North Sunderland Railway

The North Sunderland Railway was a railway line in Northumberland, England. It was opened in 1898, and ran from Chathill to Seahouses, with an intermediate station at North Sunderland. Chathill was on the main line of the North Eastern Railway between Morpeth and Berwick. The branch was four miles in length and a single track with standard gauge track.

The line was built independently, and money was always scarce. In 1933 an early diesel shunting locomotive was acquired for the line, bought on the hire-purchase system.

After World War II the company's indebtedness and lack of income precipitated closure, which took place in 1951.

The community at Seahouses and North Sunderland was small, and dependent on fishing. In the middle decades of the nineteenth century the small harbour was of little commercial use except as a refuge for coastal vessels in bad weather.

In 1885 the estate of Lord Crewe obtained an Act of Parliament authorising the construction of a new north pier. It was to cost £30,000 and local stone was to be used. A short standard gauge tramway was laid on the pier as it extended, to handle the heavy stone. As the land-side communication was poor, it naturally occurred to the estate manager to enquire of the North Eastern Railway if they would construct a branch line: the NER main line was only four miles away at Chathill.

The North Eastern Railway made it plain that they were not interested in building a branch line, and the Trustees of Lord Crewe decided that a locally promoted independent branch line was the way forward. A public meeting was held on 11 April 1891 and support for the scheme was expressed.

The cost of a railway line, even such a short one, was obviously a formidable obstacle, and a number of measures were examined in an attempt to reduce the cost of construction. Comparison was made with the Wisbech and Upwell Tramway, actually a railway with a substantial section of running in and alongside the public road. The option of building the branch on a narrow gauge was also examined. This would save a considerable sum, but had the disadvantage of preventing through running of goods vehicles to and from the NER: transshipment would be unavoidable.

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