Burnhouse Junction, where the newer Spennymoor-Bishop Auckland line (left) diverged away from the Todhills branch (right) to Newfield and Willington. The trackbed here is now part of the Auckland Way.
The branch was notable for its extreme inclines - the worst of which was a 1 in 16 (!!) from just outside Todhills station down to the River Wear. The section between Burnhouse Junction and Todhills (shown here) had far less extreme gradients.
Todhills station closed in 1867, but the engine shed remained open until 1922, and goods traffic continued into the 1930s. The station buildings themselves were still intact in the early 1950s at least.
A spur leading to the colliery and brickworks at Newfield diverged from the branch before it reached the Wear. By 1900 the inclines and colliery were gone and the track from the brickworks to the incline - shown here - had been cut back to a spur at the bottom of the hill.
Newfield brickworks. There's an industry enabled coal drop-off and goods pick-up amongst the sidings.
If you walk along the line from the brickworks this is where you'll end up after crossing the river.
The Newfield branch rejoins the Bishop Auckland-Durham line at Hunwick. Incidentally, the blue 31 is a hint as to the era I'll be showing in the next set of screenshots. ;)
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