South of Weetslade Road railway bridge; main building was on Station Road

Notes: ‘The second Annitsford station was 16 chains (352yd) south of the station that it replaced. It was more conveniently sited than its predecessor to serve the village of Dudley where the colliery workers lived. The station took its name of Annitsford from a hamlet almost a mile to the east to avoid confusion with Dudley (Worcestershire) and Dudley Hill (West Riding of Yorkshire). It is noteworthy that the NER was prepared to avoid confusion not only between stations on its own network but with stations operated by other companies.

The new station acquired a building designed during the very short period (1876-77) when William Peachey was NER Architect. Peachey had designed various stations in the Darlington area (such as Etherley and Marske) before his promotion, and Annitsford is the only one outside that area which appears to be entirely his own work.  Despite being unmistakeably Gothic in inspiration, in other respects it was unlike the other Newcastle – Berwick stations both in its design and the materials of its construction – it was in brick rather than sandstone - and Fawcett (2011) remarks that it bore all the hallmarks of Peachey’s style. He describes it as a neat, stern-looking H-plan building, presenting one storey at platform level but with another floor below.  The pair of tall, assertive gables had two-light windows divided by a colonnette, rather than a mullion, and they gained their severe, heavy appearance from the large expanse of brick, latterly blackened by soot, above the windows. Between the gables was a verandah with a sloping roof and a glazed timber front. This main building was on the up (east) platform and small waiting shed was provided on the down side.

The North Eastern Railway Time Table dated 1 October 1912 shows a much more frequent service than at the first Annitsford station (then called Dudley) in 1863, although at irregular intervals.

Shortly before World War I NER statistics indicate that a population of 6,719 was served by Annitsford station, and that 41,932 tickets were booked (1911 data). In 1913 bricks and livestock were the principal goods traffic.

In 1923, when the ‘Grouping’ of railway companies took place, Annitsford was transferred from NER to London & North Eastern Railway administration. The LNER’s major contribution to the station’s appearance was the installation of standard wooden running-in nameboards with relief metal lettering.

In June 1943 Bradshaw shows the following departures from Annitsford:

In the above table, trains noted [B] travel via Benton.

The first two morning departures would have been suitable for Annitsford passengers who worked in Newcastle but there was only one convenient return train in the evening ‘rush hour’. From 1 January 1948 Annitsford was operated by British Railways’ North Eastern Region, who repainted the nameboards in the striking tangerine livery, but in other respects left the station unchanged.

In 1951 only 2,635 passengers were booked at Annitsford, a huge decline since 1911. As was the case elsewhere, the advent of motorised road transport explains the reduction in bookings. In peace time the LNER, and then BR, provided a similar frequency of calls at Annitsford as shown for 1943. However the timetable of summer 1952 introduced a marked reduction in the train frequency at this and the other minor stations on the ECML in Northumberland. At Annitsford there were southbound weekday departures to Newcastle at 8.33am, 11.04am (Saturday only) and 5.32pm, and one departure at 6.28pm on Sunday. Northbound trains called at 7.39am (to Berwick), 12.59pm (Saturday only, to Alnwick), 5.23pm and 1021pm (both to Alnwick), and on Sunday a Berwick train called at 7.41pm.

From June 1956 trains ceased to call at Annitsford on Sunday. In its final summer of 1958 the weekday train service frequency was unchanged from summer 1952. On 15 September 1958 Annitsford was one of ten East Coast main line stations in Northumberland to close to passengers. In the winter 1958-59 timetable Annitsford disappeared. For some years the North Eastern Region timetables had acknowledged the closure of stations and advised disconsolate passengers of the bus companies whose services could be used; but the many closures went unrecorded in the winter 1958-59 book, and the next few editions continued this unfortunate practice. The regional map folded into the timetable had presumably had been printed earlier and still showed Forest Hall, Killingworth and Annistsford, but with the other stations that closed at the same time erased. Perhaps the closure of these three was confirmed later than their neighbours.

Goods traffic was dealt with at Annitsford until 11 November 1963. The station was demolished by the late 1960s.

Passenger loops north of Dudley Colliery signal box are indicated on the 1934 diagram of the line. These were taken out of use in December 1968. The signal box long outlived the station, closing in 1980.

Sadly, Annitsford station seems to have attracted little interest among photographers, especially when compared with its neighbours Killingworth and Forest Hall; however these stations were sited at level crossings, with conveniently placed footbridges providing easy vantage points for photographers.

Click here for a brief history of the East Coast Main Line
in Northumberland.

Route maps drawn by Alan Young. Tickets from Michael Stewart.

BIBLIOGRAPHY:

• Addyman, John F (Editor) A history of the Newcastle & Berwick Railway (North Eastern Railway Association, 2011) – especially Chapter 5 ‘The buildings’ by Bill Fawcett
• Biddle, Gordon Victorian stations (David & Charles, 1973)
• Biddle, Gordon Britain’s historic railway buildings (Oxford University Press, 2003)
• Fawcett, Bill A history of North Eastern Railway architecture Vol 1: The Pioneers (North Eastern Railway Association 2001)
• Young, Alan Railways in Northumberland (Martin Bairstow, 2003)
• Young, Alan Lost stations of Northumberland & Durham (Silver Link 2011)
  

See other ECML stations:Tweedmouth, Scremerston, Goswick, Beal, Smeafield, Crag Mill, Belford, Lucker,
Newham, Fallodon, Little Mill,
Christon Bank, Longhoughton, Lesbury, Warkworth, Longhirst, Ashington Colliery Junction, Morpeth, Stannington, Plessey, Annitsford (1st), Killingworth, Forest Hall, Heaton (2nd), Heaton (1st), Durham, Croft Spa, Eryholme, Otterington, Alne & Tollerton