The Aerofilms/Britain from above web site photos EAW013850 and 013851 show rail trucks on sidings at the above location on 16/3/1948. Sometimes referred to as Thistle Green sidings in council records this yard was relaid and repositioned some 400 yards from its downstream end during the second half of 1949 but not finished due as the contractor concentrated on building road support trenches and the foundations of the new warehouse, including piling. The contractor claimed the lack of an experienced platelayer, one hired c.1/11/1949, for the delay.
Just to make it completely clear there was no connection between this marshalling yard and the North Shore Branch Line. The lines in the marshalling yard terminated at the gable end of the Remploy Building, which in the 1930s had been the headquarters of Ropners, the ship builders. The marshalling yard was a fairly barmy scheme. To get through to the main line system to the south, it had to make use of a single track railway which was set into narrow and meandering quayside road. There is now a computer simulation of a locomotive driving from St John’s Crossing through to the start of the marshalling yard.
I am pleased, nay, relieved to see this picture. I have always had in my memory the vision of these sidings on the North Shore from when I was about 9 or 10 years old (ie 1951-2) but had never seen evidence of them since. I seem to recall that they ran up to the gable end of a building.
The Ordnance Survey in July 1950 surveyed Stockton and its Quayside creating map NZ 4419SE printed and sold in 1951. This map shows the five track incomplete Quayside railway yard, isolated and going nowhere, exactly as seen in the above photo. The new Quayside depot(later SPD) is also on the map, possibly still under construction, but devoid of any rail connections and circumventing railway to the noted rail yard. Thus the photo was probably taken in early 1950 as the depot still awaits construction above. Photo id=5057 titled- Aerial view of Stockton Quay c.1953 appears to show a row of wagons in the completed Quayside yard, and illustrates that only the old Ropner Shipyard site prevented most of Stockton from being totally enclosed by railway lines, the new Quayside yard barely removed from the Malleable yard.
The SPD depot was built immediately to the left of the tracks and a concrete retaining wall to the right. The Riverside road now follows the course of the sidings and the concrete wall still exists. It now has a tree shadow mural painted on it.
This temporary rail yard was laid to facilitate the construction of the new Corporation Quay depot and complex, c.1950. The finished complex can be seen in t7682. The above photo is a view towards Bishop Street with its enormous warehouse and distinctive Plaza theatre. Opposite and to the right of the Plaza can be seen part of the Bishop Street/Thistle Green corner shop, 1-3 Thistle Green, then a small flat topped workshop once a store for market lamps later a tyre centre, and finally the edge of the Three Tuns public house.
I am certain that this shows the building of a new siding along side the River Tees around about 1948. Effectively this was in a very wide cutting overlooked by a very badly made up road which ran from the the Plaza Cinema to the Remploy Factory. The sidings stopped and this point and they connected up to the main line via a single track which ran along side the river until it reached another small marshalling yard just to the north of the main road going the Victoria Bridge ( near where Locomotion No 1 arrived). There was no connection through to the Malleable Iron works. This was served by another system which ran across the concrete bridge on Church Road and then round past Tilery until it joined the main system just north of Stockton Station and the Gasworks. The siding was a big mistake,and was hardly used.Only an occaional ship came up the river. All of this area now under a duel carriageway road. I know all this because I saw it getting built when I was about 5-7 years old. I also used to walk this route when I went from Portrack to catch a bus to Richard Hind school between 1954 and 59
I agree with Bob Harbron that this is a view of Stockton riverside with possibly the reception sidings for the Stockton Malleable Iron Works in the foreground – these sidings were fed from the North Shore branch & are the only sidings in the area laid roughly east to west as seen in the photograph. If you refer to the 1899 Ordnance Survey map (or visit Durham County Councils GIS website & view their online maps) & line up the buildings in the background of the photograph with those shown on the map, Finkle Street, Bishop Street & the Corporation quay all fit in nicely with a view taken from the reception sidings – it also looks like the demolition &/or rebuilding work being carried out in the middle of the photograph is around the area that was once the North Shore ship yards & also possibly the Commercial, Union Street area.
The “Plaza Cinema, frontage in Bishop Street to the right background, on enlarged view the over street projection box visible, plus the white end building of Finkle Street, among the Corporation Quay crane jibs to the left. Was this photo taken when the rail system along the Quay was being replaced as a large mobile crane (track-layer)) appears in front of the large warehouse, on the original track, awaiting either week-end or non shipping work.
This set of railway lines were situated along the side of Bishop Street. Trucks presumably carrying goods to be put on boats at the Stockton Quay. At the end where the Rebrant Factory was, are placed buffers. I think that trucks were fed in from the Railway at Portrack Crossing
Hi Chris It looks to me that this is a photograph of a railway under renewal or even construction. The temporary “sleeper buffer stops” and the lack of “top ballast” would not be acceptable for general running of trains. The position of the cranes also would make it unlikely that it was Stockton Quay as the lines are to the east of the docks where there was no railway.
I agree with Chris I don”t remember the quayside being wide enough to accommodate that number of tracks side by side – could it be Middlesbrough docks just east of the station?
I know the railway history very well of Stockton. This photo puzzles me as I have never seen that amount of tracks on the riverside. The buildings in the background do not look like Stockton either. I would be interested to see the original print!
