Forth Banks Railway Station?

Lambley Station (2005)

_© Copyright Les Hull and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

On October 10th, John Gillot, a member of our Society, gave us a talk about Railways in Northumberland. I walk a lot in many different areas of the countryside and often come across disused railway lines and wonder where they came from and where they went to. Railway history has always seemed so well documented that there can't be much left unknown, and it's a subject I've always left well alone.

Inspired by John's talk, I looked for a suitable book and after a little research picked 'Lost Railways of Northumberland' by Robert Kinghorn published by Countryside Books in 2006. It seemed to cover all the lines that might interest me, is not too big, and has a nice painting on the cover of a steam train at Lambley Station with the viaduct behind.

It's a statement in the first chapter that I want to discuss here which gave me a glimpse into a more confused world of railway history research than I had expected.

Scotswood Railway Bridge (2005)

_© Copyright Chris Bell and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence

King Edward VII Bridge. Photo A Curtis (2011)

The chapter deals with the Newcastle & Carlisle Railway (N&CR). The existing line from Newcastle Central Station now crosses the river by the King Edward VII Bridge and runs on the south side of the Tyne. The railway, however, first crossed the river by the first (wooden) Scotswood Railway Bridge, built  in 1839, and approached Newcastle on the north bank. The disused bridge (the third) that still crosses at this point, was built in 1871, and was used until 1982, when passenger trains were re-routed via the King Edward Bridge.

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