Gosforth Park, Tramway/Light Railway

HER Number:
4626

District:
Newcastle

Site Name:
Gosforth Park, Tramway/Light Railway

Place:
Gosforth

Map Sheet:
NZ27SW NZ27SE

Class:
Transport

Site Type: Broad:
Tramway Transport Site

Site Type: Specific:
Tramway

General Period:
Early Modern

Specific Period:
C19-C20

Form of Evidence:
Documentary Evidence

Description:
Whilst horse racing continues in Gosforth Park, the tram service which once brought people in their thousands to race days has long since disappeared. When the racecourse was set up at Gosforth Park in 1882, there was no direct transport facility. The nearest station was Killingworth, and the tram extended no further than Gosforth High Street 2 miles away. The Gosforth Park Light Railway extended the tramlines to the gates of the Park and later through the park itself. Extra sidings were installed at Killingworth to handle special race trains. The tramway and the Gosforth Park terminus were owned by the Tyneside Tramways and Tramroads Company until 1930. Part of the line of the tramway is still distinguishable, and some bases of tram posts can be found in the undergrowth.

Easting:
2433

Northing:
7143

Grid Reference:
NZ24337143

Lats/Lons:

Sources:
<< HER 4626 >> I. Ayris & S.M. Linsley, 1994, A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of Tyne and Wear, p 32; J. Ross, 1995, A Day at the Races, Kenton Local History Society, Bulletin No. 7, p 14; Plan of North Gosforth Light Railway, Northumberland County Archive, Q/R/UP/277; Plan of the Northumberland Railway, 1844, Q/R/UP/63; Plan of Gosforth Park Light Railway, Tyne and Wear Archives, D.NCP/4/227; Pearson, Lynn, 2010, Played in Tyne and Wear - Charting the heritage of people at play, p 50