New light on waggonway

One of the world’s earliest wooden railways was built partially from the timbers of wrecked ships, it has been revealed. Part of the Willington Waggonway was unearthed during an archaeological dig at the Neptune Shipyard on Tyneside in 2013. Constructed in 1795, it is believed to be the most complete section of an early wooden railway discovered anywhere in the world. In a two-year research project, Northumberland maritime historian Ian Whitehead discovered that of the 335 timber sleepers recovered, 62 came from vessels wrecked in a gale in December 1794. Others were made from tree branches. Having undergone preservative treatment, the timbers have since been displayed at the Stephenson Railway Museum (North Tyneside Railway) and it is hoped that they will be displayed alongside Stephenson’s original Rocket at the Great Exhibition of the North from June to September this year (SR470).