Ferryhill Relaid
North East England during the steam era. One of the region's Beeching casualties was Ferryhill station in central County Durham, closing during 1967. Principally an interchange station for passengers to/from ECML trains and local branch trains to/from the Leamside line, Stockton line, Byers Green branch and Wingate branch to Hartlepool, all the branch services had gone by 1952, with closures commencing during the LNER era. Local passenger trains on the Byers Green branch to Bishop Auckland were cut back to Spennymoor during 1939 while those to Leamside station via Shincliffe went in 1941. During 1950 in BR days the ECML wayside staions at Aycliffe and bradbury lost their services while 1952 brought the end of local passenger trains to Spennymoor, Hartlepool via Wingate and the former Clarence Railway main line to Stockton line. This left Ferryhill with only a few passenger services on the ECML calling at the station. Between 1961 and 1965 ticket sales at Ferryhill fell from 16,000 to 10,500. In 1966 weekdays saw just five up trains and only three down trains calling there.
The may edition of the NERA Express magazine had an article on a signalman at Ferryhill and some information on the track layout. This led me to demolish and relay the track through the station on my rolled back County Durham section of the TS12 built in ECML route.
The view from the south of the junction looking north with the ECML on the left side of shot. Down trains intending to call at Ferryhill had to leave the ECML at this junction and take the slow line in the centre of the shot. The line on the right is the former Clarence Railway route from Stockton. Mainsforth colliery is in the top right corner of the shot.
A little further along, looking north. The six sidings in the centre of the shot were (confusingly) named the "North Goods Yard" even though they were to the south of both the station AND the "South Goods Yard"! I think that the name actually indicated the yard's use for train consists heading north. on the right of the shot is the throat to the fourteen sidings making up the "South Mineral yard" and the two spurs for the Carriage & Wagon Department.
Still to the south of the station, the above shot shows (from left to right) the throat of the "North Goods Yard", five buffer stops of the six sidings making up the "North Mineral yard", the four through goods and mineral lines, the throat and seven sidings making up the "South Goods yard" and the buffer stops of the fourteen sidings making up the "South Mineral Yard".
Looking south over (from left to right) the south end of the "South Mineral yard", the through goods lines, the buffer stops of the "North Goods Yard" sidings and the ECML.
Looking south over the lines and sidings to the south of Ferryhill station.
Looking south over the southern bay platforms and the lines to the south of the station. On the left of shot are the seven sidings of the "South Goods Yard".
Looking south over the northern bay platforms of Ferryhill station. The Mainsforth Lime Works is on the left, while the loco shed and local goods facilites are on the right, the down side of the station. The mainline platforms of the island platform were 290 yards long (approx 265 metres). The northern bays were 110 yards (approx 100 metres) while the southern bays were 96 yards (approx 87 metres). The siding capacity was large, in excess of one thousand standard 10 Ton/12 Ton wagons.
Many thanks to Chrisaw for his NER and LNER signalling assets.