TO STOCKTON (BUT YOU'LL HAVE TO WAIT FOR A PINT)

Having left Hartlepool behind, we head for Teesside, calling at Greatham station to see another LNER steam railcar. 

Passing by, on a different occasion, of course, an ex Birkenhead Leyland bus, in the hands of the nearby RHM Flour Mill.

At the mill itself, in Greatham village, a former Trent Leyland Titan.

Next stop, Billingham station, seen in 1965 (Ben Brooksbank).

Billingham station was later rebuilt and is now an island platform. A class 47 deputises for a DMU in 1987.

The area to the south east is very industrial. The CEGB employed this little diesel at Haverton Hill.

In the northern suburbs of Stockton is Norton, once served by Imperial Tramways.

The Red Lion at Norton still exists, but has no cask beer.

And so to the Tees. We could cross the river by the new Infinity Bridge, but that would take us into Yorkshire (S Gibson - Creative Commons License).

Instead, we find this wharf on the County Durham side, which employed this Barclay 0-4-0ST (Photo in my collection, photographer unknown).

Sometime around 1967/8, I visited this location. The line was still in situ, but was out of use.

I followed the line through the back streets of Stockton.

It terminated in the derelict ex Stockton & Darlington Railway yard at St John's Crossing.

If we follow the Salvation Army band, we should end up in town.

Here we are! Stockton's broad High Street, with trams.

Now, it's sometime around 1925.

The town hall stands proud in the middle of the High Street.

The corner of Dovecot Street is where we'll end this post.

Next time, we'll take a look at Stockton's buses, then take a pub crawl (and it'll be a good 'un!).