In December, six new railway stations will open between Newcastle upon Tyne and Ashington, helping the economic revival of a former mining area. Teesside will look enviously on as Northumberland makes a bold reversal of a Beeching Axe cut. Could this success be repeated in Teesside, helping the economic revival of its former mining area? It could, with a bit of imagination and willpower.
East Cleveland Line
I’ve written about the potential re-opening of the railway line from Middlesbrough to Scarborough. You can read about this here. I’ve also written about some proposed Teesside rail improvements here. My Scarborough proposals were probably over-ambitious, but the ‘East Cleveland Line’ element could be realized. In January 2024, the Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) commissioned a £1mn study into re-opening the line. Although this was probably just pre-election posturing, the new government may wish to take the project forward, subject to the recommendations of the study outcome.
Teesside Circle Line
This could lead to the re-opening of North Skelton, Brotton, Skinningrove, Loftus and, possibly, Staithes railway stations. But, separate to this, there is the possibility of reopening a line entirely within East Cleveland. This would be the Teesside Circle Line.
This would be a loop railway, stretching east from Middlesbrough to Saltburn, south to Skelton and Boosbeck, west to Slapewath and Guisborough, then returning north to Middlesbrough via Nunthorpe. And vice versa, obviously. Here is a map of the route
Economic regeneration
A fast, regular 15-minute interval commuter service, bringing places such as Guisborough within 20 minutes of key workplaces such as James Cook Hospital and Teesside University. Quicker access to business destinations: London from Middlesbrough, or Manchester Airport from Redcar and Middlesbrough. Opening of leisure and tourism opportunities between Guisborough, Saltburn and Redcar. The flexibility of a loop line to allow reverse running in the event of service disruption.
Boots on the ground
I visited the route of the Teesside Circle Line, including the location of five new proposed stations, the main structures and trackbed that are still intact, and those that would need to be replaced. Details as follows, moving clockwise along the route:
Middlesbrough to Saltburn
I started at Middlesbrough and took the train to Saltburn. Northern Rail provides a half-hourly service to Saltburn with intermediate stations at South Bank, Redcar Central, Redcar East, Longbeck and Marske. TPE also provides an hourly service from Manchester Airport to Saltburn, but this service will be cut back to Redcar with effect from December 2024.
Re-location of Saltburn station
As described in my Scarborough line article, Saltburn railway station would need to be re-relocated from the current terminus station to a new ‘through’ station above Windsor Road, about 200 metres away. The now-redundant line from Saltburn West Junction to the former station, including the former platforms, would be transformed into a linear park, including some allotments transferred from the Windsor Road area.
North Skelton
I followed the Cleveland Way footpath inland to Skelton-in-Cleveland, then headed along the conveniently named Station Lane to the proposed site of North Skelton railway station, on the site of the previous one which closed in 1951. The rail junction just east of the station would be restored, with the existing freight line heading north east towards Brotton, and the Teesside Circle Line curving south east. Just after the lines diverged, they passed over Vaughan Street. They can be seen in the photograph below. The bridge in the foreground carries the line towards Brotton and the Boulby mine. The bridge in the foreground carried the currently redundant line to Guisborough, curving south towards the next station on the proposed circle line, Boosbeck.
Boosbeck
The track bed between North Skelton and Boosbeck is not public land, and a diversion is required via the Cleveland Street Trail, which runs parallel, then along Boosbeck Road.
The former railway station at Boosbeck is a private house now. The station closed in 1960. The reinstated Boosbeck station would be located on the other side of the main road, where Cycle Route 168 picks up the former railway track bed. I was able to follow this route for the next 4 miles/6.5 km, through to the far side of Guisborough. Another 30-minute walk took me to Margrove Ponds Nature Reserve, excavated by Carr’s Tilery in the 19th Century.
Slapewath
Just along from Margrove Ponds, Slapewath is a very different place to what it was at the height of the ironstone boom. A busy freight railway hub, with the Cleveland Railway carrying iron from mines such as Lumpsey and Loftus to the River Tees at Normanby Wharf. Spa Wood mine was here, and freight branches served Slapewath mine in nearby Charltons village, and Skelton mine in the other direction. Slapewath never had a passenger railway station, but a new station to be known as Slapewath Parkway would be built just next to the Fox and Hounds pub, serving the A171 road, and incorporating footpath and cycle links to Charltons and Margrove Park villages.
