R.o.B Railways
The Clarence Railway
Introduction: This railway named after the Duke of Clarence a land owner in County Durham, had its background due to the original scheme of George Overton and the proposal for a canal or railway connecting the south Durham coal fields with the docks at Stockton. It also came about due to the fact that the StocktonDarlington businessmen to build the Stockton and Darlington railway wanted a more direct and cheaper route to carry coal to Stockton. This line was to be the first competitive railway in the world and was also to be an early user of electric traction. It was also to form part of the battle between the Hartlepool Railway and Dock company and the Stockton and Darlington railway for iron traffic in Cleveland on the south side of the River Tees.
A map of the Clarence railway and surrounding routes
History: With the success of the SDR and its impact on coal trade in south and central Durham, a group of business men from Stockton got together and proposed an act of parliament to build a new line running parallel to the SDR then branching off to head to Haverton hill via Stockton. The leading hand in the building of an alternative route was Christopher Tennant who operated 40 wagons of coal a day over the S&DR to his lime kilns at Thickley. Plans were drawn up for the route that would closely follow George Overton�s tramway plan of 1819 and the former planned route for the canal which Tennant was a great campaigner for. The directors of the un-built railway approached the S&DR with an offer for joint ownership and the development of a deep port at Haverton Hill, on the north bank of the River Tees, but the S&DR refused. This state of affairs developed further when the S&DR board announced in 1827 that they were going to develop a new port at port Darlington, now Middlesbrough.
After various difficulties, the Clarence railway act was passed in 1828. The act authorized the construction of a main line from Haverton hill in Stockton, to join the SDR at Sim pasture farm, between the 17 and 17 � mileposts from Stockton as well as 3 branches to the north of Bishop Auckland to gain access to the collieries not served by the S&DR branches. These branches never got past Byers Hill, Ferryhill or Broomhill. Due to the failure of the branch lines this meant that the railway had to rely on the use of the S&DR route to Shildon from Sim Pasture junction with the SDR taking great advantage by charging the Clarence railway a fortune for each ton operated over the line. In 1830 the coal drops at Port Darlington were formed by the SDR for the transfer of coal to ships that were using this new canal saving the ships having to continue to Stockton. However to further enhance competition the SDR continued on to Middlesborough which is covered in the Stockton and Darlington railway topic.
A steam Locomotive hauls one of the new electrics over the route in 1915 checking clearances.
The Clarence railway was opened through to Stockton in the July of 1833 taking quite a large chunk out of the SDR's own coal traffic and profits at the same time. In 1834 coal also started to be shipped from Haverton hill which is just east of Stockton on the north bank of the river Tees sited on a man made canal from when the river was diverted. This was the second cut that had been made across a loop in the River Tees and was 1,100 yards long. This canal has been made at Portrack near Stockton and stretches from Blue House Point to Newport. Portrack is situated on a hazardous meander on the Tees where large ships had to be tugged by men or horses towards the port of Stockton. This is called �racking� and is the reason Port-rack acquired its name. This was also the reason why the SDR and the Stockton business men were eager to extend railways closer to the river mouth to alleviate this kind of problem. In 1834 the line was completed to Port Clarence at the mouth of the river where coal was solely loaded from then on while the SDR docks at Middlesbrough also developed though the Clarence railways� port was closer to the sea than was the SDR's at Port Darlington. In 1865 the North Eastern railway took over the line as part of its empire and the S&DR was soon to follow, though the Clarence railway was 6 miles shorter it was never a success.
A Darlington bound train passes over Sim pasture junction probably in the early 1960's. The line to the right is the Clarence railway.
The Route: As was mentioned above the Clarence railway started at Shildon Marshalling yards where coal was delivered from the pits in the Bishop Auckland area. The line then ran parallel to the SDR between Shildon and Sim Pasture before branching eastwards at this latter point. It then continued an easterly path crossing what is now the East Coast Main line a couple of miles north of Aycliffe village. At Stillington the Ferryhill branch joined the route from a north westerly direction continuing on to Carlton where a junction was to be later formed with the line from Wingate to Thornaby line built by the NER. At what is now Norton South junction on the Stockton and Hartlepool railway the Clarence railway continues eastwards to Billingham, at Billingham Junction the Clarence railway continues straight on in a double track formation with the Stockton and Hartlepool railway curving sharply to the north.
