Riverside Branch


The Riverside Branch was a North Eastern Railway built double track branch railway line in Northumberland, England, that ran from Riverside Junction between Manors and stations via seven intermediate stations to Percy Main junction between Howdon and Percy Main.

History

Opening

The Newcastle and North Shields Railway had opened in 1839, along the north bank of the River Tyne; although due to the meandering course of the river it ran some distance from the shoreline at its eastern end. A need arose to build a new loop line which would diverge from this line, and more closely follow the river's shoreline to serve the developing industries and communities along its length. Authorised in 1871 the line was built along a route 'the most part of tunnels, bridges, cuttings, retaining-walls, and embankments'. The line opened on 1 May 1879, the delay in opening it reflected the scale of the engineering works required to build the many tunnels, cuttings and retaining walls. Although technically a loop line, the line was always officially known as the Riverside 'Branch'.

Electrification

The Riverside Branch was electrified with a third-rail system as part of the Tyneside Electrics system in 1904. Along with the rest of the North Tyneside electric network it was de-electrified in 1967, and converted to diesel multiple unit operation.

Rundown and closure

From 1909 until 1948 an hourly all day service ran on the line, however in 1948/49, passenger services on the branch were reduced to peak hours only, to cater for the commuter traffic from the area's shipyards only, and the two least used stations; and were closed in 1954, and 1960 respectively. By the early 1970s, traffic on the line had dwindled.
The line closed to passengers on 23 July 1973, the last train having run the previous Friday 20th and to goods in stages, Carville Swan Hunter Siding to Percy Main West Junction in 1978, St Peters Shepherds Scrap Siding to Carville Swan Hunter Siding in 1987, and Riverside Junction to St Peters Shepherds Scrap Siding the next year.