Railway Archive Magazine, Issue 14

From 'Railway Postcards of Durham': To the west of Bishop Auckland lies the Wear Valley and the railway gradually progressed along it mainly to access the mineral wealth, in particular the limestone. The final section from Stanhope to the terminus here at Wearhead opened on 21st October 1895. The station building was in a style that had been used by the North Eastern since the late 1870s, with a separate house for the station master. All the buildings look very new here, suggesting the view may have been taken shortly after opening in 1895 and then used a few years later for this postcard, published around 1905. The locomotive facilities, which included a small shed for the branch engine, a 45ft turntable (which may have been provided later) and the 6ft diameter parachute-style water tank, were all quite separate. The shed lay just off to the right of the picture, served by a siding running behind the photographer, whilst the turntable was at the end of a short siding running back off the end of the loop. Reference to the L&NER (NE Region) Goods Motor Facilities listing published elsewhere in this issue indicates that, in the 1930s, the station also acted as the railhead for goods traffic to and from the outlying villages of Black Dene West and Burnhope. Wearhead station closed to passengers on 29th June 1953 (the engine shed was shut the same day) but goods traffic continued until 1960. The bridge in the right background carries a road over the River Wear. John Alsop Collection