Londonderry, Seaham and Sunderland Railway

The Londonderry, Seaham and Sunderland Railway was opened in 1852 by the Marquis of Londonderry as the Seaham and Sunderland Railway. Designed for locomotives, it was a public railway carrying passengers and freight and remained independent until taken over in 1900 by the North Eastern Railway. It had stations at Hendon (HER ref. 2894) and Ryhope (HER ref. 2957), and left Tyne and Wear where it crosses the Ryhope Dean Viaduct (HER ref. 2959). At Hendon Beach (NZ 4105 5520) the line recently survived as a cutting to the south and a line of compacted coal waste in the north.