Timeline of the NER

1821, 19th April Stockton & Darlington Railway incorporated
The Act was deferred from the 1820 Parliament due to the death of King George III.

1825, 27th July Formal opening of the Stockton & Darlington Railway

1838, 18th June Formal opening of the Newcastle & Carlisle Railway This is the first east-west line across Britain to open.

1845, 31st July Newcastle & Berwick Railway incorporated

1847 Most of the Newcastle & Berwick Railway is opened in stages

1850, 29th August York, Newcastle & Berwick (originally Newcastle & Berwick) formally opens
Opening includes Newcastle Central Station and the Royal Border Bridge at Berwick. Queen Victoria presides over both ceremonies.

1854, 31st July North Eastern Railway formed
Formed from the amalgamation of the York Newcastle & Berwick Railway; the York & North Midland Railway; the Malton & Driffield Railway; and the Leeds Northern Railway.

1859, 3rd March Tyne Dock opens

1862 Newcastle & Carlise Railway absorbed

1863, 13th July Stockton & Darlington Railway merges with the NER

1864, 24th June Authorised to build a line from York to Doncaster
This line connects the North Eastern Railway with the Great Northern Railway.

1874 Blyth & Tyne Railway is absorbed by the NER

1877, 25th June The present York station is opened
At opening it is the largest station in the World with 13 platforms.

1904, 29th March The first section of the Tyneside electrification is opened.
This is almost the first mainline electrification scheme to open in Britain, but the Lancashire & Yorkshire open their system a week earlier.

1904 The Newcastle Quayside Branch is electrified.
This short but tortuous branch is electrified and operated by two Bo-Bo locomotives equipped for third rail and overhead pickup.

1905, 11th August The NER is granted powers to own and use vessels for traffic from Hull to various North Sea ports

1915 Newport to Shildon is electrified
This is the first purely freight line to be electrified in Britain.

1922, April Hull & Barnsley voluntarily amalgamates with the NER

1922, 31st December The NER runs its last train and becomes a part of the newly formed LNER