The border county of Northumberland and the Land of the Prince Bishops, County Durham, are both steeped in history. From the uninhabited uplands of the Pennines and Cheviots to the coast there are ancient hillforts, substantial Roman remains and dozens of castles. Railway history is in abundance too, with evidence of some of Britain’s earliest wagonways, the economic harnessing of steam power thanks to local heroes Hedley, Hackworth and the Stephensons, and of course the Stockton & Darlington Railway which is about to celebrate its bicentennial.

It is a land of great contrasts, though less so since the demise of its traditional industries. Outside of the once smoke-blackened conurbations of Tyneside, Wearside and Teesside there are few major towns, and this is reflected in today’s railway map. On the modern railway, so much of the former North Eastern Railway has gone and nothing remains of the Northumbrian section of the North British Railway. With hindsight, some of those closures are regrettable, but at least one line is making a passenger comeback in the 21st century.

Of the railways that did close forever, there is still much to see. Driving across Northumberland and Durham the motorist frequently encounters viaducts, bridges and embankments, substantial stations and other buildings converted into accommodation or other imaginative uses. This book sets out to portray the railways of those two counties as they were in the latter days of steam between nationalisation and rationalisation.