Origins
Coal from the inland mines in southern County Durham used to be taken away on packhorses, and then horse and carts as the roads were improved. A canal was proposed by See more

In 1830, the company opened new offices at the corner of Northgate and Union Street in Darlington. Between 1831 and 1832 a second track was laid between Stockton and the foot of Brusselton Bank. Workshops were built at Shildon for the maintenance and … See more

The Bishop Auckland & Weardale Railway (BA&WR) received permission in July 1837 to build an 8+1⁄4-mile (13.3 km) line from South Church to Crook. The line opened on 8 November 1843 with a station at Bishop Auckland.
The See more

A railway to serve Barnard Castle, from the S&DR at a junction near North Road station and along the River Tees, was proposed in 1852; this route bypassed as far as possible the … See more

The export of coal had become the railway's main business, but the staiths at Stockton had inadequate storage and the size of ships was limited by the depth of the Tees. A branch … See more

Great North of England Railway
On 13 October 1835, the York and North Midland Railway (Y&NMR) was formed to connect York to London by a line to a junction with the … See more

In mid-1850, Henry Bolckow and John Vaughan discovered a seam of iron ore at Eston. They opened a mine, laid a branch line to the Middlesbrough & Redcar Railway and started hauling ironstone over the S&DR to their blast furnaces west of Bishop Auckland. … See more