Hetton colliery railway

At the beginning of the 19th century, Hetton was a very small village, located about 3.2 km south of Houghton-le-Spring. Based on the results of a favourable survey report in April 1816, the Hetton Coal Company was established as a partnership three years later, becoming County Durham’s first major company; on 13 May 1821, the company signed a mining lease with Lyon. The company’s management, which consisted largely of experienced colliers and local investors, quickly recognised that any large-scale extraction effort would necessitate a means of transporting this coal towards customers, which could be found in the vicinity of the city of Sunderland. Following a review of various options, it…

The pioneering railway engineer, George Stephenson, was recruited by the company to design the Hetton colliery railway, while his son, Robert Stephenson, was appointed as the resident engineer to oversee its construction. as well as other sites, such as the Wallsend Waggonway. One of the more challenging geographical features of the route was Warden Law Hill; this was addressed in the form of a pair of stationary reciprocating engines, each capable of generating up to 44.7 kW of power, which hauled groups of eight wagons. Overall, the route featured a total of five self-acting inclines, where a roped system would allow the ascending empty wagons to be powered up the incline by the momentum…