Restored railway ‘one of best steam journeys’

IT’S the world’s oldest surviving railway line and one of the North East’s best-loved historic attractions.

Hundreds of families and steam train enthusiasts visit the Tanfield Railway each year, with the original waggonway set to celebrate its 300th anniversary in 2025.

Originally built as a cheaper and more efficient way to transport coal from Durham’s collieries to the River Tyne, it has now been named one of the best steam train journeys in the UK by The Times.

In Victorian carriages, riders are taken back in time from Gateshead’s Marley Hill engine shed through rolling countryside and valleys, following the route of the former horse-drawn colliery waggonway.

Horses pulled carts along the waggonway for more than 100 years before the conversion to steel rails in 1837. The kind of tracks seen today were introduced in 1881 and volunteers have lovingly maintained the railway and visitors can now enjoy afternoon tea on the train or the North Pole Express in the winter months. The article in The Times read: “Tagged as the world’s oldest surviving railway line, Tanfield Railway was originally built in 1725 as a ‘waggonway,’ used as a route for horse-drawn, wheeled wagons before becoming an important train route from the coalmines. Just three miles of the preserved line remain.

“Visitors can board a vintage steam locomotive for a return trip through the Co Durham countryside. Don’t miss the short walk from the engine shed to Causey Arch, the world’s oldest surviving single arch railway bridge.”