[1] It was created to unify the various private railways and waggonways built to carry coal from the Northumberland coalfield to Blyth and the River Tyne, which it took control of on 1 January 1853.

[2] Over time, the railway expanded its network to reach Morpeth (1857/8),[a] North Seaton (1859),[4] Tynemouth (1860/1),[b] Newcastle upon Tyne (1864),[c] and finally Newbiggin-by-the-Sea (1872).

[10][11] Following the takeover, some integration of service and facilities took place, but the Blyth and Tyne section retained its individual identity.

As the easiest deposits close to the river became worked out, the focus of mining was pushed back further, and transport to the waterway was essential.

Wooden waggonways were introduced and were relatively successful, but a major limitation was the issue of wayleaves, by which owners of land on the proposed route could demand payment, usually on a tonnage basis, for allowing the passage of the wagons.

Wallace (1869) recorded that "in 1723, Plessy colliery was in the hands of Richard Ridley; and as he was a man of both wealth and enterprise he would in all probability make the railway by which the coals then came to Blyth".

"[14] The Plessy waggonway played a peripheral role in the Napoleonic Wars: One Sunday morning in the year 1811, the inhabitants [of Blyth] were thrown into a state of great excitement, by the startling news that five Frenchmen had been taken during the night, and were lodged in the guard-house.

They were officers who had broken their parole at Edinburgh castle, and in making their way home had reached the neighbourhood of Blyth; when discovered they were resting by the side of Plessy wagon-way, beside the "shoulder of mutton" field.

[17] In 1839 the Seaton Delaval coal company sunk a new pit, and formed a waggonway 1¼ miles in length from there to Mare Close where it was connected to the Cramlington line.

The main part of the route ran straight south east, crossing the old line of the Cramlington Coal Company by a low timber bridge of two laminated arches each of 81 feet 6 inches (24.84 m) span.

[17] The onward transport of coal by water was restricted by the fact that the only harbours available were at Blyth and Seaton Sluice, both of them small and incapable of handling larger vessels.

The promoters of the Tynemouth Docks Direct Railway hoped to take advantage of avoiding the cost of wayleaves with which the Blyth and Tyne was burdened, and the B&TR found itself uniting with the landowners who imposed these charges against the newcomer.

There was to be a branch from Newsham to Morpeth and another from New Hartley to the Dairy House near Seaton Delaval, a line ultimately planned to reach Tynemouth.

When the Wansbeck Railway was constructed, the North British (who were in control of it) considered how to connect to the Blyth and Tyne at Morpeth.

It authorised the extension to Newcastle, as well as some branches, forming the loop from Newcastle through South Gosforth and Benton to Monkseaton; and from Seghill to the Seaton Burn waggonway, from Bothal Demesne (North Seaton) to Newbiggin, and from the B&TR existing line at Tynemouth to proposed docks at the Low Lights.

At the same time a further connection was made at Tynemouth, where an extension ran from the earlier terminus of 1860 to a location close to the North Eastern Railway station there.

Third class carriages had formerly only been attached to one train each way daily; misgivings that this would abstract income by trading down were stated by the chairman to have been misplaced.

After the amalgamation, the north Eastern Railway decided to reactivate the powers, and obtained a fresh act of Parliament[which?]

Street-running tramcars were introduced from 1878, and in 1901 the system was converted to electric traction,[29] representing a considerable step forward in convenience for the public, and competition for suburban railways.

The current is generated at high pressure, 6,000 volts three-phase alternating, at the central power station, and transmitted to sub-stations, where it is converted into low pressure 600 volt direct current, and fed on to the rails.The electric power was to be procured from the Newcastle upon Tyne Electric Supply Company.

A south to east curve was opened nearby on 1 July 1904 giving express electric trains access between the coast and Newcastle via the main line.

Although trains from the Tynemouth part of the Blyth and Tyne section could run direct to Newcastle Central station, the South Gosforth line terminated at New Bridge Street.

It was to be part of the electric network, and the North Eastern Railway felt that "Seaton Sluice" was an unattractive name to encourage new residents, so it was determined to call the station "Collywell Bay".

Construction was well advanced, with an anticipated opening date of November 1914, but was halted at the commencement of World War I, and in 1917 the track was removed for use in France and recycling elsewhere.

In the period after World War II until 1970, boat trains from London ran to Tyne Commission Quay via Percy Main in connection with Scandinavian ferry services.

There they reversed and passing under the North Shields line they ran on to the Tyne Improvement Commission network to reach the Quay.

Some of the former routes were retained for heavy rail operation of mineral and goods trains, but the decline of the Northumberland Coalfield in the 1980s and 1990s has reduced this traffic.

[36] In 2009, the Association of Train Operating Companies published a £34 million proposal to restore passenger services to the north-eastern part of the B&TR system.

[37] Following several proposals and bids, the government in January 2021 confirmed that it would fund the remaining project cost, estimated at the time to be £166 million,[38] for the reopening of the existing line to Ashington.

A proposal with six new stations at Ashington, Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval and Northumberland Park was accepted.