Weardale Railway

Weardale Railway
Stanhope Station, 2004
Locale	County Durham
Commercial operations
Name	Weardale Railway
Original gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Owned by	Auckland Project
Length	18 mi (29 km)
Preserved gauge	4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Commercial history
Opened	19 April 1842
30 January 1843	Passenger service
8 November 1843	Freight service
Closed to passengers	1953
Closed	1992
Preservation history
Late 2009	Reconnected to the National Network
23 May 2010	Weardale Railway resumes passenger service
Easter 2016	Witton-le-Wear reopens
Headquarters	Stanhope

v t e Weardale Railway
Legend
Wearhead St John's Chapel Westgate-in-Weardale River Wear Eastgate Goods Site of Lafarge cement works Eastgate-in-Weardale Current limit of passenger operations Stanhope Frosterley Kingfisher Bishopley Wolsingham Wolsingham Railway Bridge over River Wear Wolsingham Depot Harperley Witton-le-Wear Weardale Extension Railway to Consett via Crook Wear Valley Junction Witton Park Viaduct over River Wear Etherley Durham to Bishop Auckland Line to Durham Bishop Auckland West Weardale Railway Network Rail Bishop Auckland Sth Durham & Lancashire Union Rly to Kirkby Stephen East Clarence Railway to Ferryhill via Byers Green Shildon Brusselton Lane & freight lines ( closed pre-1955 ) Tees Valley Line (Former Stockton & Darlington Railway)

The Weardale Railway is an independently owned British single-track branch line heritage railway between Bishop Auckland, Witton-le-Wear, Wolsingham, Frosterley and Stanhope. Weardale Railway began services on 23 May 2010, but decided to run special trains rather than a scheduled service for the 2013 season. The line was purchased by the Auckland Project in 2020 with a view to restarting passenger services.^[1] In 2021, a bid was submitted to the Restoring Your Railway fund.^[2] In October 2021, the Department for Transport allocated funding for the development of a business case.^[3]

The railway originally ran from Bishop Auckland to Wearhead in County Durham, North-East England, a distance of 25 miles (40 km), built in the 19th century to carry limestone from Eastgate-in-Weardale, and provide passenger services to Weardale. Passenger services ceased in 1953, leaving only freight services to Eastgate until 1992.

After the quarry's owner Lafarge moved to road transport in 1993, the line was threatened with closure by British Rail (BR), and it was taken over by a group of enthusiasts. The Weardale Railway currently runs for 18 miles (29 km) between Bishop Auckland and the site of Eastgate-in-Weardale Station, making the line one of the longest preserved standard gauge heritage railways in Great Britain.