A short lived company, the Newcastle and Berwick Railway was responsible for the construction of a crucial part of today’s east coast mainline.
Plans for a continuous east coast route to Scotland had been promoted by railway speculators since the early 1830s. George Stephenson surveyed a number of routes between Newcastle and Edinburgh and recommended a route via Berwick and Dunbar which kept close to the coast.
These plans were revived in 1844 when the railway reached Newcastle from London. The promoters of the Newcastle & Berwick Railway adopted George Stephenson’s route to join the North British Railway at Berwick. The Newcastle & Berwick Railway obtained its Act of Parliament on 31 July 1845 and appointed Robert Stephenson its chief engineer. Its strategic importance meant that in 1847 the company was amalgamated with the York & Newcastle to form the York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway.
Between its authorisation in 1845 and the opening of the line in 1850 major works of civil engineering by Robert Stephenson had been completed; the High Level Bridge (1849), the Royal Border Bridge (1850) and Newcastle Central Station (1850). With the opening of the Royal Border Bridge the York, Newcastle & Berwick Railway was linked to the North British Railway route to Edinburgh. The dream of a continuous east coast railway route to Edinburgh had become a reality.
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Good stuff
Can I assume that more will be added?
Nothing about St Pancras or the Euston Arch
It is very confusing to find the Stephensons and Brunel listed alphabetically by their Christian names. It is not too late to change this
Why list the Forth Bridge in Fife? the other end is in (mid) Lothian or Edinburghshire as it was then widely known
Posted by peter dunlop, Friday, March 2, 2012.
I am interested in the 1948 flooding in the Berwickshire and East Lothian counties which also affected the Eat COAST MAINLINE FROM NEWCASTLE/BERWICK/EDINBURGH
Posted by gordon walker, Thursday, March 1, 2012.
Gordon we have a lot of info and a good film of the 1948 floods on our facebook page Railways of Berwick and the Eastern Borders. Its a private page so you have to ask for membership( This is a precaution as we were hacked and lost everything),
Posted by george, Sunday, March 4, 2012.
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