963	Closed completely

Blackhill railway station served the village of Blackhill, County Durham, England from 1867 to 1955 on the Derwent Valley Line.

History

The station opened on 2 December 1867 by the North Eastern Railway. It was situated west of the end of St. Aldans Street. The site of the station was large, serving as the terminus of three different routes - the Derwent Valley line from Scotswood, the Stanhope and Tyne Railway and the Lanchester Valley Railway from Durham; it also had a large goods yard. It opened as Benfieldside, then renamed Consett on 1 November 1882, renamed Consett & Blackhill on 1 May 1885 and finally renamed Blackhill on 1 May 1896.

The station was closed to passengers on 23 May 1955^[1] with the end of services from Newcastle via Annfield Plain. Services from Durham via Lanchester had ceased back in 1939, whilst the Derwent Valley line from Scotswood followed suit in February 1954.

Goods traffic over the Derwent Valley line ended in November 1963 and the line through the station was abandoned; the track was lifted a year later.^[2] The former coal yard sidings immediately to the south though remained in use until 1984 by trains accessing the Consett Steel Works complex.

The station has been demolished and the trackbed is now a walking and cycle path^[3] known as the Derwent Walk. This path, stretching from Consett to Swalwell and running roughly parallel to the A694, forms part of National Cycle Network route 14 and is a northern spur of the C2C Cross Country cycle route.

References

^ Quick, M E (2002). Railway passenger stations in England, Scotland and Wales – a chronology. Richmond: Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 81. OCLC 931112387.
^ "Disused Stations: Blackhill". Disused Stations. Retrieved 27 March 2017.
^ David Morton (5 February 2020). "The once-thriving North East railway station that was left deserted and desolate". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 8 March 2020.

Preceding station	Disused railways	Following station
Shotley Bridge Line and station closed	North Eastern Railway Derwent Valley Railway	Consett Line and station closed
Rowley Line and station closed	North Eastern Railway Derwent Railway	Terminus
Knitsley Line and station closed	North Eastern Railway Lanchester Valley Railway	Terminus

This article on a railway station in North East England is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Quick, M E (2002). Railway passenger stations in England, Scotland and Wales – a chronology. Richmond: Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 81. OCLC 931112387.

[BlackhillStationInfo-2] "Disused Stations: Blackhill". Disused Stations. Retrieved 27 March 2017.

[3] David Morton (5 February 2020). "The once-thriving North East railway station that was left deserted and desolate". Chronicle Live. Retrieved 8 March 2020.

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