1362

PREVIOUS: Five pictures of the stone embankment on the Ralltgoed/Ratgoed Tramway that used to
join the Corris Railway at Aberllefenni. The first one shows a section under repair and the second is a
section dismantled ready for rebuilding. The third is an un-rebuilt section with original culverts and
stone lintels. The fourth has a new lintel (the culverts are being enlarged for climate change) - the
embankment is partly restored above it and there is a temporary stone dam to hold back the water.
Finally a newly installed lintel above a culvert with the stonework above it complete. We don't think
that the lifebuoys are contemporaneous with the horse drawn tramway. (Graeme Jolley, 11 Sep 2020.)

2936] Ralltgoed/Ratgoed Tramway: (BLN 256, p183-6) The northern passenger terminus of the Corris
Railway was Aberllefenni. The line however continued as a tramway further up the valley serving, at
different times, various quarries including Ralltgoed. Despite remaining horse worked, it outlasted the
Corris Railway, eventually being closed by British Railways on 1 Jul 1952. Beyond Aberllefenni station

the tramway passed behind a row of miners'
cottages before passing onto an embankment.
This is still extant and extends for some 200 -
300yd ending where there was a bridge across a
minor lane heading to Aberllefenni Quarry. The
embankment is most unusual as it has several
small 'bridges' within it to allow water from the
quarry valley to flow down and join the Dulas
River just below the embankment.

Now the embankment also acts as a dam
ensuring an even flow of water. Surprisingly it
has been the subject of repairs by Natural
Resources Wales during Aug. New lintel beams
were installed and the embankment wall is
being rebuilt in the middle and at the north end,
while another breach has been excavated
recently ready to replace more broken lintel
slabs in due course. LEFT: 1957 map; Ratgoed
Hall is top right and Aberllefenni is bottom. This
tramway remained in situ isolated (as shown)
for a while after the Corris Railway was lifted

2937] Glyn Valley Tramway (GVT): (BLN 1306.1342) A member visiting by car on Tue 25 Aug found the
museums at Glyn Ceiriog loco shed and Pontfadog station closed (in normal times the latter opens by
prior arrangement with the former, which is itself opens most Sats). From previous visits they are well
worth seeing. The 'proper' stations at Glyn Ceiriog (private residence), Dolywern (belonging to the
adjacent Leonard Cheshire Home) and the aforementioned Pontfadog are all much in evidence.

There is nothing to see at the passenger stops at Herber (Toll) Gate, which disappeared in Bradshaw's
from Oct 1883, Castle Mill and Pontfaen. There never was anything to see apart from name boards at
the last two at least. However, there were proper printed ticket stocks for at least Castle Mill. Herber
Gate, still shown on current OS maps, apparently referring to a toll gate at the end of the somewhat
unlikely Bronygarth to Wern turnpike road. Work continues on excavating the platform and building
foundations at Chirk GVT station. The Pontfaen to Glyn Ceiriog trackbed has almost all been absorbed
into road widening for some decades. The 8¼ mile 2' 4½" gauge line ran passenger trains on 6½ miles.

2938] Brymbo Jn - Coed Talon: This obscure route was also visited on 25 Aug. The Wrexham & Minera
Extension Railway (W&MER), a GWR & L&NWR joint line, formed its southern section. At Ffrith, the
station house is a private residence perched on one end of the extent lofty eponymous viaduct
reached by a very steep narrow lane which continues further up the hills as a public footpath.

All trace of the passenger station has gone, unsurprisingly, as it was a small wooden shack on a single
wooden platform. As often in rural areas, the station house was the most substantial building here.

Llanfynydd station was similar with two wooden shacks! Here the station house is also extant but
much rebuilt and extended, losing its railway ambience. A footpath descends to a curious little steel
footbridge (post-railway) over the stone walls of a railway built culvert in an otherwise heavily
overgrown trackbed section. Photos of both stations appear in Great Western Railway Stations 1947,
Part 2 (RJ Smith) and elsewhere. The W&MER ended just north of Pantystain Level Crossing on the
B5101 (pronounced 'Pantustyne', to avoid any embarrassment!) then became purely L&NWR to Mold.