East Cleveland is beautiful
The magnificent sandstone Slapewath Viaduct still crosses Alumworks Beck. The surface of the viaduct is overgrown in this heavily wooded area, so cycle route 168 is temporarily diverted to run alongside the A171 instead. It then veers back up to the railway track bed near Round Close farm. The line heads towards Guisborough, digging through a band of shale, and the vegetation in the deep cutting is almost tropical.
The trackbed here is known as ‘The Lines’ and delineates suburbia to the north and the forest to the south.
The next railway station on the Teesside Circle Line, Guisborough, would be at Enfield Chase. This is the location where, up until 1964, a short rail spur ran to Guisborough railway station on Bow Street. The station has since been replaced by a nondescript office block, and most of the track bed of the spur has been built over.
Ghost railways and stations
The replacement station at Enfield Chase would be a ‘through’ station.
The alternative, a reversal into a terminus station on the site of the former station, isn’t feasible. The embankment of another industrial railway then trails in from the left. This served the Belmont mines until 1921.
Guisborough, just like Slapewath, was a busy rail hub back in the day. Cycle Route 168 leaves the track bed to the left here, heading over the moors towards Kildale, just before the location of Hutton Gate station. The platforms and station building of Hutton Gate are extant, but this station isn’t proposed for re-opening, as the area would be well served by two nearby stations, Guisborough and Roseberry Parkway.
North York Moors National Park
The track bed becomes private property, and the Guisborough Forest and Walkway diverts past Hutton Hall, just within the northern boundary of the North York Moors National Park. When the park was designated in 1952, East Cleveland was a heavily industrialized area, and it was excluded from the park. But that was then. Now would be a good time to include towns such as Loftus, Guisborough and Saltburn within the park. Also, incredibly, the park doesn’t include the most dramatic escarpment of the North York Moors massif, the Eston Hills. This needs to change. The park boundary should be extended to the A174 road to include them.
Roseberry Parkway
An abandoned level crossing gatepost marks the return to the railway track bed on the approach to the Guisborough Walkway and Visitor Centre.
The first proposal for Roseberry Parkway railway station appeared in 2019, with a photo opportunity for some local politicians. Nothing ever came of it, nor was it intended to, and the local MP Simon Clarke failed to even suggest a proposed location for the new station for fear of offending NIMBY voters. But my proposed location for Roseberry Parkway, named after local landmark mountain Roseberry Topping, would be next to the former Pinchinthorpe railway station, and the Guisborough Forest and Walkway Visitor Centre, and adjacent to the A173 road.
Roseberry Topping
Roseberry Parkway’s namesake landmark soon became visible as I headed towards Nunthorpe railway station.
But the Guisborough Branch Walkway hits a dead end two miles after leaving Pinchinthorpe. The Esk Valley Line from Whitby, which is still open, merged with the Guisborough line here, but unfortunately no provision has been made to continue the footpath next to the railway line. Instead, the path is diverted via an inconvenient circuitous route, including two level crossings. Crossing the Nunthorpe bypass isn’t too much fun either.
Infrastructure
So I returned back to Nunthorpe railway station to catch the train home. This journey reminded me of some of the challenges that would need to be met if the Teesside Circle Line were to be built.
The double-track section between here and Middlesbrough, removed as a cost-cutting measure in 1986, would need to be restored. Similarly, when the freight line between Saltburn and Boulby was re-opened in 1974, only a single line was built. Double track would need to be restored between Saltburn and North Skelton. A new rail bridge would need to be built across the A171 at Slapewath, and the rail bridge west of the former Hutton Gate station would need to be reinstated. The line would be electrified to provide swift acceleration of trains, essential on a line with numerous stops. Various footpaths, bridleways and cycleways that currently occupy much of the track bed would need to be relocated to run parallel to the new line, but the quiet, green trains wouldn’t cause much disturbance to users.
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