R.o.B Tramways
Introduction to the Tramways of Tyne and Wear
Today what is known as Tyne and Wear is formed from 5 districts, Newcastle upon Tyne, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Sunderland and Gateshead. These are either side of the River Tyne with Sunderland straddling the river Wear that flows from the Pennine hills in County Durham to the sea at Sunderland. The areas though separate, with Newcastle and North Tyneside formerly part of Northumberland with Gateshead, Sunderland and South Tyneside formerly part of County Durham, have a joint history that led to their inclusion in the County of Tyne and Wear in 1974 under the Local Government Act of 1972, passed to reduce the number of minor Counties and introduced new ones forming Metropolitan and Non Metropolitan counties and Districts. In 1986 these metropolitan counties were abolished forming today's unitary authority that is still called Tyne and Wear.
The Transport in this area was also integrated but from further back when the North Eastern Railway was the major railway owner in the area. Despite many Waggonways and later private railways carrying coal from the rich coal areas of Northumberland and north Durham to the river Tyne, these were never of such a great size that they spanned the Tyne mostly staying on their own sides of the river. The North Eastern Railway spread its lines out from Newcastle and Gateshead to the coast, Newcastle developing as the hub of a large system of branch lines serving the coast and surrounding areas along with the cities first railway out to Carlisle. Gateshead also had branch lines seeing lines branching away to Sunderland, and the area that is now Washington. What really made this possible was the opening of the Newcastle and Darlington Railway which opened in 1846 from Darlington to Gateshead via Leamside, totally by-passing Durham, Gateshead remaining the end of the line until the opening of the High level bridge on 28th September 1849 taking the railway in to Newcastle and connecting up with the Newcastle and Carlisle railways Wylam branch at what is now the station mouth of Newcastle Central station. With the arrival of the larger electric tramway systems the Newcastle branches of the North Eastern Railway faced vicious competition for their services to the coast resulting in the electrification of the lines that now form the Tyne and Wear Metro, in 1904.
Ship building and coal production are perhaps the best known products of the area around Tyne and Wear though most coal production came from the affluent coal fields of north Durham Newcastle acting more as the shipment point for the tons of coal taken there from further up the river. In 1547 Newcastle's population was approximately 10,000 and by 1615 200 ships would shuttle back and forth from the quays to London and other parts of the country delivering the coal desperately needed for heating and manufacturing processes. At that time Newcastle was the top exporter of coal though Sunderland was hot on its heels. Sunderland had been referred to in 1559 as "a little used port" but was soon to become the second busiest coal shipment port after Newcastle with 14,700 tons of coal shipped out a year by 1609. Another source of employment in Sunderland in the late 17th century was salt the town becoming one of the largest salt producing centres in Britain having started as far back as 1511. The most important town for salt production in the area was South Shields with North and South Shields having 200 salt pans between them by 1767 using 1000 tons of coal a year. The development of Glass works in the area also led to employment and the growth of the towns.
By the 18th Century the coal mines of North Durham were controlled by so called Grand allies who had banded together to form one of the worlds largest coal producing companies. With the development of the Waggonways the coal producers founded it much easier to transport the coal from the pit face to the river. Unlike the present day, roads were of a very minor importance, they were only short stretches of road which also served as sewers and a place to leave other rubbish as might be expected, they were often in a state of disrepair meaning it was difficult to move the coal. The introduction of Coal staithes on the River Tyne led to serious problems with the Newcastle Keelmen who rightly saw their livelihoods threatened as the railways took their goods directly to the ships dropping it to the waiting ships below from the wagons.
Though Sunderland was primarily a coal distribution port it actually became famous as the biggest ship building town in the world the first ship having been built there in 1346. By 1790 19 ships a year were built there and by 1840 there were 65 shipyards the industry employing over 4000 people directly and indirectly with iron ships built there from 1852. Though Jarrow is well known for its ship building it did not start until 1851 building the world's first sea going screw collier the following year. Ship building increased until the area around North and South Shields were full of shipbuilding plants even as far down as Blaydon, the industry becoming the biggest employer after coal mining for the area. The twentieth century saw a slump in both industries starting with shipbuilding between 1909 and 1933, not only because of the First World War, but due to heavy competition from overseas and a general world wide depression that affected all countries. In the 1930's there were 28 North East closures, 14 were on the Tyneside, 7 on the Wear, 6 on the Tees and 1 at Hartlepool. With the 1960's and 1970's seeing the closure of 11 more. Sadly today there are no ship builders on the Tyne or the Wear.
What has all this got to do with tramways you may ask. With the increase in industry in the region employment also grew at a terrific rate as it did with many towns and cities across Britain after the agricultural and industrial revolutions. By the arrival of the railways and the opening up of the area to travelers it became easier to move around people living some way from their work and traveling there. The railway even brought the possibility of people going to the nearby sea side for the day. This was all well and good for mid to long journeys and if you had the money the railways being expensive. The tramways were cheaper and more convenient spreading out through the different areas of what is now Tyne and Wear and allowing the interconnection and through running of tram services from Newcastle to Gateshead, Jarrow and North Shields forming one of Britain's largest urban tramways until the reduction of the system after World War 2 and the introduction of the cheaper more versatile trolley buses.
The following are the names of the tramways associated with the Tyne and Wear area:
Unfortunately there is not much information on some of these as they were more likely incorporated in to the larger Newcastle and Sunderland systems or abandoned early on but where I can find information I have put it in with the relevant main topic. If you have more information on any of these or other articles drop me a line: nathan_darroch@msn.com.