wellfield railway station was a railway station built by the north eastern railway (ner) on the route of the hartlepool dock & railway (hd&r) to allow interchange between the existing line and their newly opened line from stockton-on-tees which had opened to passenger traffic just two years earlier. when first built, the station was located in a rural area, being located immediately to the north of the bridge carrying the durham to hartlepool road over the railway line. however the village of wingate in county durham, north east england gradually expanded northwards over the course of the station's life and as a result, the station became one of two to serve the village (the other being wingate station on the great north of england, clarence & hartlepool junction railway). it was also located only a relatively short distance from the castle eden brewery and thus served the northern district of castle eden that surrounds it (referred to as factory in early os maps).