Stobswood_Widdrington - old video

This video was recorded in 1984 . The equipment used - a portable V2000 recorder and a separate Akai camera left a lot to be desired in terms of picture quality . Camcorders were just coming onto the market but no way were they anything like todays HD cameras .Anyway , poor as it is , it documents the area and how it has changed . No more opencasts ,buildings, Brick yard , old pit buildings, Junction, drag line jib etc . The area has now been returned to grass ,woodland and now has a lake and 9 wind turbines . How things have changed in 33 years !

[@alanstewart4659]

Excellent video, thank you for sharing!
I was brought up at Widdrington Station and have distinct memories of the Brickyard, Screens and Opencast works. Now I find I'm spending more and more time researching and tracing evidence of our areas industrial past.
Since a lot of the area around the screens has since been opencasted itself, this video has been very valuable to me!
I'm just a bit too young to remember the abandoned dragline boom at chibburn but have found that story very fascinating.

[@rickastra44]

I too lived in Widdrington Station for many a year but spent most of my school holidays there from a very young age, my Grandparents lived there. I worked at the Brickyard
too. Seen lots of changes in the area mainly caused by the opencasts. Two villages in the area were pulled down for the sake of coal : Ratcliffe and The Drift. The landscape is returning but the jobs arn't.

[@williamdymond9291]

brings back memories me mam and dad moved back to widdrington early 80's I visited many times still have family in stobswood

[@Lolasdad4312]

An absolutely amazing video. Especially the boom of the Marion 7800 dragline that failed during operation. The machine actually had a shorter boom installed and was later sold and ended it’s life in Canada in recent years. It’s sister machine remained in the UK and finished up at Chester House near Togston where it was scrapped in 1995. Oh and the Bailey bridge near the Widdy Inn 😃

[@rickastra44]

Thanks, pleased you like it . The video taken many years ago now ,when picture quality was in it's infancy. I lived close by ,even worked at the BrickYard and travelled many a time under that very same bridge to get a drink at The Junction. Great time's , great people and great area.

[@SnakierElm62]

And now the brickyard is nothing but a pile of ruble and is now currently being debated over to build houses on it