A Brief History of Stanhope Station

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The railway reached Stanhope in 1862 when it became the terminus of the Weardale Railway. When the main line was extended to Wearhead in 1895 a new station was built at a cost of £2,700. Two platforms were provided through the station. They were originally connected by a wooden footbridge, to be later replaced by a standard North Eastern railway pattern type in 1920, which is still in use today.

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After the closure of the passenger service in 1953 Stanhope station gradually deteriorated and lost its canopy but was eventually purchased and given some structural refurbishment by Wear Valley Council. 

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Wear Valley District Council bought the station building from British Rail in 1992. Volunteers from the Weardale Railway Society carried out some initial renovation work before the Council took over and saw the project through to completion in early 1995. It is currently used as the headquarters of The Weardale Railway Trust and its facilities are used jointly by the Trust and Weardale Railway Limited.

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Since the reopening of the railway in 2004, the Weardale Railway Trust in cooperation with the operating company has further renovated the station buildings and platforms. In 2006 the Railway was presented with the Ian Allan Award for the best UK station preservation project of the year. The plaque was presented as part of the National awards organised by the Heritage Railway Association and held in the Merchant Tailors Hall. The restoration of the canopy was designed to be a replica of the original North Eastern Railway structure. The completion of the restoration of the platform canopy was made possible by a grant from the Railway Heritage Trust of £20,000.