1920: NER Worsdell P1 Class 0-6-0 Park Lane to Darlington Freight Working
North East England durng the steam era. N.E.R. W. Worsdell P Class 0-6-0 number 1986 of Gateshead Borough Gardens finds itself on turn 33, the 7:02 p.m. Gateshead Park Lane to Darlington. This working conveys Road Wagon number 33 from Park lane to Darlington. Arrival at Darlington is 9:03 p.m. which is a leisurely 2 hours and one minute to cover thirty-six miles. The 1915 Northern Division Goods Engine Working Timetable shows no stopover at Ferryhill Up yard for this train, though it would have passed through on the up goods line. Either the ECML via Team Valley or the Leamside line were viable alternatives for the working. Even running via the Durham coast line and taking the line for Darlington at Eaglescliffe would have been possible since the train terminated at Darlington (possibly the goods sidings east of Bank Top station) rather than "Croft Junction" (Croft yard) to the south of Darlington.
Worsdell's P Class (later J25) were built from 1900 to 1902 and were, essentially, the W. Wilson P Class (J24) 4ft7 1/4in wheelset with a T.W. Worsdell C Class (J21) 4ft 3in Diagram 67 boiler. This gave the P1 a tractive effort of 21,904lb compared to the 19,141lbs of the saturated P Class and 19,237lbs of the saturated C Class. 18 1/2in x 26 in cylinders were fitted (18in x 24 in on the P Class and 19in x 24in on the C Class). W. Wilson's largest 0-6-0, the 1906 P3 Class (J27) had a tractive effort of 24,642lbs. While the one hundred and twenty P1 Class built between 1898 and 1902 started out as heavy mineral and general goods engines the arrival of the P2 Class and P3 Class 0-6-0s along with the T Class 0-8-0 to handle ever-growing train weights supplanted them. They gradually found themselves on transfer trips and local goods trains with a wide dispersal around N.E.R. sheds at the grouping. While some were withdrawn during the lean years of the 1930s most lasted through WWII but were very run down by the end of it. However, around a dozen saw in 1960, with the last few going to scrap in 1962.
While longer than the usual fare of transfer trip working around Tyneside and Wearside, the load is within its capabilities. Here 1986 passes Chester Moor Signal Cabin to the south of Chester le Street, which controls access to Chester Moor Colliery.
On the ECML Up line between Chester Moor and Plawsworth station.
Passing the southern end of Kimblesworth Colliery exchange sidings between Plawsworth station and Newton Hall. Today virtually no trace remains of either Plawsworth station or Kimblesworth Colliery sidings. One or two Colliery buildings do survive at Kimblesworth and are visible from the A167 (formerly "The Great North Road", the A1).