Disused railway bridge abutment, Hexham Road, Swalwell

Image: © Andrew Curtis Taken: 11 Aug 2019

The Derwent Valley Railway was built by North Eastern Railway to link Consett with the River Tyne via Gateshead. It opened in 1867. Swalwell Station, located just south of this bridge, opened in the following year https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Derwent_Valley_Railway_(County_Durham) The line was closed completely on 11th November 1963, the track lifted in 1964 and for many years little was done to the line until Durham County Council developed it as a country park. The viaducts and bridges were repaired and the trackbed was made into a footpath and cycle route. http://www.swalwelluk.co.uk/railways.html The railway abutment at the north end of Derwent Walk Country Park was marked in 1986 by the art work, 'Derwent Walk Express', a frieze in polychrome relief, by Andy Frost. It won a BBC Townscape award in 1988 and was refurbished in 2005. The work has been described by Gateshead Council as 'probably the only locomotive which tows its own passing landscape behind it'. The art, bridge abutment and approach spans were Grade II listed (List Entry Number: 1437836) in 2016. https://historicengland.org.uk/listing/the-list/list-entry/1437836

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