This cute little tank engine was crossing the Glasshouse Bridge next to the Tyne pub; the Free Trade is in the background on the right. The photo is undated, and could have been taken at any time during the forty years the locomotive could be seen on this bridge.
It was running on the Quayside Branch Line, which opened in 1870 to haul goods from ships on the river up to the North Eastern Railways’ depot at Manors, where they could be distributed throughout the region. The line was extended eastwards across the Ouseburn at the beginning of the 20th century, which is when the original Glasshouse Bridge was demolished and replaced with the one in the photo.
The streetscape gives us no clues to the date, it remained pretty much unchanged for decades. The large building in the background was occupied by Reckitt & Sons, manufacturers of Brasso and similar cleaning products. It remained there until the 1970s, the site is now a landscaped hill between the Free Trade and the Tyne pub.
The number on the side of the locomotive – 68738 – tells us it was built in 1922 by Armstrong Whitworth at their Newcastle works, a couple of miles or so from where the photo was taken. Designed for shunting and dock duties, they were compact, powerful, and ideal for the steep gradients and tight curves around the riverside railways of Newcastle.
Part of the Quayside Branch Line was electrified in 1905, as steam engines were unsuitable for the steep tunnel that led up from the Quayside and emerged on New Bridge Street, but these small locomotives continued to be used along the Quay. Official records show that this particular one was withdrawn in November 1960, ending nearly four decades of service.
The sight of steam along the Quayside was coming to an end by then. The electric locomotives stopped running in the tunnel in 1964, and the Quayside Branch line ceased operating on June 16th, 1969. Today the line has vanished beneath the glass offices and riverside flats, but scenes like this remind us that the Quayside once had a working railway.
Like many of its class, this locomotive was built, worked, and eventually scrapped within a few miles of where it first rolled out of the Armstrong Whitworth works.