The Aerofilms/Britain from above web site photos EAW013850 and 013851 show rail trucks on sidings at the above location on 16/3/1948. Sometimes referred to as Thistle Green sidings in council records this yard was relaid and repositioned some 400 yards from its downstream end during the second half of 1949 but not finished due as the contractor concentrated on building road support trenches and the foundations of the new warehouse, including piling. The contractor claimed the lack of an experienced platelayer, one hired c.1/11/1949, for the delay.
Just to make it completely clear there was no connection between this marshalling yard and the North Shore Branch Line. The lines in the marshalling yard terminated at the gable end of the Remploy Building, which in the 1930s had been the headquarters of Ropners, the ship builders. The marshalling yard was a fairly barmy scheme. To get through to the main line system to the south, it had to make use of a single track railway which was set into narrow and meandering quayside road. There is now a computer simulation of a locomotive driving from St John’s Crossing through to the start of the marshalling yard.
I am pleased, nay, relieved to see this picture. I have always had in my memory the vision of these sidings on the North Shore from when I was about 9 or 10 years old (ie 1951-2) but had never seen evidence of them since. I seem to recall that they ran up to the gable end of a building.
The Ordnance Survey in July 1950 surveyed Stockton and its Quayside creating map NZ 4419SE printed and sold in 1951. This map shows the five track incomplete Quayside railway yard, isolated and going nowhere, exactly as seen in the above photo. The new Quayside depot(later SPD) is also on the map, possibly still under construction, but devoid of any rail connections and circumventing railway to the noted rail yard. Thus the photo was probably taken in early 1950 as the depot still awaits construction above. Photo id=5057 titled- Aerial view of Stockton Quay c.1953 appears to show a row of wagons in the completed Quayside yard, and illustrates that only the old Ropner Shipyard site prevented most of Stockton from being totally enclosed by railway lines, the new Quayside yard barely removed from the Malleable yard.
The SPD depot was built immediately to the left of the tracks and a concrete retaining wall to the right. The Riverside road now follows the course of the sidings and the concrete wall still exists. It now has a tree shadow mural painted on it.
This temporary rail yard was laid to facilitate the construction of the new Corporation Quay depot and complex, c.1950. The finished complex can be seen in t7682. The above photo is a view towards Bishop Street with its enormous warehouse and distinctive Plaza theatre. Opposite and to the right of the Plaza can be seen part of the Bishop Street/Thistle Green corner shop, 1-3 Thistle Green, then a small flat topped workshop once a store for market lamps later a tyre centre, and finally the edge of the Three Tuns public house.
I am certain that this shows the building of a new siding along side the River Tees around about 1948. Effectively this was in a very wide cutting overlooked by a very badly made up road which ran from the the Plaza Cinema to the Remploy Factory. The sidings stopped and this point and they connected up to the main line via a single track which ran along side the river until it reached another small marshalling yard just to the north of the main road going the Victoria Bridge ( near where Locomotion No 1 arrived). There was no connection through to the Malleable Iron works. This was served by another system which ran across the concrete bridge on Church Road and then round past Tilery until it joined the main system just north of Stockton Station and the Gasworks. The siding was a big mistake,and was hardly used.Only an occaional ship came up the river. All of this area now under a duel carriageway road. I know all this because I saw it getting built when I was about 5-7 years old. I also used to walk this route when I went from Portrack to catch a bus to Richard Hind school between 1954 and 59
I agree with Bob Harbron that this is a view of Stockton riverside with possibly the reception sidings for the Stockton Malleable Iron Works in the foreground – these sidings were fed from the North Shore branch & are the only sidings in the area laid roughly east to west as seen in the photograph. If you refer to the 1899 Ordnance Survey map (or visit Durham County Councils GIS website & view their online maps) & line up the buildings in the background of the photograph with those shown on the map, Finkle Street, Bishop Street & the Corporation quay all fit in nicely with a view taken from the reception sidings – it also looks like the demolition &/or rebuilding work being carried out in the middle of the photograph is around the area that was once the North Shore ship yards & also possibly the Commercial, Union Street area.
I”m wondering if these sidings were connected to the North Shore branch, and not part of the Quayside at all.
The “Plaza Cinema, frontage in Bishop Street to the right background, on enlarged view the over street projection box visible, plus the white end building of Finkle Street, among the Corporation Quay crane jibs to the left. Was this photo taken when the rail system along the Quay was being replaced as a large mobile crane (track-layer)) appears in front of the large warehouse, on the original track, awaiting either week-end or non shipping work.
This set of railway lines were situated along the side of Bishop Street. Trucks presumably carrying goods to be put on boats at the Stockton Quay. At the end where the Rebrant Factory was, are placed buffers. I think that trucks were fed in from the Railway at Portrack Crossing
Hi Chris It looks to me that this is a photograph of a railway under renewal or even construction. The temporary “sleeper buffer stops” and the lack of “top ballast” would not be acceptable for general running of trains. The position of the cranes also would make it unlikely that it was Stockton Quay as the lines are to the east of the docks where there was no railway.
I agree with Chris I don”t remember the quayside being wide enough to accommodate that number of tracks side by side – could it be Middlesbrough docks just east of the station?
I know the railway history very well of Stockton. This photo puzzles me as I have never seen that amount of tracks on the riverside. The buildings in the background do not look like Stockton either. I would be interested to see the original print!