Forest Hall railway station

The station was opened as Benton in February 1856 by the North Eastern Railway. It was situated north of the level crossing behind 'The Flying Scotsman' public house. There were no goods sidings at Forest Hall but the RCH Handbook of Sidings indicates that goods traffic was handled at the station, which may have been small items that could have been dealt with at the passenger platforms. On 1 December 1874, the station's name was changed to Forest Hall to avoid confusion with the Benton station on the Blyth and Tyne Railway, which had been acquired by the North Eastern Railway in that year. In 1951, only 1,928 tickets were sold in the year; less than 6 a day. This inevitably lead to the…