The station lies on the original Stockton & Darlington Railway (S&DR) extension to Port Darlington, developed from 1828 under the instructions of influential Quaker banker, coal mine owner and S&DR shareholder Joseph Pease, who had sailed up the River Tees to find a suitable new site down river of Stockton on which to place new coal staithes. As a result, in 1829 he and a group of Quaker businessmen bought 527 acres (213 ha) of land described as "a dismal swamp",[1] and established the Middlesbrough Estate Company. Through the company, the investors intended to develop both a new port, and a suitable town to supply its labour.[1] On 27 December 1830, the S&DR opened an extension across the river to a station at Newport[clarification needed][The district of Newport is about a mile SW of Middlesbrough station.], almost directly north of the current Middlesbrough station.[1] The S&DR quickly later renamed this new station and associated six-coal staithe dock facility as Port Darlington,[2] hoping to market the facility further. The port was so successful that a year after opening the population of Port Darlington had reached 2,350.[2] However, with Port Darlington overwhelmed by the volume of imports and exports, in 1839 work started on Middlesbrough Dock. Laid out by Sir William Cubitt, the whole infrastructure was built by resident civil engineer George Turnbull.[2] After three years and an expenditure of £122,000 (equivalent to £9.65 million at 2011 prices)[Out of date],[2] it was formally opened on 12 May 1842. On completion, the docks were bought by the S&DR.
As Middlesbrough developed, additional railway facilities were required to marshall goods wagons, and to allow workers to access the docks and associated industries. So the North Eastern Railway (NER) built South Stockton railway station, which opened on 1 October 1882. However, in 1892 Parliament granted a charter that created the Borough of Thornaby-on-Tees, which incorporated the village of Thornaby and South Stockton, and so on 1 November 1892 the name of the station was also changed.[3]
Thornaby was located on a busy and hence important section of the line for the NER, between Newport and Middlesbrough Docks to the east, and Bowesfield Junction in Stockton to the west (where the Northallerton/Darlington and Durham Coast Lines diverge), which had the busiest signal box on the NER system. The main station structure had a glass-covered entrance in a unique design of ironwork, which led to a booking office and waiting rooms for four classes.[3] It was built of brick, with additional stonework in creamy yellow stone. Carved embracing the Arts and Crafts Movement of William Morris, a competition between local stonemasons resulted in 104 different designs.[3] The competition was noted on a brass plaque in the entrance area, but this was removed and melted down for the war effort during World War II. The platform canopies were also of an ironwork design unique to Thornaby, but lost their glass when a wartime German bomb fell close to the station.[3]
Nationalisation
Down freight and a diesel light engine in 1961Thornaby station's former buildings seen in September 1981
After being taken over by British Railways on nationalisation, the decayed station was never really repaired post war, but kept its proud staff and hence well kept flower borders.[3] The variety of stone carvings also gained the station an entry in the newly created Guinness Book of Rail Facts and Feats.[3]
With dwindling passenger numbers, staff were removed in the early 1970s, which led to a dramatic level of vandalism to the decayed station structures. After promises to refurbish the station due to local protests from 1977, the station buildings were demolished in December 1981 in what was described locally as "institutionalised vandalism".[3] In both 1988 and 1994, BR proposed renaming the resulting "bus shelter" station as Stockton, but this and a later proposal in 2000 by Northern Spirit to rename the station as South Stockton were stopped by local protests.[3]
The newly rebuilt station was formally opened by former local MPDari Taylor on 7 February 2003. There are an enlarged car park, a heated waiting room, a staffed ticket office, a shop, VDU displays and better lighting and security. As a result of this improvement work, and the return of staffing, Thornaby won a National Station of the Year Award in the 2003 HSBC Rail Awards.[5]
In November 2023 the station was mentioned in the news after a woman fell victim to a scam involving a QR code in the station's car park, when the genuine QR code was covered by one designed by fraudsters. After the woman lost £13,000 from her bank accounts, TransPennine Express removed all QR codes from their stations.[6]
As of the December 2021 timetable change, the station is served by one train per weekday each way. More services are planned following the completion of station works at Middlesbrough.[8]
As of the May 2021 timetable change, the station is served by an hourly service between Newcastle and Middlesbrough. Most trains continue to Hexham (or Carlisle on Sunday) and Nunthorpe. Two trains per day (three on Sunday) continue to Whitby.[9]
As of the December 2023 timetable change, the station is served by two trains per hour between Saltburn and Darlington via Middlesbrough, with one train per hour extending to Bishop Auckland. An hourly service operates between Saltburn and Bishop Auckland on Sunday.[10]
As of the December 2022 timetable change, the station has an hourly service between Saltburn and Manchester Airport via York. Most services run via Yarm, with the exception of one early morning arrival which travels via Darlington.[11]
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