En route the site of Coed Talon station is now a small car park; surviving railway buildings include the
goods shed and a former smithy which has a decidedly L&NWR 'look'. The W&MER through to Coed
Talon OG 27 Jan 1872 and the L&NWR began a Mold to Brymbo passenger service on 2 May 1898.

This long outlived the GWR's Wrexham to Brymbo service (CP 1 Jan 1931) but latterly comprised only
a PSUL style SuX morning and SSuX afternoon single coach train at 'school times' until CP 27 Mar 1950.
Coed Talon - Ffrith (Bwlchgwyn Siding) CA from the same day, the remainder of the line following
officially on 1 Oct 1963, though in reality it had been OOU by the previous Jun (BLN 95 Aug 1963 p185).

2939] Ebbw Vale branch: (BLN 1361.2787) From photos in John Hodge's 'Railways and Industry in the
Western Valley' (BLN 1357.2226), the former second deck on the east side of Crumlin bridge piers in
the Ebbw River was of single track width and carried a private siding to an ironworks. The current
bridge work road-rail access point by the Railway Hotel is the site of a public road level crossing
replaced by the present overbridge in 1923. The 'solid' new bridge taking shape: https://bit.ly/3ctoOex

1362 MINOR RAILWAYS (Peter Scott) [email protected]
MR153] Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, Cumbria (MR p14) (BLN 1356.1962): The railway has received
a £250,000 National Lottery Heritage Fund grant to fully restore the two camping coaches located at
Ravenglass. They were converted by BR to that use from Pullman cars in 1960 and have resided there
since. The project began on 8 September and will see the cars converted into quirky self-catering
accommodation for between 4 and 6 people, along with a sensory garden. The coaches are currently
in a critical state of disrepair, but the work will conserve their structures and preserve the original
interior features. The two cars, 'Elmira' and 'Maid of Kent' were originally built in 1917 as part of a
WWI ambulance train and are the oldest camping coaches still in their original location. They were
rebuilt as Pullman dining cars in 1921. The restoration is expected to be completed next spring,
allowing their use for guests from the main holiday season.

MR154] Churnet Valley Railway, Staffordshire (MR p8)): Over the weekend of 5/6 September thieves
broke into storage containers and stole £10,000s worth of signalling equipment, some of which had
been designated to help with the planned reopening into Leek. The thieves entered sidings at Froghall
and cut through three solid security locks in order to gain access to the storage container with the
equipment within - no mean feat and something which would have taken considerable time to do so.

The loss includes a large quantity of interlocking equipment. With the number of mechanical signal
boxes decreasing on the mainline in recent years, the availability of spares is decreasing significantly
and so this is a blow to the line's volunteers. The equipment stolen cannot be bought off the shelf; the
railway must wait for completion of upgrade projects on the mainline from which equipment removed
can then be purchased. There is some competition for such NR surplus material and so the line could
be forced to wait over a decade to replace the full amount of equipment lost in this latest theft.

This all comes at an increasingly difficult time for the railway following the recent enforced closure
during the lockdown, and despite being able to open for the summer holidays finances are still tight.
Even though the revamped services have proved popular, the loss of income from the shutdown has
not been recovered and in spite of significant support from the local authority, the Railway's bank and
suppliers, this is one hit the railway just could not afford. Despite trying to survive without outside
support, an appeal is now set up to accept donations to improve the security of the site.

[BLN 1362]
This will see a new fence installed along the full perimeter with an upgraded CCTV system. The charity
is aiming to raise £8,000 to cover some of the associated costs of replacing the perimeter fence.

