Railways and Railway Stations

For almost 50 years during the nineteenth century, Shincliffe was served by two Railway Stations. 

The first Shincliffe Station, situated in Shincliffe Village, opened on 28th June 1839 as the Durham terminus of the Durham and Sunderland Railway.  In 1842, the railway was extended as a single mineral line across the River Wear to serve Houghall Colliery, and extended again 3 years later via a tunnel under Pinnock Hill to Croxdale Colliery. Until 1844, when Durham Gilesgate station opened, Shincliffe was the nearest passenger terminus to the city of Durham. The station was renamed 'Shincliffe Town' in 1861. Shincliffe Town closed to passengers in 1893 when Durham Elvet Station opened, and it closed completely in 1897. After closure, the station building was used as a Council depot, and more recently has been redeveloped as housing.

The second Shincliffe Station, on the Newcastle and Darlington Junction Railway, opened on 19th June 1844, and was situated to the south of modern day High Shincliffe. The station closed to passengers in 1941, but the line remained open for freight until the early 1990s. The line was briefly used again for passenger trains in the late 1980s during the electrification of the East Coast Main Line. The former station building was a restaurant for a time but is now a private residence.

Below - click on the two station buttons for photographs and more information, and there is a summary of the railway companies serving Shincliffe from 1839 to 1990.