Newcastle & North Shields Railway

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Newcastle & North Shields Railiway

Legend Blyth & Tyne Railway towards Whitley Bay Tynemouth Tynemouth Closed 1882 North Shields Percy Main Willington Quay Closed 1973 Howdon Point Pleasant Closed 1973 Howdon Viaduct Carville Closed 1973 Wallsend Walker Closed 1973 Walkergate St Anthony's Closed 1960 Tyne and Wear Metro towards St James St Peter's Closed 1973 East Coast Main Line towards Morpeth Heaton Closed 1980 Byker Closed 1954 Blyth & Tyne Railway towards Jesmond Manors Carliol Square Closed 1850 Durham Coast Line towards Sunderland Newcastle Central East Coast Main Line towards Durham

The Newcastle & North Shields Railway was opened in June 1839 from a station in Carliol Square in Newcastle upon Tyne to North Shields. It was later extended to Newcastle Central Station to the west and to Tynemouth in the East, initially at its own station but later to a through station linking with the Blyth & Tyne Railway. It was later absorbed by the North Eastern Railway and the route was electrified in 1904 as part of the Tyneside Electrics programme.

A 10km loop via Walker known as the Riverside Branch was added in 1879. Services were withdrawn from the branch on 23 July 1973. The Riverside Branch has now been converted into a footpath and cyclepath known as Hadrian's Way - it forms part of both the C2C cycle route (National Cycle Network route 72) and the Hadrian's Wall National Trail.

Almost all of the main route (from a point just east of Heaton to Tynemouth and beyond) was converted to form part of the Tyne & Wear Metro Yellow line from 1982.