Hetton Colliery Railway

About

The Hetton Colliery Railway was an early British colliery railway opened on 18 November 1822, running from Hetton-le-Hole in County Durham to staiths on the River Wear at Sunderland, a distance of about 8 miles. It was the world's first railway designed and built to be worked entirely without animal power, using a combination of self-acting inclines and steam locomotives engineered by George Stephenson.

The five Stephenson-designed Hetton Colliery locomotives were built at the colliery's own workshops. The opening day saw the engines work the level sections of the line carrying coal in chaldron wagons, with stationary winding engines hauling the loads up the inclines. The line ran successfully for nearly a century-and-a-half, with the original 1822 Stephenson layout in continuous use until 1912.

The line outlasted Hetton Colliery itself (closed 1950) and was finally closed on 9 September 1959. One of the original locomotives, Hetton, is preserved at the National Railway Museum, York. The route is now a footpath in part.

Locomotives owned

Diligence — An 1827 George Stephenson 0-4-0 built for the Hetton Colliery Railway, broadly similar to Hope of the previous year. One of the longer-serving Hetton engines.
Hetton Colliery Wilberforce — An 1822 George Stephenson 0-4-0 built for the Hetton Colliery Railway and named after the abolitionist William Wilberforce. The most celebrated of the Hetton engines: rebuilt at intervals through the 19th century, it remained in working order for over 50 years and was exhibited at the Stephenson Centenary in Newcastle in 1881.
Hetton Colliery locomotives — A family of 0-4-0 locomotives designed by George Stephenson for the Hetton Colliery Railway in County Durham, which opened in 1822 as the first railway worked entirely without animal power. The Hetton engines pioneered the layout — long boilers, simple coupled wheels, edge-rail track — that Stephenson would refine for the Stockton & Darlington Railway and ultimately for Locomotion No. 1.
Hetton Dart — One of the original 1820 George Stephenson 0-4-0 locomotives built for the Hetton Colliery Railway, part of the family of engines that worked the line from its 1822 opening. See Hetton Colliery locomotives for the design and operation history of the class as a whole.
Hetton Hetton — One of the original 1820 George Stephenson 0-4-0 locomotives built for the Hetton Colliery Railway, part of the family of engines that worked the line from its 1822 opening. See Hetton Colliery locomotives for the design and operation history of the class as a whole.
Hetton Star — One of the original 1820 George Stephenson 0-4-0 locomotives built for the Hetton Colliery Railway, part of the family of engines that worked the line from its 1822 opening. See Hetton Colliery locomotives for the design and operation history of the class as a whole.
Hetton Tallyho — One of the original 1820 George Stephenson 0-4-0 locomotives built for the Hetton Colliery Railway, part of the family of engines that worked the line from its 1822 opening. See Hetton Colliery locomotives for the design and operation history of the class as a whole.
Hope — An 1826 George Stephenson 0-4-0 built for the Hetton Colliery Railway, an enlargement of the earlier Hetton pattern. Worked the colliery sections alongside the original 1820–22 engines.

Founded	18 November 1822
Dissolved	9 September 1959
Country	England
Headquarters	Hetton-le-Hole, County Durham