Kenton Bank railway station explained

Kenton Bank
Status:Disused
Borough:Kenton, Newcastle upon Tyne
Country:England
Coordinates:55.0142°N -1.6793°W
Grid Name:Grid reference
Platforms:1
Original:North Eastern Railway
Pregroup:North Eastern Railway
Postgroup:London and North Eastern Railway
Years:1 June 1905
Events:Opened as Kenton
Years1:1 July 1923
Events1:Renamed Kenton Bank
Years2:17 June 1929
Events2:Closed to passengers
Years3:3 January 1966
Events3:Closed to freight

Kenton Bank was a railway station on the Ponteland Railway, which ran between South Gosforth and Ponteland, with a sub-branch line to Darras Hall. The station served Kenton in Newcastle upon Tyne.

The station was opened as Kenton on 1 June 1905, by the North Eastern Railway. It was later renamed Kenton Bank in July 1923, to avoid confusion with the station of the same name on the Mid-Suffolk Light Railway.

History

The Gosforth and Ponteland Light Railway was formed in 1899, under the Light Railways Act 1896 (59 & 60 Vict. c. 48). Construction of the line by the North Eastern Railway was authorised by Parliament in February 1901.

In March 1905, the 7-mile section from South Gosforth to Ponteland was opened to goods traffic, with passenger services commencing in June 1905.[1]

A 11⁄4-mile extension of the branch line to the garden city of Darras Hall in Northumberland, known as the Little Callerton Railway, was authorised in 1909. Unlike the Gosforth and Ponteland Light Railway, the extension was not constructed as a light railway. Passenger services commenced between Ponteland and Darras Hall in October 1913.[2]

In 1922, the branch line was served by six weekday passenger trains, with an additional train running on Saturday. Only three trains ran through to Darras Hall.[3]

As a result of poor passenger numbers, the station, along with the branch line closed to passengers on 17 June 1929.[4] The station remained open for goods traffic, before closing altogether on 3 January 1966.[5]

Tyne and Wear Metro

In May 1981, a section of the former branch line was reopened in stages between South Gosforth and Bank Foot, as part of the Tyne and Wear Metro network.[6] The line was later extended from Bank Foot to Newcastle Airport in November 1991.[7] [8] The current station at Bank Foot is situated on part of the site of the former station of Kenton Bank.

Notes and References

  1. Book: Quick, Michael. Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology. Railway and Canal Historical Society. 2009. 978-0901461575. 103, 131, 142, 234, 326 and 421.
  2. Book: Quick, Michael. Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology. Railway and Canal Historical Society. 2009. 978-0901461575. 142.
  3. Book: Bradshaw's Railway Guide. Guild Publishing. 1985. Reprint. London. 1922.
  4. Book: Quick, Michael. Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology. Railway and Canal Historical Society. 2009. 978-0901461575. 234.
  5. Web site: Young. Alan. 2 July 2017. Disused Stations: Kenton Bank Station. 2020-06-10. Disused Stations.
  6. Book: Hoole, Ken. Ken Hoole. The North Eastern Electrics. 1987. The Oakwood Press. 0 85361 358 3.
  7. Web site: 17 November 2016. Metro's airport extension celebrates its 25th year. 2020-05-24. Nexus. en.
  8. Web site: Houlison. Sam. 2016-11-16. The Metro to the airport opened 25 years ago. 2020-11-14. ChronicleLive. en.