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It’s not often you find out about a place that is over 274 railway route miles away from your home that you’ve never heard of that makes you want to go have a look. But that’s what happened.
Any sensible person would wait until the summer time and have a weekend break to the seaside and “get” the line itself and explore the item of interest. If you haven’t guessed already, I didn’t wait for the summer nor did I do it over a weekend. I did it in a day from London. I know … but sometimes even I realise that I might be slightly mad.
Saturday the 3rd December 2022 I set off with the wife (she was going elsewhere) and I headed to Darlington and change there for the train to Saltburn-By-Sea.
What had I come to see?
The former Zetland hotel and its unique private platform.
Saltburn is 12¾ miles East by rail from Middlesborough. Originally it was a small hamlet until the coming of the of the railways. The Stockton and Darlington Railway had on its books one William Peachy employed as an architect and it was Peachey that designed the magnificent Zetland Hotel. The foundation stone was laid on October 2nd, 1861 by Lord Zetland. He returned on July 2th, 1863 to officially open it. This was all in the early days of railway companies investing in and building hotels around the country. These hotels were to make the travelling experience special but it was mainly the first classs passengers that could afford such hotels.
What made the Zetland Hotel unique was that it had it’s own passenger platform. It was a single track that extended from the main four platforms at Saltburn station for 11 chains to the private platform. Trains would arrive at Saltburn and then the first class passengers, that were staying at the Zetland, would be be able to alight under the station canopy thus avoiding any inclement weather.
The hotel was built using local white fire bricks and had to be used with Westmorland slateon the roof. The Zetland boasted 90 rooms including 50 bedrooms, Billiard Room, Dining Room, Coffee Room, Ladies Coffee room and even a telescope room which was situated in the semicircular tower at the front. There were Lawn Tennis courts and all the usual beneath stairs facilities.
According to sources, the LNER (London North Eastern Railway Company) (the old one not the new franchise), took the decision to upgrade the hotel and bring it up to modern standards of the day. Bedrooms were fitted with hot and cold running water and bathrooms. For 1937 this was quite a luxury. There were changes on the ground floor of the hotel with the dining rooms being converted into a lounge and ballroom. A new building was built to house a new dining room and the decadent cocktail bar.
During Second Wolrd War it was closed and by the time it reopened in 1949 the LNER had been absorbed in to the nationalised British Railways under British Transport Hotels. The 1950s saw the arrival of the foreign holidays and air travel was more affordable and the writing was on the wall for the hotels under their control.
Indeed in 1951 they could not sell the hotel under auction. The Zetland finally closed it's doors in 1983 and by 1989 it had been converted in to apartments and simply known as 'The Zetland'.
I had expected there to be little or nothing there when I first heard of the unique station site but a Google search showed up a few photos from the mid 2000s. I just had to go see myself.
Saltburn's station has lost two of its platforms with the lost platforms now being occupied by a Sainsbry's superstore. The line into the Zetland has been lifted. The stations has become mostly retail outlets and there is no ticket office there. Whilst looking for some infor for this article I have discovered other little bits o the Zetland that I wish I had known before going. Also I wish I had taken copies of the old station photos with me to try and replicate the images them better. I now know that I will have to go there again one day in the future and find the other little bits I missed. Hopefully on a warmer and less wet day.
Below are photos from my trip there.
