King Coal
Tanker, it is the ECML Edinburgh to Dundee route, part of TRS19. I have carefully tried to keep the late 1960s Tay Road bridge and 1970s road traffic out of the shots!
Whilst long distance express passenger trains are the glamour of the steam railway the real money lies in shifting freight, particularly "king" coal. From the single wagonload hauled to a private siding to the heaviest train loads slowly proceeding towards London along the main lines a steady stream of revenue fills the coffers of the railway business.
Here, close by South Pelaw Junctionm which sits astride the original alignment of the former 1830s Stanhope and Tyne route stands Pelaw Colliery. It has a connection to the main line railway and makes its small daily contribution to the river of "black diamond" flowing out of the countryside towards the coal staithes at Pallion, Tyne Dock and Dunston, with other flows to coke works, gas works and industry. An elderly long-boiler 0-6-0ST works both the colliery and the incline down to the exchange sidings.
The 0-6-0T crosses the Pelton Road with a short loaded rake of 20 Ton P7 Hopper wagons. leading away in the distance is the N.E.R. 1896 diversion route via Beamish to Consett. the industrial plant is the coke works at Stella Gill.
Descending the incline to the exchange sidings which are connected to the main line railway by a track which runs behind the signal cabin at South Pelaw Junction. The brakes would have been pinned down since it is more accurate to say that the rake in pushing the saddle tank loco down the incline rather than the loco hauling the rake down the incline.
Entering the exchange siding. The long boilered type was a very old style of loco, dating back to the days of the Stockton & Darlington Railway. They were well suited to spending long periods idling at collieries and sidings, building up boiler pressure for the time when they would be required to do their work shunting and hauling trains over relatively short distances.