browseBowes Line (1975)
Amber Films (Producer)
28 mins, 16mm
Colour/optical
Documentary
Available as VHS
Available as DVD
Built in the 1820s by George Stephenson, the Bowes Railway linked Kibblesworth Colliery with Jarrow Staithes. The full sets of coal wagons were hauled up the steep hills until they reached Springwell, where they were set free to run down the incline towards the river and the colliers waiting to carry the coal away from the Tyne.
The unique feature of the line was the self-incline system, in which the full coal wagons were used to pull empty ones to the top of the hill before they were sent on to the colliery. This film centres on the daily activity of Matty and Luke, two of the workers on the line.
Railway enthusiasts have made this one of Amber’s most popular productions. As with its other industrial documentaries, the group was advised on the importance of recording the disappearing work places by Tyneside social historian Stafford Linsley.
**AMBER FILMS"" Made with financial assistance from Northern Arts and Tyne & Wear County Council.