150 Years of Alstons Railway

The following information has been taken from the brochure
entitled 150 Years of Alstons Railway which was
published by the South Tynedale Railway Preservation Society in 2002,
with sponsorship from Local Heritage Initiative, the Heritage Lottery Fund,
the Nationwide Building Society and The Countryside Agency.

The reasons for building the Haltwhistle to Alston branch line

It was the lure of lead that originally brought the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway to Alston Moor. Before the railways, the entrepreneurs promoting a canal from Newcastle upon Tyne to the Solway expected lead from the North Pennine ore-field to be a substantial source of revenue. The only immediate result of the canal plans was the start of Lord Carlisles Railway. Although a canal was never authorised, the plans developed into the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway for which an Act of Parliament was obtained in 1829.

At the end of 1834, the 17 miles of railway line from Blaydon to Hexham was open for freight traffic and passenger trains started on 9th March 1835. On 28th June 1836, the line was extended by 7 miles to Haydon Bridge, where exrensive sidings were provided for the lead traffic coming down from the turnpike roads from Alston Moor and Allendale. A few weeks later on 19th July 1836, the 20 mile stretch of line from Blenkinsop to Carlisle was opened, connecting with the western extension of Lord Carlisles Railway and providing the North Pennines with a second railhead.

The Directors of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway had always seen Alston Moor as part of their natural empire, but their immediate concerns were to make their railway more suitable for operation by steam locomotives, convert the single track sections to double track, and pay off their huge debts. This allowed the Stockton and Darlington Railway Group to make the first move to connect the North Pennine ore-field with the developing rail network. During 1845, the engineer of the Wear Valley Railway surveyed the route of an extension up the valley of the River Wear to a tunnel under Killhope, then down the valleys of the Rivers Nent and South Tyne, through Nenthead and Alston to Lambley, where it turned west to join the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway near Brampton. Plans were deposited for a Bill to authorise the construction of the Wear Valley Extension Railway, but the promoters failed to proceed, mainly due to financial reasons.

Plans for the building of Haltwhistle to Alston line

The activity by the Stockton and Darlington Railway Group appears to have spurred the Directors of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway into taking action to protect their interests and they deposited plans and presented a Bill to Parliament for a railway from Haltwhistle to Nenthead. This Bill was rather complex, including branches from Haltwhistle to Nenthead and from Hexham to Bellingham, as well as extending the main line to a new Central Station in Newcastle upon Tyne.

Before Parliament at the same time was a Bill for the Newcastle upon Tyne, Edinburgh and (Direct) Glasgow Junction Railway which included a branch through West Woodburn and Bellingham to Hexham, supported by many influential people from the North Tyne Valley. Parliament refused to allow either of the lines through Bellingham to proceed, but the extension to a central station in Newcastle upon Tyne and the Nenthead branch were allowed to continue, although the section from Alston to Nenthead could only be worked by locomotive engines with the permission of the Board of Trade.

In the House of Commons, one Member of Parliament, Mr. John Abel Smith, on behalf of the supporters of the Newcastle upon Tyne, Edinburgh and (Direct) Glasgow Junction Railway Bill, attempted to discredit financially the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway and prevent their Bill from becoming law. This failed and a contemporary account states that on the news of the Royal Assent having been given, the whole district of Alston Moor was illuminated, with a general rejoicing; and, to wind up the climax, figures in effigy, intended to represent certain oppositionists, were publicly burned by the people.

The Alston branch authorised by the Act of 1846 was to leave the main Newcastle to Carlisle line at the west end of Haltwhistle station, it would have been 17 miles long with a maximum gradient of 1 in 33½ and crossed three rivers, the Tipalt once, the South Tyne three times and the Nent once. The plans cannot have been properly scrutinised by Parliament, possibly because the Committee was too involved in examining the Companys financial affairs. There were several flaws in the plans and sections, which had they been noticed, would almost certainly have caused the Nenthead branch to be removed from the Bill. The Newcastle and Carlisle Railways branch was much inferior to the Wear Valley Extension Railway, which had it been proceeded with, would probably have been authorised and, as the shortest route from London to Glasgow, would have been the main line today.

The construction of the line

When the Act authorising the branch to Nenthead was passed, the Railway Mania was at its height and no action was taken by the Directors until after the next Annual Meeting of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway in March 1847. Various alterations were to be made to the branch which the Directors considered was very important on account of the mines in the district. In June 1947, it was announced that not only had contracts been signed for Haltwhistle viaduct and part of the earthworks, but that work had commenced.

The first proposed alteration would have kept the line on the east bank of the River South Tyne at Lambley and was met with major opposition from Lord Carlisle. Although it was believed originally that the alterations could be carried out without a further Act of Parliament, the Company gave notice in November 1847, that they intended to apply for an Act to alter the branch line.

Nothing further was heard of this Bill and in 1848 a modified route along the South Tyne Valley was agreed, which included a connection to Lord Carlisles Railway, and on 13th July 1849, the Company obtained an Act to make deviations in the Alston branch.

