Overgrown sidings at Gateshead

[Seahamlad06]

Hello,

I've read this forum for a good while now and I find the information very interesting and informative. I've decided to register and take a more active part and to begin with I've got a question about the overgrown sidings at Gateshead.

I communte into Newcastle on a dialy basis and pass these sidings by the Davy Roll Company and I've long wondered when they were last used and what they stabled. Can anyone shed any light on this for me? I imagine it has been some time since they were used as there are some whopping trees growing between the tracks.

Thanks in advance

Seaham Lad

 

[DarloRich]

Hello,

I've read this forum for a good while now and I find the information very interesting and informative. I've decided to register and take a more active part and to begin with I've got a question about the overgrown sidings at Gateshead.

I communte into Newcastle on a dialy basis and pass these sidings by the Davy Roll Company and I've long wondered when they were last used and what they stabled. Can anyone shed any light on this for me? I imagine it has been some time since they were used as there are some whopping trees growing between the tracks.

Thanks in advance

Seaham Lad

the old tyneside central freight depot i think - god knows when it was last used - got to be 20 years!

 

[DaveNewcastle]

the old tyneside central freight depot i think - god knows when it was last used - got to be 20 years!

It was certainly still a busy yard back in the 80's, but it would often hold a number of complete trains (as opposed to the marshalling of waggons to divide incoming trans and form outgoing trains) through the 90's. I believe the majority were going to/from Tyne Dock, and remember several train loads of new motor vehicles during some disruption in that industry, again in the 90's.
I seem to recall that that Birtley yard was the much busier yard for marshalling back in the 70's and 80's.

 

[sprinterguy]

I've got a picture hidden away somewhere of the yard active in late 1990, but I didn't think that it remained in use for long after that as I remember passing it as a kid on the way to and from Newcastle in the early nineties, and even then it was abandoned and overgrown, so it must have closed at some point in the first couple of years of the nineties.

The photo I have suggests that the yard was used for staging Speedlink services; with VDA closed vans and PCA cement tanks being much in evidence IIRC, and Tyne Dock sounds like it would be the logical destination for much of the traffic that passed through, particularly car trains: For a good few years after the yard closed, there was an ancient-looking car loading ramp wagon stabled in there, since cut up for scrap I would presume.

 

[142094]

Think it was early 90s when it was last used - probably went around the same time as Gateshead MPD. As sprinterguy says it was mainly for van-based freight and there used to be a big warehouse and crane.

AFAIK the land has been recently sold and is due for development. Quite a shame as it could have been used as some sort of freight modal shift area or a park and ride station.

You'll probably notice that there are a couple of signals which are still wired up - apparently it costs too much to change the signalling infrastructure in the lineside boxes and the electricity cost is negligible. Coming into Newcastle there is a ground position signal on the bridge on the left had side just after Davy Roll.

 

[PinzaC55]

The sidings used to be the site of Gateshead Borough Gardens locomotive shed which was levelled and turned into Park Lane freight depot. The line was resignalled in 1981 then again in 1990 when many of the 9 year old signals were torched but a connection was retained into these sidings. As other posters have commented I don't think they have bee used since about 1992. In the late 70's and early 80's there used to be an 08 stabled there.

 

[blue sabre]

The sidings used to be the site of Gateshead Borough Gardens locomotive shed which was levelled and turned into Park Lane freight depot. The line was resignalled in 1981 then again in 1990 when many of the 9 year old signals were torched but a connection was retained into these sidings. As other posters have commented I don't think they have bee used since about 1992. In the late 70's and early 80's there used to be an 08 stabled there.

The 08 must have been there up untill closer to the 90's, I wasn't born til 84 and can remember passing there on the Metro.

 

[Seahamlad06]

Thanks for the information fellas

 

[cdonnigan]

Just out of curiosity was there ever a passenger station in that area. Just something makes me think there was.

 

[sprinterguy]

Just out of curiosity was there ever a passenger station in that area. Just something makes me think there was.

There was Gateshead East and West, located on the two arms of the triangle approaching the High Level Bridge. The platform (or at least one of them) for Gateshead West is still visible on the curve.

 

[142094]

Nearest one after those would be Felling, which was NER built IIRC.