MR155] Donegal Railway Heritage Centre, County Donegal (BLN 1348.869): The Centre has been able
to secure the return to Donegal Town of County Donegal Railway (CDR) No5 'Drumboe' 2-6-4T
(NW829/1907). Early in 2019 a campaign was launched to raise the funds for the move, resulting in
donations from across the island of Ireland and further afield, including Graham Forbes (grandson of
CDR Manager Henry Forbes), the North West of Ireland Railway Society and many others. However,
Donegal Local Development Community Liaison Group (CLG) came in with the main part of the €100k
project with a grant of €65k, leaving now only a small amount remaining to raise. 'Drumboe' is the
locomotive that pulled the final train of the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee in 1960.

The locomotive is now in pieces at the Railway Preservations Society of Ireland Whitehead Museum.

Mark McDaid, Chair of Donegal Railway Heritage Centre stated: We are delighted to secure the funding
for the bulk of this project to deliver this milestone heritage and tourism project for Donegal. As well as
returning 'Drumboe' to presentation state, and transporting her back to Donegal Town, [it] will also be
spent on restructuring the site at the front, building a new platform, building a canopy over the engine
and other stock, lighting her as well as work to the front of the station. We would like to thank Donegal
Local Development CLG and all of our benefactors who have made this ambitious, but much needed
project, possible. Drumboe will become the centrepiece of Donegal's railway museum in Donegal Town,
making it a landmark tourism project drawing locals and visitors alike to the region, thus making it
more sustainable. More importantly however, it will have a positive impact on the local community and
County, in the economic regeneration of the region, our heritage and in increased pride.

Niall McCaughan, Manager at Donegal Railway Heritage centre stated: We have recognised for some
time that … to properly celebrate our unique Donegal Railway Heritage, the largest narrow gauge [3ft]
network [106 miles] in the British Isles, the one thing that was missing was an original Donegal Steam
Engine. Having Drumboe back on site will be a game changer, not only for the museum, but for
Donegal Town and the County. However our ambitions don't stop there! We are still looking at a bigger
plan in the medium/long term to open up a bit of track and once again have train stock running in this
part of Donegal. The project will take up to 12 months and the museum will continue to operate.

MR156] Elsecar Heritage Railway, South Yorkshire (MR p9) (BLN 1294.MR228): This standard gauge
line, of almost a mile, is facing an uncertain future amid mounting financial problems, although the
volunteers who run it insist it will not go down without a fight. It has operated as a charity since the
1990s (passenger trains began in 1996) but has been engulfed by financial demands, which resulted in
an agreement with an outside company. That led to its prized steam locomotive, the 'Mardy Monster'
being sold without the knowledge of board members. Now they have set out plans to try to clarify the
relationship between the two and their legal position, but accept that the railway will fold if their
proposals are not acceptable to the company which now has a financial stake in the operation.

Up to 80% of the members and volunteers who run the Railway turned up for a special meeting to try
to find a way to keep it running. Board member Marie Shipley Beale said that there was determination
to do anything possible to keep it afloat. She said: There are some options and we will have to see what
comes out of it, but at least there is a plan. We might sink but we won't go down without a fight, not
until we have gone through all the processes to keep ourselves afloat. Their next step is to take legal
advice from a charities expert to try to dot the i's and cross the t's of the railway's legal agreements
and try to find a way of keeping it running. However if the other party pulled out, the charity would
not have the money to survive. Financial pressures have mounted in recent years due to a worsening
shortage of volunteers with the skills needed to run a railway, so an engineering contract was needed
for maintenance. The site is leased from Barnsley Council but the railway is responsible for building
maintenance and recently had to pay for rewiring, which cost the equivalent of two years income.

[BLN 1362]
MR157] Cholsey & Wallingford Railway, Oxfordshire (MR p6) (BLN 1299.MR32): Reconstruction of the
ex-Maidenhead P5 canopy is underway at Wallingford station. The first wall panels were erected by
the Green Oak Company on 15 July. These were followed two days later by the cast iron columns. The
project is being funded by the Railway Heritage Trust (over £223k), the largest total grant it has made.