This Act authorised two deviations to the route in the county of Northumberland and replacement of most of the line in the county of Cumberland, which is currently part of the county of Cumbria. Between Haltwhistle and Alston a total of 7 miles was to be replaced by 7¾ miles of new line and the final 4¾ miles from Alston to Nenthead was abandoned. In addition, a branch was authorised to connect with Lord Carlisles Railway at Halton-lea-Gate.

The first deviation covered the initial section of the branch where the gradient was eased from 1 in 49¼ to 1 in 70 or 80. This was achieved by moving the junction to the east end of Haltwhistle station, increasing the distance by half a mile which included some severe curvature, but reduced the amount of earthworks. The 1846 alignment was then followed for a mile before the second deviation started just south of the road from Featherstone Castle. It is possible that this section of the route authorised in 1846 was retained because enough work had actually been carried out over it to make it more financially more acceptable to use the original route than to alter it, although there does not appear to be any documentary evidence in support of this theory.

The new route was to cross the River South Tyne to Lambley, but at a different angle and about 100 yards down-stream from the original proposal. Most of Lambley viaduct was to be curved, with 24 arches of 20 feet span and a maximum height above the River South Tyne of 100 feet. Immediately across the river, 400 yards of very severe left-hand curve took the line through more than 90 degrees. Not only was Lambley station built on this curve, but the branch to Lord Carlisles Railway diverged from it on a curve of similar severity in the opposite direction. The original route was rejoined a little south of Burnstones Viaduct and was followed for just over four miles until it entered the county of Cumberland. In reality the deviation in Cumberland was a completely new section of railway as the remaining part of the 1846 route to Nenthead was abandoned.

In the 1849 Act the clause forbidding the Company to open any part of the branch, before the entire section from Haltwhistle to Alston had been completed, was repealed. The construction of the branch was divided into five contracts:-

The first one, comprising 4½ miles from Haltwhistle to Shafthill, was let to Edward Reed, whose work included the six-span viaduct over the river at Haltwhistle.

The second one, was let to Cowen, Marshall and Ridley, whose work was mainly earthworks. The same contractors had actually started work in 1847, using the original plans, and it seems that after executing a certain amount of work, some of which was not required as a result of the changed plans, their services were continued on the new alignment.

The three contracts for the remainder of the line, which included Lambley viaduct, were awarded to Messrs Rush and Lawton.

Because of the way that the plans were presented to Parliament for the 1849 Act, all of the contractors, except Edward Reed, were required to build parts of the line using the 1845 plans, and parts using the 1848 plans. While both contractors for the line between Haltwhistle and Shafthill, at the north end of Lambley viaduct, followed both sets of plans quite faithfully, Rush and Lawton appear to have used the plans simply as a guide to the alignment, while virtually ignoring the information on the sections. This was not unreasonable betwen Slaggyford and Gilderdale Burn, where the 1845 plans which were to be followed included many discrepancies, but between Lambley and Slaggyford the large embankments which were indicated on the 1848 sections were ignored and replaced by viaducts.

The opening of the line

The Alston branch was opened in stages as shown below:-

The first part of the Alston branch was opened from Haltwhistle to Shafthill for goods traffic in March 1851 and for passenger traffic on 19th July 1851.

On 8th August 1851 a coach service started from Alston to connect with the trains at Shafthill.

The nine miles from Lambley Colliery to Alston were opened for goods and mineral traffic on 5th January 1852, with traffic to and from Alston travelling over Lord Carlisles Railway between Lambley Colliery and Brampton.

The line from Lambley to Alston was opened for passenger traffic on Friday 21st May 1852. Lambley Viaduct was then still not complete, so passengers were required to walk over the scaffolding to join the connecting trains at Shafthill.

With the completion of Lanbley Viaduct, the branch was opened throughout on 17th November 1852.

Notes about the route of the Haltwhistle to Alston branch line and its viaducts

From Haltwhistle to Shafthill, only the viaduct over the River South Tyne was built, known locally as Alston Arches and it is now a Grade 2 listed building, and high embankments with low level culverts to carry the water were built over the valleys of the Park Burn and Herdley Sike.

Lambley Viaduct was not built in the manner which was indicated on the plans, but it is a very graceful structure with 17 arches and is today a Grade 2* listed building, owned by the North Pennines Heritage Trust. Unlike the remainder of the branch, which was built for double track, Lambley Viaduct only accommodated a single line.

Photo: Lambley Viaduct. Photograph by the North Pennines Heritage Trust.

South of Lambley station, six viaducts were built over tributaries of the River South Tyne, none of which were indicated on the sections of plans that were produced either in 1845 or 1848. The first was of five arches over the Glendue Burn and the second, at Burnstones, crossed both the turnpike road and the Thinhope Burn. The plans and sections show the railway crossing the turnpike road on an arch immediately west of the bridge over the Thinhope Burn, of which there is no mention of a viaduct over the burn. In order to cross the road without making major alterations to the bridge and road junction immediately to the east, the arch carrying the railway over the road was built on the skew. Rush and Lawton then made their usual amendment and built a viaduct over the remainder of the valley of the Thinhope Burn, which required five arches built on a skew in the opposite direction. The fifth arch over the valley, which adjoins the arch over the road, was built in the form of a V, with the open end facing west and the closed end facing east. Viewed from the west, this viaduct has six arches, while from the east there are only five. Although viaducts with arches built on the skew are quite common, it is very rare to see one built with arches skewed in two different directions. This viaduct is now the property of Tynedale District Council and is a Grade 2 listed building.

