Suscram.
  • Home
  • Project Fortnight
    • Kielder and Newcastleton
    • Bamburgh
  • Local Routes
    • Cramlington Routes>
      • Whitley Bay Route
      • Woodhorn Colliery Route
      • Suscram Holywell Route
      • Suscram Rising Sun Route
      • Suscram Blyth Route
      • Kids/Family route
      • Suscram Weetslade Route
    • Benton Routes>
      • Benton to Backworth Route
      • Benton to Tanfield Route
      • Benton to Tynemouth Route
  • Gallery
    • 2013 Group
    • Videos
    • 2012 group
    • 2011 group
  • History
    • Collieries>
      • Durham Collieries>
        • Springwell Colliery
        • Knibblesworth Colliery
        • Marley Hill Colliery
      • Northumberland Collieries>
        • Backworth Colliery
        • Cramlington Colliery
        • Woodhorn Colliery
        • Killingworth Colliery
        • Rising Sun Colliery
        • Seaton Delaval Colliery
        • Seghill Colliery
        • Weetslade Colliery
        • West Cramlington Colliery
    • Waggonways>
      • Northumberland Waggonways>
        • Plessey Woods Waggonway
        • Backworth Waggonway>
          • West Cramlington Waggonway
        • Seaton Burn Waggonway
        • Burradon And Holywell Waggonway
        • Coxlodge Wagonway
        • Cramlington Wagonway
        • Killingworth Wagonway
      • Railways>
        • Newcastle and North Shields Railway
        • Newcastle and Berwick Railway
        • Newcastle and Tynemouth Railway riverside Branch
        • Blyth and Tyne Railway
      • Durham Wagonways>
        • Woodhorn Colliery Ride
        • Tanfield Railway
        • Bowes Railway
      • Wildlife Corridors
  • Bike Maintenance & Equipment
  • Skills and tips

Northumberland Wagonways

Picture
Plessey old Wagonway (1695)

___________________________

Killingworth Wagonway (1765)

_________________________

Backworth Wagonway (1818)

__________________________

Seatonburn Wagonway (1826)

___________________________

Cramlington Wagonway (1825)

___________________________

Burradon and Hollywell Wagonway (1951)




The Wagonways

As the demand for coal grew a solution was needed to solve the transport dilemma. The solution was the early
wagonways, where a horse pulled a wagon on wooden tracks. The early wagons (chaldrons) were measured in bolls:

1 boll = 2.35cwt which is about 300 kilos
(20cwt = 1 ton)

On level ground one horse could pull 10.5 tons of coal for 24 miles. The wagonways terminated at
coal staiths.

In 1818 a line was built from Backworth A Pit to Howdon Pans and on 10th September of that year the first coal shipment from the Tyne of Backworth coal was made.

By 1821 horses had been superseded by steam on the Allotment to Percy Main sector. In 1823 the wagonway was extended to Cramlington with new Staiths at
Percy Main catering for the extra coal supplements.

The development of the wagonways and improvements in the way coal was handled at the staiths caused a threat to the livelihood of the keelmen. Violent strikes occurred in 1809, 1819 and 1822.

After the building of public steam railways, part of the wagonways
disappeared or connected to the nearest point on the new railways.

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.