IMAGES TAKEN NEAR TO
Philadelphia, HOUGHTON LE SPRING, DH4 4JE

These sheds were built for a colliery railway. The railway, and the colliery it served, closed long ago but the sheds survive. They are now occupied by industrial businesses. For a Geograph of the sheds when the railway was in operation, have a look at Image

The former bus depot at Philadelphia, near Washington. The site opened as a tram depot in 1905. It was converted into a bus depot in the 1920s, eventually passing into the ownership of Northern General (now known as Go North East). The depot closed when it was replaced by a large new depot in Sunderland, and is now used as industrial units.

The former bus depot at Philadelphia, near Washington. The site opened as a tram depot in 1905. It was converted into a bus depot in the 1920s, eventually passing into the ownership of Northern General (now known as Go North East). The depot closed when it was replaced by a large new depot in Sunderland, and is now used as industrial units.

These sheds were built for a colliery railway. The railway, and the colliery it served, closed long ago but the sheds survive. They are now occupied by industrial businesses. For a Geograph of the sheds when the railway was in operation, have a look at Image

This was one of the most extensive colliery railway networks inherited by the National Coal Board, with a main line running for several miles to connect a number of collieries to staithes along the River Wear. The locomotives used for main line work were large 0-6-2 tank engines, larger than the general run of colliery locomotives and very similar to engines used on many of the public railways in South Wales. Locomotive 31 built by Kitson of Leeds in 1907 is heading up from Sunderland with a rake of empty wagons. The other locomotive, no.5, was built by Robert Stephenson of Newcastle in 1909. This locomotive survives in preservation (in 2020 at the North Yorks Moors Railway). The location is Lambton Works which was the headquarters of the railway. In the background is the remaining headgear of the former Dorothea Pit, but this time serving only as an emergency shaft.

Coal mining was undertaken at a number of places in County Durham. This stone marks the site of the Dorothea Pit, at Philadelphia, which opened in 1816. It closed in 1956.

This path follows the route of a railway. The railway had served a nearby colliery.

Looking back from a public footpath

Close-up of the memorial plaque which can be seen here Image in its wider context. It seems to have been treated with some disrespect . . .