From just over half a mile south of Burnstones, the 1845 plans were used, with the Knar Burn and the Thornhope Burn at Lintley being crossed by viaducts of four arches replacing the embankments indicated on the section. The line rose at a gradient at 1 in 56 for almost a mile and then the small, but high, Whitley Viaduct of three arches took the line over the Lort Burn, although the section plans showed the burn going over the railway. A long straight length took the line to the three-arch Gilderdale Viaduct, again replacing the embankment shown on the plans and being the fourth to be given Grade 2 listed building status. The final viaduct over the River South Tyne was in the section plans and has three arches as shown.

Even before Lambley Viaduct was completed, with passengers being required to walk over the scaffolding, the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway ran excursions from Newcastle upon Tyne. The North Eastern Railway continued this practice, adding Alston to the Companys list of watering places in 1891. By the 1890s excursions were run from Newcastle upon Tyne to Alston at the end of May, to enable visitors to book accommodation in the town for the months of July and August. Thus, from the beginning the railways saw Alston as a tourist destination, as well as a source of mineral traffic, which it helped to develop.

Photo: A British Rail diesel multiple unit at Alston Station, waiting to depart for Haltwhistle, during the early 1970s, prior to closure of the line on 1st May 1976. Photograph by David Ellis.

The area around Alston and its local industries

In addition to lead and other ores, the South Tyne Valley produced large quantities of coal and the arrival of the railway assisted this industry to grow. The railway was also the catalyst for developing the limestone industry at Alston, with the first major works starting to operate in 1875. Further expansion took place in 1892 and around 1910, the goods facilities at Alston were expended to cope with the traffic.

Planned attempts to extend the Haltwhistle to Alston branch line

Several proposals were made to extend the line, but only two serious attempts were made.

The first, in 1972 was for a line from Alston over the Tyne/Tees watershed to join the Middleton-in-Teesdale branch. The Bill for the Cumberland and Cleveland Junction Railway was withdrawn after it had passed both Houses of Parliament, but before it received the Royal Assent to become law.

The second, was a request by the Vielle Montagne Mining Company to extend the branch to Nenthead, but this never even went to Parliament.

The closure of the Haltwhistle to Alston branch line

Although collieries started to close from the early part of the twentieth century, freight traffic remained heavy until the 1950s, but the closure of Lambley Colliery was the beginning of the end.

Diesel railcars failed to increase the traffic, partly due to an inappropriate timetable and the closure of the Alston branch railway was announced in 1973, although it was to remain open until 1st May 1976 until a new all-weather road was built at Lambley, to allow a replacement bus service to operate between Haltwhistle and Alston.

Photo: British Rail diesel multiple unit at Haltwhistle Station with a train for Alston, prior to 1st May 1976. Photograph by David Ellis.

Preservation and reopening of part of the line
- as a narrow gauge railway

Attempts by the South Tynedale Railway Company and the South Tynedale Railway Preservation Society, which was formed in 1973, to keep the line open failed, but the Society was reconstituted in 1977 to build a narrow gauge tourist railway northwards from Alston, operating it mainly by volunteers.

The first mile of line was opened on 30th July 1983 and the line was extended by a further half mile to Gilderdale Halt in December 1986. On 4th September 1999, the line was extended by a further three quarters of a mile to Kirkhaugh, in Northumberland, making a total length of 2¼ miles, over which more than 20,000 visitors travel each year, maintaining the tradition started by the the original Newcastle and Carlisle Company in July 1852.

Photo: Steam locomotive Helen Kathryn with a passenger train at Kirkhaugh station during 2002. Photograph by Tom Bell.

The operation and maintenance of the South Tynedale Railway

The South Tynedale Railway is managed, maintained and operated by volunteers of the South Tynedale Railway Preservation Society.

New volunteers are always welcome.

Application forms for membership of the South Tynedale Railway Preservation Society can be obtained from Alston Station shop or by writing to the Membership Secretary at The Railway Station, Alston, Cumbria, CA9 3JB.

For more information about the South Tynedale Railway, please contact:-

THE SOUTH TYNEDALE RAILWAY PRESERVATION SOCIETY,
Registered Office Address:-
The Railway Station, Alston, Cumbria, CA9 3JB.
Telephone 01434 381696.
Talking timetable - Telephone 01434 382828.
Registered Charity No. 514939.
Limited by Guarantee: Company Registration No. 1850832 (England).

E-mail enquiries - please click on links below:
South Tynedale Railway information - Send e-mail to South Tynedale Railway
STRPS membership information only - Send e-mail to Kathy Aveyard
Tynedalesman information only - Send e-mail to Tynedalesman compilers


	150 Years of Alstons Railway A brief history of the railway

More great reads