MR158] Didcot Railway Centre, Oxfordshire (MR p7): A visit was made here on Sunday 13 September
- a bright and sunny, but fairly breezy day. The Centre was quite busy, but they were happy enough to
accept our reporter's Heritage Railway Association card for admission (pre-booked a couple of weeks
earlier). The blue GWR King 6023 was advertised as running until 14.00 on the main running line, and
operated with three GW coaches 416, 1941 and 3755. When our reporter arrived just before 11.00, it
was stationary half-way along the line receiving its final preparations for running.

People queued at the station in a distanced way on the inward ramp and were admitted to the
platform one 'bubble' at a time and shown to a compartment (then locked in, as explained, to avoid
premature or disorderly alighting). The train then made two return trips (stopping just short), with the
north end platform closed. Between each trip, the entrance doors, adjacent parts of windows and
adjacent handles were all thoroughly cleansed by staff - most impressive. This meant that trips were
leaving the platform at roughly 25 minute intervals. They seemed full until early afternoon, after which
the last few compartments remained unfilled. Our reporter then took another ride (as compartments
were still available) on what turned out to be the penultimate steam service approaching 14.00.

Class 08 D3771 (aka 08604, aka 604) was advertised from 14.30, and started running shortly after,
once the locomotives had swapped over on the running line. Our member waited for that and had the
first shunter-hauled train ride (with the same three coaches) of the day leaving at around 14.45.

Meanwhile the King was shunted off and stabled by the coaler (not a very good position for pictures).
Elsewhere around the site our reporter noted:

●Plenty of hand sanitisers available.
●The signalling centre remains closed.
●The shop was open as was (for takeaway service) the buffet but there are plenty of picnic tables
…around the site.
●The museum was open until 14.00 and was empty when visited.
●Toilets open with one way restrictions (limited urinals and basins - the windows were all wide open).
●Nothing was running on the branch line so the level crossing was unusually open, enabling the other
…side to be seen and more images obtained.
●The adjacent signal box steps were accessible but not the interior.
●The historic coach museum in the shed at the north end had a one way system marked anticlockwise
…around the exhibits inside. It was understood there were around 350 people on site, but it is large
…and nowhere seemed particularly crowded.

An enjoyable day and recommended.

MR159] Bure Valley Railway, Norfolk (MR p21) (BLN 1334.MR163): Passenger services resumed on
Saturday 1 August, five days a week (MFX) until 1 November, then weekends only. The three
intermediate stations have not reopened; and 'Trains & Broads Cruises' are not on offer this year.
Passengers are advised to book in advance but tickets are sold at Wroxham and Aylsham if available.

X.190] NEXT: Swanage Railway (MR p6), a tethered dog stabled on the platform studies
Cass 20 D8188, stabled in the headshunt at Swanage station. (Peter Scott, 2 Apr 2006.)





BELOW & NEXT: (MR157) The ex-Maidenhead station P5 canopy in the co

ourse of reconstruction at Wallingford station. (Stuart Hicks, 23 Aug 2020.)





BELOW: (MR159) Bure Valley Railway No7 'Spitfire' gains the atte

ention of a photographer at Aylsham. (Peter Scott, 13 Jun 2012.)

X.191] BELOW: GWSR (MR p7) Broadway the 'other' platform looking north

h - the footbridge is from Henley-in-Arden. (All Stuart Hicks, 16 Sep 2020.)









PREVIOUS: Looking north towards Honeybourne from Broadway station,
BELOW: Cheltenham Race Course (three words) non-preferred P2 with G

the GWSR boundary fence can be seen ahead before the first overbridge.
GWR pine trees as at Broadway, the railed off area is for a future building.

BELOW: Coaling the modern way the

e end of the day in Toddington Yard.

BELOW: Looking very smart at Toddington, the 'bubble car' is nearin

ng the end of its long renovation (and perfect for a Society railtour…).













X.192] Corris Railway Railway: (BLNs 1359.X.162) (MR p29) It's not every day that new narrow gauge
railway formation construction is documented, particularly on such as scale as this. (All Graeme Jolley.)

