Lambton Railway, Houghton Branch

In 1812, John Nesham built a new six miles long iron-railway to carry coal from his Newbottle Colliery, across East Herrington and to three coal spouts emptying directly into collier brigs at Galleys Gill in Sunderland, avoiding transhipment on to keels. Initially operated solely with horses, in 1814, the railway was the scene of experimentation with locomotive engines. William Brunton’s Iron Horse was used to pull coal on a gradient between the Margaret Pit and West Herrington. In 1815, the boiler of the locomotive exploded, killing 16 people and seriously injuring 40; the world’s first major railway disaster. By 1819, engineered inclined-planes (four) and stationary engines (three) were the main motive power, on the line, propelling rope-hauled coal waggons. Nesham sold the concern in 1822 to John Lambton, from which time it was known as the Lambton Railway. From 1833 it was called the Earl of Durham’s Railway. The early form of the railway is shown in detail on a map of 1817 held at Sunderland Museum. This branch went from Houghton Colliery, (HER 3166), to the Lambton Railway main line (HER 2833).