Number 11 of the NER numbering approaches Aycliffe with a load of coal wagons.
A short piece on the S&HR is below. This section of the Clarence railway is part of the original terminus at Haverton hill with the extension of 1834 to Port Clarence which from the sidings at Haverton hill is single track to the refineries and port. The electrified route however took a slightly different path from Carlton junction as it joined the Wingate to Thornaby line through Redmarshall to Bowesfield junction opened in 1877. At Bowesfield there was until not so long ago a large signal box that controlled the Leeds Northern extension to Stockton which formed a large triangle to Middlesbrough for the SDR line as well as the route from Red Marshall which split the triangle in two.
Electrification: Just before World War 1, the North eastern railway decided to experiment with electric traction using 1,500vDc, locomotives getting the power from overhead wires rather than a third rail as the trains did in the Newcastle area. If the experiment was successful the NER would then electrify its route between York and Newcastle on their high speed main line through Darlington. The new overhead electrified line was to run from Shildon to Newport docks in Middlesbrough along part of the Clarence railway as far as Carlton junction, to provide for the easier movement of coal in a faster and more economical way than before. When the electrification was completed in 1915 there was less traffic than was expected, caused by restrictions on exporting coal during the war but the continued. With the coal and iron mines moving closer to the coast revenue from the route was soon lacking even worse than it had been and when 1934 saw renewals of the overhead were due and it was decided to abandon the use of the electrics and revert back to steam. In 1935 the large yards at Shildon were closed with the engine shed following close behind. The sub station for Newport yard remained in situ for another 15 years near Middlesbrough�s former Greyhound track until the 1950�s.
A look at No 3 in North Eastern livery
The locomotives: There were ten electric locomotives built to operate the line all of which were based at Shildon shed for the first part of their lives. They were classified as EB1 under NER ownership when they were built at Darlington Works and allocated the numbers 3-12 in the electric fleet Nos 1 and 2 of a different design were already allocated to the North Tyneside docks. The locomotives as was mentioned were built at Darlington works with Siemens acting as sub contractors for the electrical work. The first 8 locomotives were ready for operation in 1914 but as the electrification of the line to Newport was not complete they remained in store until testing in 1st July 1915 having been transferred in the June. From the middle of July electric freight services were in full swing providing a fast service to the yards at Newport where trains were marshaled for taking to the nearby steel works.
When Shildon yards closed in 1935 and the abandonment of the electric system on the route the locomotives were put in store at Darlington works with LNER numbers 6490-6499. In 1942 the former number 11 LNER 6408, was transferred to Doncaster for rebuilding as an experiment for the electrification of the trans pennine Woodhead route.
In 1947 the other locomotives were transferred to South Gosforth for storage under BR and having been allocated as class 26 under the BR TOPs classification system. In 1948 the former number 11 joined its sisters in store at South Gosforth where it was given its BR number of 26510. However in 1949 it was again brought in to use as a carriage shunting locomotive on the Eastern region at Ilford depot where it was renumbered departmental No.100. 26510 was not withdrawn until 1960 when the Eastern region changed from 1500vDc operation to 25kVac operation. The others' having gone to scrap in 1950 with the exception of 26504 which was kept at Darlington for spare parts.
The line today: Today the site of the marshalling yards at Shildon is still visible, and is where the NRM LOCOMOTION museum is sited. The line to Sim pasture junction is still in use as it is now the Heritage line to Bishop Auckland from Darlington.
