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South Shields railway station

1879 establishments in England1981 disestablishments in EnglandDisused railway stations in Tyne and WearFormer North Eastern Railway (UK) stationsPages with no open date in Infobox station
Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1981Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1879Transport in South ShieldsUse British English from October 2015
South Shields 2
South Shields 2

South Shields railway station was the main railway station for South Shields, in Tyne and Wear, North-East England. The station was located on Mile End Road in the town centre. The station was opened by the NER in 1879 as the terminus of their newly extended Newcastle and South Shields Railway branch from Pelaw via Hebburn and had two platforms and an ornate overall roof. The town had been rail-served by some years prior to this - the Stanhope and Tyne Railway had opened their route from Washington back in 1834, whilst the Brandling Junction Railway followed with a branch from Brockley Whins five years later. Both these companies (and the S&T's successor the Pontop and South Shields Railway) had though been purely concerned with mineral traffic and passenger provision was limited. The new route though was built to carry passengers from the outset as well as coal & iron ore to/from Tyne Dock and had regular services to both Newcastle Central via Gateshead and to Sunderland, these running via the old BJR route via Tyne Dock and East Boldon. The 1923 Grouping saw the station pass from the NER into the control of the London and North Eastern Railway. Services on both routes remained well used and in 1938, the line from Newcastle was electrified on the 660 V DC system as an extension of the existing North Tyneside suburban network.Nationalisation in 1948 saw the station become part of British Railways North Eastern Region, but over the next few years services began to decline - those to Whitburn Colliery ended in November 1953, whilst the direct Sunderland trains fell victim to the Beeching Axe in May 1965 (passengers thereafter having to change at Pelaw). The Newcastle line was also converted to diesel multiple unit operation in 1963, with BR stating that it was cheaper to remove the third rail than renew the electrical equipment on the route. Though it survived the Beeching cuts, by the 1970s the station (and route) had become increasingly run down and so it was a logical choice to be included in the planned Tyne & Wear Metro network.It was eventually closed on 1 June 1981, when the line was temporarily shut down for conversion to Metro operation. It was replaced by a new South Shields Metro station a short distance to the south, when the line reopened in 1984. The station building survived as an entrance to the Metro system until the 1990s, when it was demolished. Today, a Shopmobility centre stands on the site of the original station building. The new building was built to a similar style as the station it replaced. The platforms behind have been removed, but the rest of the site is still used by Metro as carriage & engineers' sidings. In early 2019 a new interchange opened there which is also a bus terminal. The same tracks are used but the platform has moved.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article South Shields railway station (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

South Shields railway station
Salem Street, South Tyneside The Lawe

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Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 54.9996 ° E -1.4344 °
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South Shields

Salem Street
NE33 1HL South Tyneside, The Lawe
England, United Kingdom
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North Shields Fish Quay
North Shields Fish Quay

North Shields Fish Quay is a fishing port located close to the mouth of the River Tyne, in North Shields, Tyne and Wear, North East England, 8 miles (13 km) east of the city of Newcastle upon Tyne. The quay began life in 1225 as a simple village of shielings (seasonal huts used by hunters or fishermen) around the Pow Burn (stream or river); the town of North Shields takes its name from the shielings. The quay was originally located here to serve the nearby Tynemouth Castle and Priory. The original site is largely derelict industrial land currently being redeveloped, which lately belonged to the original Tyne Brand canning company. The Pow Burn runs from nearby Northumberland Park and disappears underground at Tynemouth Road and the Metro urban transport line, eventually flowing into the Tyne. The growth of North Shields was at one time restricted due to fear that it would take trade from neighbouring Newcastle upon Tyne, which was the region's leading port at the time; its trade guilds resented trade outside of the city, so much so that coal mined in North Shields within 300 ft of the river had to be transported on land 8 miles to Newcastle to be loaded onto boats.The most striking buildings are the now defunct High Light and Low Light lighthouses which, in the 18th and 19th centuries, provided a line of sight for vessels entering a fairly treacherous river mouth. Until the north and south piers were built many ships foundered on the treacherous rocks known as the 'Black Middens', which lie to the east of the quay and can be seen at low tide. The site actually has an original Old High Light and Old Low Light as well as a slightly differently positioned later High Light and Low Light, so called because they were positioned low (at river level on the quay) and high (on the bank top some 150 ft higher). The present quay was built in 1870 to accommodate the increase in fishing boats after the introduction of steam trawlers. It is still a working fishing port with a trade fish market; it is the largest English port for prawns. Its proximity to the Dogger Bank has meant that a number of fishing boats from Whitby and elsewhere on the north east coast have relocated there. Adjacent shops include many fresh fish outlets and fish processing, mainly crab and prawn, continues in industrial units. The Fish Quay was once the biggest kipper producer in the UK, but the fall in herring stocks has reduced the trade to a single smokery. A number of traditional smokehouses still exist but have been converted to other uses, the area having been substantiallyy repurposed to include residential accommodation, eateries and other entertainment facilities. However, although much reduced, a healthy seafood trade still exists with daily refrigerated lorry movements. Clifford's Fort, located on the Fish Quay, was built in the 17th century (1672) as a coastal defence against the Dutch, and also played a role during the Napoleonic Wars. The fort was named after Lord Clifford, a member of King Charles II's Cabal. It is now a scheduled monument.The Fish Quay declined in the 1980s as a result of problems in the fishing industry. Refurbishment of the area was begun by Tyne and Wear Development Corporation and then beginning in 2001 based on a consultancy report. The Old Low Light building has been converted into a heritage centre, which opened in 2015.