Local area

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This line ran from Blaydon to Blackhill to tap an area which had not yet been mined. The Derwent Iron Company (Consett) begged the North Eastern Railway for some years to build this line to help facilitate mining in the area.

Chronology 

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Description of route 

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From Blaydon and Scotswood south via Rowlands Gill to Blackhill near Consett. Not only did the line tap coal reserves not previously explored but it also provided an alternative route to Consett and the large ironworks there.

A single platform remains here. To the north of the station the bridge over the road has been removed but the south parapet remains. A large coal concentration depot remained at Swalwell until the 1980s but this was closed, replaced by the loading point at Wardley.

In the run-up to the closure of the railway to passengers Rowlands Gill ended up being the only station open on the route as it was the only station actually located in the town it served.

A single platform remains here. To the south of the station the viaduct remains standing.

Lintz Green served a very small nearby community. It was a two platform station. As the line continued south it crossed two single track viaducts.

Two platforms remain here with the steps down to the platforms from an overbridge, railings, kissing gates and even the station house. The station buildings are not standing.

This was a two platform station. The platforms were built in timber. The station was on the hillside above the village.

Nothing remains of the platforms. The goods yard can be found however. An impressive survivor is the earthworks of a footpath from the village to the station diagonally across a field. The line crossed a minor road at the station. The bridge has been demolished.

This station had a large station yard and several station worker's cottages. The road crossed over the west end of the station.

I couldn't find any remains of the platforms or station building. The station cottages remain standing. The yard is now a carpark.

This station had a single platform and a passing loop. It served what was once a spa town.

A long single platform remains along with various station workers cottages. A toilet block sits in the carpark which may be on the same alignment as a former loading bank.

Blackhill station was served by a good many passenger services. A large station it also had a large goods yard. The station was not part of the original Lanchester Railway but part of the extension north from a station called Consett which was closed on the opening of the extension to Swalwell.

Its final use was the coalyard which survived up until about the time of the closure of the Consett steelworks.

The area has been landscaped. I didn't find any remains other than a station workers cottage to the north of the site. The footpath runs through the former station site running south to the former Consett Steelworks.