page_title: North Sunderland Railway
section_title: Since 1923
hierarchical_section_title: North Sunderland Railway / History / Since 1923
caption_attribution_description: English: North Sunderland Railway mixed train from Seahouses at Chathill, 1939View NW, with the NSR branch just visible on the left, curving in from Seahouses. The locomotive is the Diesel-electric 0-4-0 'Lady Armstrong', built by Armstrong-Whitworth in 1934, withdrawn 1946. The line lasted until 27/10/51.
context_page_description: The North Sunderland Railway was a railway line in Northumberland, England. It was opened in 1898, and ran from Chathill to Seahouses, with an intermediate station at North Sunderland. Chathill was on the main line of the North Eastern Railway between Morpeth and Berwick. The branch was four miles in length and a single track with standard gauge track.
  The line was built independently, and money was always scarce. In 1933 an early diesel shunting locomotive was acquired for the line, bought on the hire-purchase system.
  After World War II the company's indebtedness and lack of income precipitated closure, which took place in 1951.
context_section_description: The North Eastern Railway was a constituent of the new London and North Eastern Railway in 1923, following the Railways Act 1921. By January 1939 the LNER was owed £4,500 by the North Sunderland Railway in operating charges; by 1948, when the railways were nationalised, this had escalated to £14,941. Upgrade of the track and some structures to handle heavier vehicles was essential and the little company had no money to pay for this work.
  Meanwhile, in the 1930s the engineering company Armstrong Whitworth had been experimenting with diesel traction, and as part of their development work they built a small four-wheeled 75 hp diesel shunting locomotive. In November 1933 this was allocated to the North Sunderland line. It was not possible to fit air brakes on the small locomotive, but the passenger trains on the branch were not fitted with continuous brakes anyway. The locomotive was purchased on hire purchase for £1,850.
  Management of the line was taken over by the LNER in 1939. Trains took 20mins. on the branch, with 6 trains a day before closure. It was initially operated by Manning Wardle 0-6-0 Bamburgh, which was scrapped about 1948. 'Bamburgh' was replaced by an 0-4-0 diesel electric locomotive, 'Lady Armstrong', delivered in 1934. They were replaced until closure by NER Class H (LNER Class Y7) and passenger trains had two Great Eastern Railway 6-wheel coaches.
caption: North Sunderland Railway mixed train from Seahouses at Chathill, 1939
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