[8] The George Pit coal mine was sunk in 1837, and an ironworks was opened at Witton Park in 1846.

[8] In 1843 the Bishop Auckland and Weardale Railway was opened between Shildon Junction and Crook to take coal from the area.

[9] It passes Escomb but its nearest stop was Etherley railway station, which had been opened by 1847.

WC Stobart & Co's Etherley Colliery was Escomb's major employer from the middle of the 19th century until the seams of its pits became exhausted in the 1920s.

[9] The Weardale Railway reopened the section past Escomb and through Etherley shortly thereafter.