The Alston Branch REPRINT

The Alston Branch REPRINT

This is a straight reprint of the Oakwood book first published in 1991, with a second edition in 2001 reprinted in 2004. It has been unavailable for many years and recounts the history of this scenic NER branch line, which linked Alston in Cumberland with Haltwhistle in Northumberland. The branch opened in November 1852 under the aegis of the Newcastle & Carlisle Railway. After a tussle for control between bigger railway companies, the North Eastern Railway acquired it in 1862. The book follows the typical Oakwood narrative, with Chapter One appropriately being about beginnings, whilst Chapter Two deals with the NER period. Chapters Three and Four are ‘Along the Line’, aka description of the route, layout, etc. Then there is a chapter on the British Railways era before finally looking at the 1976 closure, which was justified by providing a new ‘all-weather road’ to Alston, which almost immediately was shown to be unfit for purpose. Meantime, the South Tynedale Railway Preservation Society leapt into action and, although failing in their initial preservation efforts, have since opened a narrow gauge railway as far as Gilderdale.