N.E.R, Newcastle and Tynemouth, Riverside Branch

HER Number:
2146

District:
Newcastle and N Tyneside

Site Name:
N.E.R, Newcastle and Tynemouth, Riverside Branch

Place:
Willington Quay

Map Sheet:
NZ36NE NZ26SE

Class:
Transport

Site Type: Broad:
Railway Transport Site

Site Type: Specific:
Railway

General Period:
Early Modern

Specific Period:
C19

Form of Evidence:
Documentary Evidence

Description:
The North Eastern Railway, Newcastle and Tynemouth, Riverside Branch line was originally opened in May 1879 to serve the riverside industries. Services were timed to coincide with shifts in the shipyards. Stations were built at Byker (closed 1954), St Peter’s, St Anthony’s, Walker, Carville, Point Pleasant and Willington Quay. Passenger traffic was light and ceased in 1973. The line is now closed and converted into a walkway. The line connected the River Tyne and Walker to the main railway network. The southern half of the line was in a cutting which led to a tunnel beneath Bevans Department Store on Shields Road. It emerged on the south side of the road and continued down the slope to the Quayside at St. Lawrence. The cutting is now in-filled and the tunnel appears to be blocked.

Easting:
3350

Northing:
6726

Grid Reference:
NZ33506726

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 2146 >> 2nd edition Ordnance Survey map, 1899, 6 inch scale, Northumberland, 89, SE Ayris, I M & D. Bolland, Ouseburn Heritage, p.39 The Archaeological Practice, 1997, Shields Road, Regeneration, Archaeological Assessment; Archaeological Services Durham University, 2012, Hadrian Riverside, Wallsend, Tyne and Wear - archaeological assessment