South Tynedale Railway Transport

The South Tynedale Railway operates narrow gauge passenger trains along a 2 mile line along the scenic South Tyne valley between Alston, in Cumbria and Kirkhaugh, in Northumberland.

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 Carlisle's 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 Carlisle's Railway and providing the North Pennines with a second railhead.

The Alston branch of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway had a stormy, if somewhat protracted, birth before settling down to serve the communities of the South Tyne valley for over one hundred years. A candidate for closure even before Beeching welded his axe, it fought back successfully, only to succumb 13 years later, eventually closing in the evening of Saturday 1st May 1976, when the construction of a new road allowed the establishment of a replacement bus service. .