At Newton Aycliffe formerly Sim pasture there is now a station, opened on 1st January 1978, to serve the town which to that time had had to use Heighington station some way to the south. At Newton Aycliffe station there is evidence of a bridge at the station that used to carry a road of the Clarence railway and also a footpath will take the follower along part of the old route over another bridge and on to the old great north road where unfortunately the bridge has been bricked up. The Clarence railway is still in regular use from Stillington through Billingham and to port Clarence where there are now several major petroleum refineries. The line can be connected with from Middlesbrough using the Transporter bridge and also can be followed for much of its route to the port.
Extensions: The Sunderland News and North of England Advertiser, June 5, 1852:
�The new docks at Hartlepool furnishing a safe and convenient egress for vessels, where they are frequently windbound, an extension to Hartlepool of the Stockton and Clarence Railway, for the convenience of the collieries in that district, was projected in the year 1838. An act was obtained, and the new line opened in 1841. An agreement for three years was entered into with the Dock and Railway Company for leave to ship coals at the Hartlepool Dock. The terms, however were unsatisfactory, the dues being high; and this limiting the supply of coals at Hartlepool, the Hartlepool line proved un-renumerative. The old company, secure in their monopoly, disregarded all representations in favour of a reduction � foolishly preferring a small traffic with an exorbitant profit than a large one at more moderate charges. The parties connected with the railway had thus the consideration forced upon them of constructing docks of their own.�
This newspaper article was written at a time when the owners of the Clarence railway knew that their port was not attracting enough traffic in ships or coal. They also had the problem of the line they shared with the Hartlepool railway and Dock company was costing them far too much in costs per ton much like the section owned by the SDR. To resolve this they had built a line northwards up the coast to the already established port at Hartlepool with the line opening in 1841. This route today forms the route from Stockton top Hartlepool.
A plan of the factory in the 1940's. The stations are at the top.
R.O.F 9: Royal ordnance factory No.9 was constructed during WW2. This factory had extensive sidings and a fleet of 8 locomotives for shunting. Due to the size of the factory and the presumed number of employees it was decided that Heighington station on the Darlington to Bishop Auckland line (former SDR route to Shildon) which was nearby, was not large enough for the numbers of passengers that would use it in any one day as the government were expecting about 30,000 people to work at the factory. To resolve the risk of congestion 2 new stations were built by the LNER on the northern edge of the factory having branches serving them from the Shildon to Newport line. These stations became known as Sim pasture east and Demons bridge. The two stations were of the same general layout with a single track off the Westbound line of the Shildon to Newport line curving southwards in to the factory with a crossover at each point allowing trains to run over tot the correct running line. Two new signal boxes were built in the angles of each curve with the lines branching around island platforms. Sim Pasture was to serve people coming from the North westerly area around Bishop Auckland, with Devils Bridge serving those coming from Teeside while those from Darlington went to Heighington.
Simpasture east had 4 platform faces and Demons Bridge had 6 platform faces. There was a single engine run round at Sim pasture east and 2 at Demons Bridge. At the terminal end of the platforms there were head-shunts with trailing sprung points set for the run round loop lines. The engine would be uncoupled and permission gained from the signal man to proceed with the maneuver by use of a phone at the end of the platform. The engine would then move forward and set back without the fireman having to change the points as they would automatically re-set. This layout allowed minimum delay and layover times. The amount of workers at the factory never reached the designed levels and by the end of the war only 12,000 people worked there with 20 trains a day. One of the engines that shunted the factory was very similar to the one pictured above which is an official photo of no.1632 �IRLAM� that was out-shopped on 19/02/1929 and was the starter of the new design. This engine went to work at the C.W.S Ltd, Higher Irlam Works in Lancashire. 4 of these engines, built by Hudswell, Clarke and Co Ltd of Leeds, were ordered by the Ministry of Defence as oil burners one of which was provided to R.O.F 9 after its construction in 30/08/1941 as works no.1722 R.O.F 9 No.3. These engines were built to a standard design of 0-4-0ST but had longer valve strokes and a longer tank to earlier machines. The oil tank replaced what would originally have been the coal bunker on the left of the cab.