The first railway to
Croft-on-Tees was built by the coal-carrying
Stockton and Darlington Railway (S&DR) to carry coal to the yard adjacent to the bridge over the Tees at Croft, for subsequent distribution by road to North Yorkshire. The Croft branch left the main line to the South, near
Darlington Bank Top station. A passenger station opened on 27 October 1829. The section of the
Great North of England Railway (GNoER) between Darlington and York opened (for goods traffic only) on 4 January 1841; and passenger trains along the line were introduced on 30 March 1841, when a station at Croft was opened by the GNoER, which allowed the S&DR passenger station to be closed on the same day. The NER renamed the station
Croft Spa on 1 October 1896; after it gained popularity for its spa waters, the site of which was very close to the railway station. At the start of 1923, the NER amalgamated with other railways to form the
London and North Eastern Railway during the
Grouping. Passing on to the
Eastern Region of British Railways on
nationalisation in 1948. In 1958 local trains between Northallerton and Darlington ceased stopping and it was then served only by trains to and from the Richmond branch until its closure by the
British Railways Board on 3 March 1969. The station was demolished in 1970 leaving no trace of its existence except for the ramps from a railway bridge down to the remains of the platforms but trains still pass the site on the
East Coast Main Line. ==See also==