PREVIOUS (FIRST PICTURE OF THREE): Tue 1 Sep, making the most of a short spell of dry weather,
quarry rejects are to spread and rolled on the stone prior to covering with geotextile and filling
the gap between to enable the next stone layer to be laid before the weather breaks again.

SECOND & THIRD PICTURES: (17 Sep) Work on the extension has continued over the summer but
slower than the previous frenetic pace due to the poor weather which prevents lorry access.
(If the ground is too damp it churns up as the lorries reverse onto the site.) If the material is
too sticky it is difficult for the digger to spread it along the formation. A delivery of rejects from
Aberllefenni Quarry arrives which are spread to bind the coarse stone foundation/drainage
layer - in the rain. Then stone from Dolgellau is spread over the top (last picture) gaining height.

1362 FIXTURES REPORTS (Paul Stewart) [email protected]

2940] IMinE, North Tyne Railtour, Sun 13 Oct 1991:
https://bit.ly/3hQE9qM by Ian Mortimer and Paul
Stewart, the e-BLN railtour maps are thanks to Ian.

The third tour of 1991, with 47625 (and 56114 from
Widdrington until final departure from Newsham
North Jn in 'top & tail' formation'), started from
Manchester Victoria on a Sunday at 07.55 revisiting
a part of the country covered by the very first IMinE
railtour. A late change meant that it ran to Leeds via
Bradford Interchange rather than through Huddersfield and Mirfield, causing a delay of around 30
minutes. This continued all day including arrival back in Manchester Victoria at 20.20 after 378¼ miles
and 14 reversals. From Leeds it was an uneventful run to Newcastle, where the tour proper started.

Continuing down the East Coast Main Line the train reached Widdrington North Jn (now known as
Widdrington Sidings) north of the passenger station - it is a facing junction into the south end of the
exchange sidings. After running into No1 (closest to the main line) and reversing, the end of the line
was reached at Widdrington Opencast Disposal Point itself, further than the itinerary had indicated.

Apart from this bonus, the branch from the exchange sidings was normally only worked by the internal
locomotives, so going down it at all was notable. Widdrington was a washery, processing coal that
arrived by road from nearby opencast sites. It was located on the site of the long closed Widdrington
Isabella and Six Pits Collieries. The final coal sent out from here was to Wilton (ICI) Power Station in
Mar 2010 and then the internal locos went. The nearby Aln Valley Railway has 12088, an LMS/BR Class
11 0-6-0 DE built at Derby in 1951. Peak Rail has BR Class 06 loco D2420, 06003, 97804 0-4-0DM built
Andrew Barclay Wks No435 (1959). In Jul 2003 this replaced EEV D1205 which moved away from
Widdrington that month. In addition 31 EEV D1205 0-4-0DH of 1967 left Widdrington and went to
Saint Gobain Pipelines, Stanton Works, Stanton-by-Dale, Ilkeston, Derbyshire and was subsequently
scrapped by TJ Thomson at their Stockton-on-Tees Scrapyard in Feb 2007.

Today the branch is theoretically available but heavily overgrown. Widdrington was famous for 'Big
Geordie' which arrived at Radar Open Cast Site in 1969, then the biggest walking dragline excavator in
Europe at 3,000 tonnes. The fully extended job went 260ft scraping the overburden off the coal; the
bucket held 100 tonnes and progress was rapid! It was replaced by 'The Ace of Spades' in 1993 which,
although weighing 4,000 tonnes, had the same size bucket. Big Geordie was cut up for scrap in 2014.

Both were impressive sights, attracting visitors from all over the world. See https://bit.ly/3hYOctU &
https://bit.ly/2Httk1l (short videos). They 'walked' at 2 metres per minute on giant pontoon feet that
lifted the body off the ground before lowering it a few feet ahead - sometimes for miles between sites.

