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The Causey Arch carried the Tanfield Waggonway across the Causey Burn gorge, 85 feet above the burn. It is the oldest surviving single-arch railway bridge in the world. It was built in 1725-26 and carried two tracks of wooden rails, one to take coal to the River Tyne and the other for returning empty waggons. In 1839 the Tanfield Waggonway was converted to iron rails. Passengers were first carried in 1842 between Tanfield Lea and Gateshead in horse-drawn waggons. In 1881 locomotives replaced horses and the line was finally closed in 1962. The Causey Arch was restored in 1975-81.