In 1870 the Merrybent and Darlington Railway was built as a branch line which left the Darlington and Barnard Castle Railway near Newton Lane (Branksome) Darlington to carry limestone from Barton Quarry within the Low Merrybent estate near Scotch Corner North Yorkshire. It was closed in 1878 when the company went bankrupt, but the line and quarries were re-opened by North Eastern Railway in 1890. A coal depot was opened where the railway (now named The Merrybent Branch) passed under the A67 road on the outskirts of Darlington and this became Merrybent Depot. A market garden grew up alongside this, known as Merrybent Nursery. In the 20th century, houses began to grow around these facilities which gradually extended west. The village is hence named after the original terminus of the railway line some six miles south of its actual location. The railway was abandoned in 1938, and later dismantled.