[BLN 1363]

From Widdrington the tour returned to Butterwell Jn, where it followed the route of the 1989 first
IMinE tour but went through Butterwell Disposal Point Bunker - the previous tour had bypassed the
bunker line. Opened in 1977, Butterwell was the loading point for a nearby opencast site, at the time
the largest man-made hole in Europe! Again it went along the private Butterwell Light Railway (which
became disused in 1999 after repeated vandalism) to Ashington. Here a ticketless passenger was
removed from the train into the waiting arms of the local constabulary. After reversing, we passed the
British Rail boundary at 4m 14ch and once more visited Lynemouth Colliery bunker line.

However, this time on our return journey we reversed at Alcan Jn (5m 32ch) and took the 1¼ mile
branch to the Alcan Aluminium Smelter, running through the works on the right hand of the two
roads (the run round line) to about 50m before the end of line. The smelter closed in May 2012.

Returning to Ashington the tour carried on to Marcheys House Jn where it took the direct north to
east curve to Winning Crossing Jn (currently with no regular traffic). It passed the once busy Cambois
Depot, which closed in 1994, and West Blyth Staiths (which had already closed 31 Dec 1989 but only
had sporadic traffic latterly). The train eventually reached the level crossing after North Blyth Loop,
just before North Blyth Alcan Import Terminal. This still has regular trains of Alumina each week to
Fort William; at the time of the tour they also ran to Lynemouth Smelter. After retracing its tracks to
Freemans Signal Box, another reversal accessed the Blyth (or Cambois) 'A' Power Station branch - the
one on the west side (and not the 'B' station branch as shown on the tour map and in the itinerary
which had a merry-go-round wagon unloading hopper). The two power stations were separate units.

At full commissioning in 1966 Blyth 'A' & 'B' stations were, for a short time, the largest single electricity
generation site in England at 1,730MW (previously it had been Drakelow 'A', 'B' & 'C') commissioning of
Ferrybridge 'C' later that year removed the title. In 1989, Blyth 'A' set a new world record (noted in the
Guinness Book of Records) for total running hours in a plant of its size, when all four generating units
achieved 200,000 running hours. The older 'A' station closed in 1999 and 'B' on 31 Jan 2001, at which
time it was the oldest and least efficient coal fired power station still operating in Britain(when new it
was the most efficient!). Demolition of the distinctive landmarks for miles around followed in 2003/4.

After returning to Winning Crossing Jn, the east to south curve was taken to West Sleekburn Jn,
rejoining the Blyth & Tyne (B&T) line, to Newsham North Jn. Another reversal there accessed the
branch (then only recently reopened in Apr 1991 with a test train on 5th and the first coal for export (!)
on 8th) to Blyth Bates British Coal Terminal. The line, 2⅓ miles long, initially followed the former
double track Blyth passenger branch (CP 2 Nov 1964 along with the B&T) before curving left to the site
of Isabella Colliery, which closed in 1966. Until traffic to Bates Colliery and the adjacent staiths ceased
in 1984 (the colliery closed in 1986), there were exchange sidings here; the line beyond was worked
only by National Coal Board (NCB) locos. On reopening in Apr 1991 to serve the coal terminal, British
Rail locos worked the entire branch. Running through the site of Bates Colliery, the tour ran to a train
length beyond the unloading hopper, just short of the final curve leading to the loop headshunt.

This facility was short lived with few coal trains or tours, was disused by the end of the decade, taken
OOU in Mar 2006 and has long been lifted. There are plans to convert at least part to a foot/cycle path.

Returning to Newsham North Jn, the Blyth & Tyne line was taken south, passing Holywell, where the
branch to Burradon Colliery (closed in 1975) had converged. This NCB owned branch was notable for
crossing one of the Backworth Colliery system lines on the level. From here the tour ran to Newcastle,
then retraced its outward route to Leeds, before running via Huddersfield to Manchester Victoria.

TOUR MAPS: Originally drawn in 1991 by our member Rodger Wilkinson.

Note that at Blyth Power Station the west branch was done by the tour, not the east as shown.

















