IT was 170 years ago this summer that the first train crossed this bridge as, after decades of dispute, the railway line from Darlington to Barnard Castle was opened.
Tees West bridge over the Tees, the former railway bridge, by Northern Perspectives (Image: Northern Perspectives)
The Duke of Cleveland, of Raby Castle, had tried to obstruct the Stockton & Darlington Railway in the early 1820s as he feared its new-fangled steam engines would scare the foxes that he loved to go out and hunt, and he continued his objections even when the people of Barnard Castle came to him in the 1830s pleading with him to allow their town to be connected to the railway revolution to the benefit of the local economy.
He reasoned that his second home, Selaby Park, near Gainford, hidden in the trees to the right of this beautiful drone’s eye view, would be ruined by having a railway nearby.
Secretly, the railway pioneers, led by engineer Thomas Bouch, continued to plot their path, disguising themselves as miners whenever they needed to trespass on the duke’s land.
One day, the duke rumbled them and ordered Bouch to attend him at Raby Castle.
The Gainford railway bridge, which is about 800 yards east of the Tees West bridge (Image: Unknown)
But the showdown went surprisingly well. Bouch rushed out and redesigned the line so that two, expensive bridges within 800 metres of each other took the tracks over the Tees on low ground out of sight of his lordship’s precious estate.
The line opened on July 5, 1856, with the inaugural train crossing this, Tees West, the second of the bridges.
“Below, the Tees ripples over its gravelly bed, its murmurs softened by the well treed slopes,” said the Darlington & Stockton Times, poetically hinting at how peace had returned to the dale.
A steam engine crossing the Gainford railway bridge, which is about 800 yards east of the Tees West bridge (Image: Unknown)
This drone view by our regular contributor Northern Perspectives captures that peace. The line closed in 1964 and the bridges were fenced off, although there are holes that allow the brave, and the slim, to squeeze on and admire the view of those well treed slopes.
Northern Perspectives is a Durham-based cameraman who uses the latest drone technology to shed new light on our beautiful, and historic, landscapes. To see more of his brilliant work, search “Northern Perspectives” on Facebook.