 

[DaveNewcastle]

Nearest one after those would be Felling, which was NER built IIRC.

Yes, that's my understanding too. There were no intermediate stops, which is quite surprising for a 'suburban' railway.

 

[cdonnigan]

Always thought there was a station there. Seam to remember it in the days when i was younger when had to get the train to newcastle before the metro. So we could goto colourcoats beach.

 

[142094]

Yes, that's my understanding too. There were no intermediate stops, which is quite surprising for a 'suburban' railway.

Sure you know, but that area was quite industrial until relatively recently, but still you would have thought there would have been some sort of workman's halt to serve that area.

 

[PinzaC55]

Always thought there was a station there. Seam to remember it in the days when i was younger when had to get the train to newcastle before the metro. So we could goto colourcoats beach.

It just occurred to me that there was a loading dock platform opposite the Davy Roll factory which I think was used for loading cars until the early 1990's. Maybe you saw that and thought it had been a station?

 

[142094]

It just occurred to me that there was a loading dock platform opposite the Davy Roll factory which I think was used for loading cars until the early 1990's. Maybe you saw that and thought it had been a station?

For a long time there was a solitary car transporter wagon there, right against the buffers. Not sure if it has been removed or if the vegetation has grown over it.

 

[cdonnigan]

For a long time there was a solitary car transporter wagon there, right against the buffers. Not sure if it has been removed or if the vegetation has grown over it.

its gone id brought that up on another thread. Think they said it was cut up on site. You know if they spent a bit of money in that area could look really good.

 

[PinzaC55]

its gone id brought that up on another thread. Think they said it was cut up on site. You know if they spent a bit of money in that area could look really good.

The best thing for all these areas would be if they had productive railway sidings in full use. It's amazing to think that neither Newcastle or Sunderland have freight facilities.
I remember that when I first saw this area in 1975 the Allhusen's branch was still intact with a disused semaphore on it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinzac55/3901462839/

 

[sprinterguy]

The best thing for all these areas would be if they had productive railway sidings in full use. It's amazing to think that neither Newcastle or Sunderland have freight facilities.
I remember that when I first saw this area in 1975 the Allhusen's branch was still intact with a disused semaphore on it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinzac55/3901462839/

Your Flickr account is a reall treasure trove of historical north east railway interest! I think that photo also solves a long running mystery for my mother, where she remembers seeing a "green steam engine" on the Newcastle - Sunderland line at about the time of your photo when she worked at, or near to, the Davy Roll in the days before I came into existance! I hadn't realised that the K1 was on the main line in '79.

 

[cdonnigan]

Your Flickr account is a reall treasure trove of historical north east railway interest! I think that photo also solves a long running mystery for my mother, where she remembers seeing a "green steam engine" on the Newcastle - Sunderland line at about the time of your photo when she worked at, or near to, the Davy Roll in the days before I came into existance! I hadn't realised that the K1 was on the main line in '79.

would love to sea the old sunderland freight line reopened into sunderland docks the income and employment that would come into the city would be excellent. And would be good to see some activity on the river again. I regularly cycle along the top of the docks and along to the old level crossing and there is loads of potential. Just a case of sunderland council sunderland docks and network rail doing something about it.

 

[PinzaC55]

would love to sea the old sunderland freight line reopened into sunderland docks the income and employment that would come into the city would be excellent. And would be good to see some activity on the river again. I regularly cycle along the top of the docks and along to the old level crossing and there is loads of potential. Just a case of sunderland council sunderland docks and network rail doing something about it.

Thanks sprinterguy I just wished I could go back in time and take more photo's!

cdonnigan you may like my video of Grangetown Crossing here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3oihLWO9XE&feature=channel_video_title

BTW regarding the K1 I can't swear to it but I think it was pretty much the stalwart kettle on North Eastern railtours throughout most of the 70's? I had it in 1978 on the "Moorlander" tour, seen here at Hartlepool with a DMU in the bay on a Darlington sevice as a bonus!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinzac55/3901038061/

 

[cdonnigan]

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pinzac55/2659282398/in/photostream this photo feed is a really good one some good snaps of the north east. Well recommend to anyone who has time to go through them