ABOVE: Widdrington from the front of the tour at the end of line, looking back towards the loading
bunker that it had run past. Unfortunately the weather on the day wasn't great for photography.

BELOW: 37093 and a LMS brakevan at Cambois Depot on 13 Sep 1974. The brakevan had been used
on the Alcan service, unfitted wagons then. The traffic between North Blyth Import Terminal and
Lynemouth Smelter was alumina and coke for the smelting process. (All photos by Ian Mortimer.)

ABOVE: From near Cambois Depot looking south towards West Blyth Staiths, Apr 1986. The high-level
loaded wagon sidings are left. Wagons were shunted ahead on to the staiths for unloading then ran
back to the low-level empty wagons sidings, right. Blyth 'B' Power Station is right with its twin
chimneys. Bates Colliery is in the distance, just to left of the power station and across the River Blyth.

BELOW: West Blyth Staiths which closed 31 Dec 1989, from the southeast (the aforementioned LMS
brakevan en route to North Blyth Alcan Import Terminal). Once a common sight in the North East, you
had to be lucky to have a trip, with a boat in or a driver who would take you down light engine.

ABOVE: A sight familiar to modern railtourers; North Blyth Import Terminal, with the 13 Oct 1991 tour
stopped at crossing just short of the terminal. The main thing that has changed in 29 years is the cars!

BELOW: 37046 at Blyth Power Station ('B' station a spooky silhouette right); an oil train from Esso
Percy Main on 12 Sep 1974. This was the last leg of what was, for the writer, one of his best brake van
trips ever. A local Cambois Depot trip working with no fixed route (like most), it had visited Burradon
Colliery, Bates Colliery exchange sidings, Whitehill Point (very sporadic traffic) and Percy Main Yard.

ABOVE: From the front of the tour, the limit of working on the Bates branch, with the buffer stops just
out of sight around the curve. As can be seen in various pictures the train exterior was rather dirty.

BELOW: 1958 map 1" inch scale; Newsham North Jn is bottom centre. Blyth terminal station with two
platforms is shown as a 'principal' station (rectangular). The lower centre spot was Isabella Colliery on
the Bates Colliery branch. The upper spot further right is the 1991 Coal Export Terminal end of line

ABOVE: Fisher Lane Level Crossing on the Burradon Colliery branch from the rear of the same brake
van returning to Holywell. Just beyond the road and immediately in front of the unusual signal, the
track of the Backworth Colliery line can just be seen crossing on the level at a skew. (12 Sep 1974.)

BELOW: (1958 map) Burradon Colliery is middle left, the branch runs east to the centre, then crosses
the Backworth Colliery system line on the level at Fisher Lane Level crossing (power cables overhead
for good measure), turns sharply south and joins the (still open) Blyth & Tyne Line at West Holywell.

2941] Haltwhistle - Wetheral visits, Fri 14 Feb 2020 Part 1: By Nigel Lyons, additional material by Nick
Jones. Valentine's Day dawned bright and early for me a few miles south of Haltwhistle with strong
cold winds preceding the arrival of Storm Dennis whipping around our rented cottage on a Beef Farm
in the snow-covered hills. I thought it would be an idea to make a long weekend of it with the
girlfriend as it's nearly a 300 miles journey north from Aylesbury, and I wouldn't have made it back in
time for an evening out! [Or risk ending the visits with one to the dog house.] Parking in Haltwhistle
station car park, 11 brave windswept souls met at 10.30 anticipating visiting five signal boxes on the
Newcastle to Carlisle line, working west. The twelfth party member, on a flying visit, was still en route;
making his way by train to Haltwhistle after landing from Ireland that morning at Glasgow Airport.

Mobile Operations Manager, Graham Lamb, due to lead the trip was in a meeting, so his deputy John
Race stepped in until Graham was free. Nick Jones, our organiser, explained the day's activities and, as
there were four car drivers, including myself, places were allocated to cars for the convoy later on.

