Celebrations are taking place this year to mark the 300th anniversary of the founding of the Tanfield Railway. Starting off as horse drawn on wooden rails in 1725, ably assisted in some areas by gravity, the railway carried coal from the northern Durham coalfield to the Tyne for export (much of it to London). Steam haulage and wrought iron tracks replaced timber and horses and the railway ran until 1964 when the last pit feeding into it (Watergate) closed. The Railway is now a tourist attraction as well as a reservoir of skilled labour and experts on maintaining steam railways.
Councillor Marilynn Ord and I paid them a visit on Sunday 23rd February 2025. Both of us had a great time. Well worth a visit.
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