The Hetton Colliery Railway 200 is a registered charity, charity number 1185060, which is organising a series of events to commemorate the 'Bicentenary of The Hetton Colliery Railway'.
After the Hetton Coal Company, led by Arthur Mowbray, started to sink the first ever colliery, they decided that a railway was needed to transport the coal to Sunderland and shipment to London.
George Stephenson was appointed to design the new railway using steam and gravity power. It opened on the 18th November 2022.
The Hetton Railway used two of Stephenson's steam locomotives to haul the coal for the first 1.5 miles. Then two stationary steam engines hauled the waggons to the line summit at Warden Law (600 ft above sea level). Four gravity-worked inclines took the waggons down to North Moor, near Silksworth. The waggons were then hauled by steam locomotives to the Staithes on the River Wear.
Elemore Colliery, south of Hetton, was added to the line in 1827 and in 1833, Eppleton Colliery, east of Hetton. Silksworth Colliery was added in 1939.
The whole line remained operational until the 9th September 1959 when the National Coal Board decided to sink a large mine to draw coal from Elemore, Eppleton and Murton Collieries. Part of the line from Silksworth to Sunderland survived until the 30th June 1972.