Haltwhistle: The station house, footbridge, the grand circa 1901 former North Eastern Railway (NER)
restored signal box and water crane are all Grade II listed at this delightful station, as is the nearby
viaduct over the River South Tyne (the 'Alston Arches' on the Alston branch). Building the Newcastle &
Carlisle Railway and the station here required a diversion of the River and the adjacent turnpike road.

However, the first box to be visited was not listed and only dates from 2009; a portable building west
of P1, by the Up line (to Newcastle). It is next to the surviving Goods Shed and is the second box on
this site. After the NER box east of the station on the Down side (to Carlisle) closed and before this one
opened, another temporary box was used. The current box has an IFS (Individual Function Switch)
Panel dating from 1993 (from the previous box). Unlike many IFS panels, the signal control switches
are located directly on the mimic diagram, giving a similar appearance to an eNtrance-eXit panel.

Haltwhistle works Absolute Block to Haydon Bridge eastwards, and west to Low Row, with the block
instruments and bells contained in the panel itself. The box is responsible for five level crossings of
different types and all running signals are two aspect colour lights. Melkridge Siding Loop (35m 10ch
to 35m 62ch) east of Haltwhistle, currently clamped OOU, is controlled from here. It originally served a
Rapid Loading Bunker for Plenmeller Opencast Site (1½ miles away, the coal arrived by conveyor). The
site closed in 2000, but the siding remains. In the past there were thoughts of converting it to a fully
signalled Down Goods Loop but, with the significant reduction in coal traffic, this now seems unlikely.

There is a trailing crossover west of the station, allowing access to a still-active P'Way siding in the old
goods yard, behind the box. A former second siding, still on Google Maps and Oct 2016 TRACKmaps,
had presumably been removed quite recently (and certainly by 5 Feb 2019). This crossover also allows
trains which terminate at Haltwhistle (from either direction) to shunt ECS to the other platform to
turnback, with a Limit of Shunt (effectively a permanently red signal) provided on the Down Line for
such moves. A separate portable building houses the Relay Interlocking for the panel.

Haltwhistle (NER): Our members then returned to the station, and crossed the line via the station
footbridge, as the NER Box is accessed from a public footpath leading off the east end of P2, the
Carlisle platform, sandwiched between the railway and the River South Tyne. At this point the Alston
branch used to diverge south from the former P3 at Haltwhistle Jn (CA 3 May 1976 but part has been
reinstated as the 2ft gauge South Tynedale Railway between Alston and Slaggyford).

The south side of Haltwhistle station, the former loop platform (P3); yard, including the turntable pit;
the viaduct carrying the Alston branch over the River South Tyne and the trackbed up to the A69
bypass, are now owned by the South Tynedale Railway. Although situated at the foot of the Newcastle
end platform ramp, there is no access to the NER signal box that way. The lofty building towers over
the footbridge for sighting purposes. Built in the early 20th Century (sources differ as to the exact date,
Peter Kay has 1901), the Grade II listed box closed in 1993. Until recently a NR office but is now OOU.

[BLN 1362]
Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership holds occasional public open days. Only the lever frame
remains, and has been restored using some imaginative but fictitious colour schemes, and various
lever plates in random order… 51, 4, 62 next to each other as an example! The original frame was
replaced by this McKenzie & Holland one in 1927 with 85 levers, but was reduced to 61 when the
Alston branch closed. The diagram was also something of a mystery, apparently made up of some
original sections with what appeared to be hand-sketched replica sections. The brick built base for
housing the locking equipment is now empty, and is much narrower than the wooden Box above.

ABOVE: Our readers will know that signal boxes come in all sorts of sizes and shapes - this 'temporary'
building (centre) is Haltwhistle; the railway is behind with the platform for Carlisle in the distance.
The remains of the Goods Shed is to the left. (All pictures Nick Jones, 14 Feb 2020.)
NEXT PAGE: It's a wind up … not some sort of mediaeval torture but tensioning equipment in the
ex-NER signal box for long signal wires so that they could be adjusted for temperature changes.



BELOW: The one and only Engineer's Siding (the other was far left) look