Lambley railway station

Lambley was a railway station on the Alston Branch Line, which ran between Haltwhistle and Alston. The station, situated 4+3⁄4 miles (8 km) south-west of Haltwhistle, served the village of Lambley in Northumberland. The station was opened by the North Eastern Railway on 21 May 1852, following the completion of Lambley Viaduct. The imposing stone viaduct is located the north-east of the former station, and was designed by Sir George Barclay Bruce. It spans a length of 850 feet (260 m) over the River South Tyne. The viaduct was designated a Grade II* listed structure on 23 August 1985. There were a number of unscheduled calling points on the section of the line between Lambley and Slaggyford, including those at Burnstones, Softley and Whitwham. Trains regularly stopped to allow passengers to board and alight, despite no platform or facilities being available at these locations.

1. History

The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway was formed in 1829, opening to passengers in stages from March 1835. A branch line from Haltwhistle to Alston and Nenthead was first considered in 1841, with the line authorised by an Act of Parliament in August 1846. It was later decided that a line operating as far as Alston was sufficient, with the amended route approved by a further Act in July 1849. In March 1851, the 41⁄2-mile section from Haltwhistle to Shaft Hill (which was later renamed Coanwood) was opened to goods traffic, with passenger services commencing in July 1851. The 81⁄4-mile section of the line between Alston and Lambley opened to goods traffic in January 1852, along with a short branch to Lambley Fell, with passenger services commencing in May 1852. At Lambley the Alston line connected with the Brampton Railway. Construction of the branch line was completed in November 1852, following the opening of the, now Grade II* listed, Lambley Viaduct over the River South Tyne.

1. Demise and closure

Lambley became an unstaffed halt in 1966, with Alston following in 1969. Featherstone Park and Slaggyford were reduced to unstaffed halt status in 1954, along with Coanwood in 1955. The line was originally marked for closure in the 1960s, under the Beeching plan, however the lack of an all-weather road kept it open. Following improvements to the road network, including a temporary level crossing over the branch at Lambley, the line was closed on 3 May 1976 by the British Railways Board, with the last train working two days earlier. The line was replaced in part by a bus service, which was operated by Ribble Motor Services. Since the line's closure, a 5-mile (8 km) section of the line has since reopened in stages between Slaggyford and Alston, with heritage services operated by the South Tynedale Railway.

1. References


1. Sources


1. External links

Media related to Lambley railway station at Wikimedia Commons

Nearby Places View Menu

Lambley, Northumberland

Lambley, formerly known as Harper Town, is a village in the civil parish of Coanwood, in Northumberland, England about four miles (six kilometres) southwest of Haltwhistle. The village lies adjacent to the River South Tyne. The place name Lambley refers to the "pasture of lambs". Lambley used to be the site of a small convent of Benedictine Nuns, founded by Adam de Tindale and Heloise, his wife, in the 12th century. The Scots led by William Wallace devastated it in 1296 [Rowland gives 1297]. However it was restored and one William Tynedale was ordained priest to the nunnery in about 1508 – most likely not William Tyndale, the reformer, as once believed but another man of the same name. At the time of the suppression of religious houses by Henry VIII, the nunnery contained six inmates. Nothing now remains but the bell from the nunnery, which hangs in the church, and a few carved stones. The village lies in the Midgeholme Coalfield and there are reserves of good-quality coal remaining.

Landmark Neighbourhood

Coanwood railway station

Coanwood was a railway station on the Alston Branch Line, which ran between Haltwhistle and Alston. The station, situated 4 miles (6 km) south-west of Haltwhistle, served the village of Coanwood in Northumberland. Opened by the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway on 19 July 1851, the station was originally known as Shaft Hill or Shafthill. It was later renamed Coanwood on 1 March 1885 by the North Eastern Railway.

Landmark Train

Coanwood

Coanwood is a village in Northumberland, England, and is part of the Parish of Haltwhistle. It is about four miles (6 km) to the south-west of Haltwhistle, on the South Tyne. Nearby is the village of Lambley. Coanwood was anciently written as Collingwood meaning "Hazel Trees/Woods".

Landmark Neighbourhood

Halton Lea Gate

Halton Lea Gate is a small village in Northumberland, England, on the A689 road close to the boundary of the counties of Northumberland and Cumbria. The village is part of the parish council area called Hartleyburn, and borders the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). Halton Lea Farm has a Grade II listed farmhouse, the eastern end of which probably represents a large bastle. The Pennine Way long-distance footpath runs just to the east of the village. The population of Halton Lea Gate was 310 in 1901. The area was subject to extensive coal mining activity in the nineteenth century, with a later phase of mining being undertaken from the 1930s to 1958.

Historic Site Landmark