Qualla: Weardale Railway https://qualla.com/weardale-railway en-us © 2026 Bendyline Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:21:24 GMT Qualla serial false Qualla support@bendyline.com yes https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/w/x/weardale-railway-wp/hero-small.webp Qualla: Weardale Railway https://qualla.com/weardale-railway Weardale Railway: Introduction https://qualla.com/weardale-railway/ Photo credit Lner12345, CC BY-SA 4.0. Lafarge ran the last freight train out of Eastgate in March 1993 and announced it would move its cement to the road. British Rail had been waiting for an excuse to close the line; it had it now. Within months a group of enthusiasts had organised to take it over. Three decades, two corporate bankruptcies, and one Iowa shortline-railroad takeover later, the Weardale Railway still runs - now under the Auckland Project, a County Durham charity that bought the line in 2020. The 18 miles between Bishop Auckland and Stanhope make it one of the longest preserved standard-gauge heritage lines in Britain.

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Image: Lner12345 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/w/x/weardale-railway-wp/gcwx-weardale-railway-intro.mp3 0:06 1 full Weardale Railway: Built for Limestone https://qualla.com/weardale-railway/ Photo credit Rosser1954, CC BY-SA 4.0. The first track came in 1842, when the Stockton and Darlington Railway-backed Bishop Auckland and Weardale Railway gained powers via an Act of Parliament to push a branch up the dale. South Church got a temporary terminus in April 1842. After the completion of the Shildon Tunnel ...

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Image: Rosser1954 | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/w/x/weardale-railway-wp/gcwx-weardale-railway-built-for-limestone.mp3 0:06 2 full Weardale Railway: Four Owners, One Track https://qualla.com/weardale-railway/ Photo credit User.who.is.anonymous, CC BY-SA 4.0. The preservation society of 1993 became Weardale Railways Ltd. Grants flowed - from One NorthEast, Durham County Council, the Wear Valley District, the Manpower Services Commission - enough to recruit 40 paid staff, restore Stanhope station, and reopen the Wolsingham-to-Stanhope ...

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Image: User.who.is.anonymous | CC BY-SA 4.0

]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/w/x/weardale-railway-wp/gcwx-weardale-railway-four-owners-one-track.mp3 0:06 3 full Weardale Railway: The Auckland Project Era https://qualla.com/weardale-railway/ Photo credit Pit-yacker, CC BY-SA 3.0. Iowa Pacific announced it would sell in February 2020. The Auckland Project - the County Durham charity that had transformed Auckland Castle into a regional tourist destination - bought the line in March, intending to fold it into the wider regeneration of Bishop Auckland. Closur...

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Image: Pit-yacker | CC BY-SA 3.0

]]> Fri, 29 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT https://qualla.com/_m/g/c/w/x/weardale-railway-wp/gcwx-weardale-railway-the-auckland-project-era.mp3 0:06 4 full