Whitburn Pit Baths

[brian c]

Do you remember the pithead baths at Whitburn collery, they were across the main road from the collery proper. I'm surprised they were demolished as they were quite unique in design and I would have thought they would have had listed building status or was that before some councils realised what local history was.

[Alice]

I have never heard of them, must be to young.
Apparently there used to be an outside swimming pool close to where the little haven is now,across the road on the banks.

[baldy.smith]

I think you've got the wrong idea about Whitburn baths Alice, they were at the pit head for the miners to scrub up after a shift underground and not swimming baths. I remember playing at the open air baths near the little beach when I was a kid but they were not used at that time as they were in poor shape and never re-opened. I can also remember a line of shelters in the North Marine Park which were full of ships cork life rafts there must have been hundreds of them, probably surplus as it was just after the war.

[Alice]

See told you i was to young to know these things.

[offthewall]

Baldy,
I too remember the 'shelters' in the North Marine Park, although when I talk about them to my peers I am usually alone in the memory!
My big reminiscence of them was, on one occasion in my childhood, we were all on a normal family day out on the 'little beach' when a fantastic thunderstorm started up. Everyone picked up their belongings, tents and all, and legged it up the beach to the shelters in the park. These were long concrete structures with a sort of sticky-out roof. We all sheltered under these and watched the most truly spectacular show of sheet lightning flashing across the sea in every colour you could imagine!

[baldy.smith]

Sounds like a normal day at the Shields beach

[jimmywizz]

the shelters i think started life of as shops many moons ago, then were turned into storage units, i remember as a kid looking inside one and it had a load of carriges in it like the ones you see on the train in the marine park today, i was told at the time that they were the carriages off a small train that used to run up and down the pier but i have never seen a photo of it or ever heard anyone else mention it

[brian c]

Why did they pull the shelters down, I thought they made a perfect backdrop to the short sands but maybe these days they would get inhabited by all sorts of low life.

The only train I can remember was the one they used to maintain the pier

[baldy.smith]

The shelters which I refered to were actually in the park itself and you could look down onto the beach and pool from there as they were on a higher level. I also remember seeing a train on the pier and it was certainly not for passengers, not in my time anyway. I am referring to 1946 onwards, during the war years we lived in Broderick Steet and Eleanor Street so I spent my early childhood around the beach and parks. Also remember the Marine Park Lake being a good bit bigger than it is now, I can recall at least twice when they widened the walkway around the lake and I reckon they reduced it's size by about 20 feet all around the edge.

[captain beefheart]

Did trains go to the pier??, i remember the big crane on the tracks , if trains went to it where did they come from as the tracks stopped at the pier head near the life brigade buildings

[baldy.smith]

The rail tracks crossed the road at the Pier Head. I have vague recollections of the line turning then running parallel with the shore towards the Groyne then Along the riverside. I think some of the track is still in bits of the road along the riverside just past where the Vidor factory used to be then it ran along Wapping Street, there were tracks running along Wapping Street the last time I was down there about ten years ago. The most likely thing is that they used to carry coal to ships that used to tie up at the pier. There used to be a large jetty about a third of the way along the pier where ships would sometimes tie up. My memory is a bit vague about it but I am convinced the line ran from the pier and continued along the riverside. Anyone know any more? There was also a large yard next to the fairground which contained machinery of sorts, quite a big place and the train went in there also. The large crane on the pier ran on very wide tracks while the loco track was a lot narrower.

[Alice]

I remember as a kid the coal trucks going up the coast road, the back of the house where i used to live.Morning noon and night. They came frm Westoe pit.

[baldy.smith]

That would be the Marsden Rattler I assume.

[baldy.smith]

After further investigation I can confirm that the railway from the pier ran to the Commissioners Staithes (where the pilots jetty was)and also onto the Groyne. The place with the machinery in that I refered to in my earlier post is the Pier Works yard and depot. The train also ran south from there in the direction of Trow Rocks possibly to Trow Quarry but I an not sure as my old maps do not cover Trow Rocks. I'm positive that at a later date the rail was extended to run along the riverside along River Drive (which used to be called Pilot Street) and into Wapping Street (which used to be called Shadwell Street). I may be in South Shields next week so I will make a point of going to Wapping Street as I'm pretty sure the rails are still there. Maybe someone closer at hand may have a look before then if interested enough.

[Alice]

I used to work in wapping street when the art gallery was there, sure there is no rail lines there now.

[baldy.smith]

You could be right Alice. When you get to my age ten years ago seems like yesterday. I used to go into Wapping Street every week to buy fish and there were still some rails then, they were flush with the level of the road but still shook the car to bits.

[brian c]

When I was there last year there was still a section of line in the road were Wapping St joins River Drive.
That piece of line never joined with the line from the pier as it was originally intended to join up to the rail lines at the old dry dock which is now all posh housing and stainless steeel model boats but for some reason never did.
The pier lines did indeed go to Trow rocks quarry and I can remember as a lad seeing trains hauling stone along from the quarry.
The line ran along where the Marsden Rattler pub is now between the road and the long sands, no H & S problems in those days.

[Alice]

When i think about Brian think you are right as you turn into wapping street there is lines there, just remembered because when you drive along
you can feel them.
Also Baldy smith i used to work next door to the place they sold the fish remember buying fresh cooked prawns from there they were lush.
The art gallery was next door Bob olley used to own it.

[baldy.smith]

Yes I know of the gallery of Bob Olley. Quite a coincidence you mentioning it as my brother in law from down sowff used to be very friendly with Bob and he was just here this morning on his way to Shields for a weekend break. Bought many a carrier bag full of freshly cooked prawns, luverly and I think it only cost 50p per carrier bag crammed full of the little blighters. yummy

[jimmywizz]

here is an old photo of the train that ran along the pier, kidley sent to us by brian c
http://www.southshields-sanddancers.co. ... _train.htm