Newcastle and Carlisle Railway

Before railways Carlisle was an important commercial centre, but as late as the eighteenth century transport was limited. It is situated on the River Eden at the head of the Solway Firth, but both those waterways suffered from shoaling and sandbanks, frustrating the potential for maritime traffic. A number of canal schemes had been put forward, but a route to navigable water was not simple, and led to plans for a canal to cross to the eastern seaboard: a Tyne—Solway Canal. William Chapman surveyed a scheme for the canal, and published details of a route in 1795. The scheme was controversial, but gained enough support to be presented to Parliament in the 1797 session, but met opposition there and was withdrawn. After 1815 ideas of a canal were revived, and a much shorter canal from Bowness to Carlisle, the Carlisle Canal, was promoted. It received parliamentary authorisation as the Carlisle Canal Act 1819 (59 Geo. 3. c. xiii), and it opened in 1823; Bowness was retitled Port Carlisle; the canal was large enough to carry small ships. The first meeting of the provisional Newcastle upon Tyne and Carlisle Rail-Road Company met on 9 April 1825; James Losh was elected chairman. A route was published on 12 November 1825. It ran from Carlisle to Newcastle quay, crossing over to the north side of the River Tyne at Scotswood and running on the north bank to Newcastle. Chapman reported again in June 1825; he disparaged the locomotives available at the time: They are objectionable in various ways. In the first place, gentlemen through whose estates or near whose residences they pass, object to their appearance and the noise and smoke rising from them. Whilst new, and on level planes, they possess advantages in expedition; but by their quick motion and that degree of shaking which cannot be avoided, they in the end require so much and frequent repairs as to render their advantage dubious; exclusive of their being unfitted to receive and discharge the carriages that are wanted to be taken forward, and sent off aside in such places of the line as do not coincide with their stages or feeding places. A definite scheme Plans for the line were submitted for a parliamentary bill in the 1826 session, but before any hearing determined opposition was experienced from two landed proprietors on the route, as well as from George Howard, 6th Earl of Carlisle, who had extensive colliery interests near Brampton, and did not wish his near-monopoly to be disrupted. Moreover, George Stephenson, surveying an alternative route on the north side of the Tyne from Hexham eastwards, found serious errors in Chapman's route in the submitted plans; in addition, a number of bank failures had weakened confidence in the money market. Accordingly, the directors decided to withdraw the bill for the time being. The opportunity was taken to recast the route at the Carlisle end, chiefly to accommodate the Earl of Carlisle's demands. The originally designed line between Carlisle and Gilsland had followed the Irthing Valley, but the new scheme took it south of that route on to high ground, requiring more challenging engineering features. At this period the intention was to open the railway as a toll road, in which any carrier might operate vehicles on the line on payment of a toll. Moreover, there was still a significant risk of implacable opposition from the proprietors of country houses, and the company voluntarily inserted a clause into the parliamentary bill restricting haulage to horse traction, and forbidding stationary steam engines near such houses. The main line at the eastern end was to cross the Tyne at Scotswood, then follow the north bank of the river closely and at a low level, to a termination at the Close, in Newcastle. There was to be a branch from Elswick Dean to a terminal at Thornton Street. Close, a mononymous road, still exists on the bank of the Tyne between Queen Elizabeth Bridge and High Level Bridge. Thornton Street street also still exists: a northward extension of Waterloo Street northwest of Central station; the location is at a high level and would have required a steep gradient (of about 1 in 50), worked by stationary engine and rope haulage. There were considerable difficulties in the parliamentary process, particularly over levels, bridge clearances and construction, and resilience to flooding, but the '''''' (10 Geo. 4. c. lxxii) was passed on 22 May 1829, with authorised capital of £300,000. At the eastern end, the line was to be on the north bank of the Tyne near Scotswood bridge, with the Thornton Street branch in addition. Having brought about the inception of the , the directors now considered whether to activate the option of building that line themselves, and on 21 August 1834 they decided to do so. This required a further act of Parliament, the '''''' (5 & 6 Will. 4. c. xxxi) which they secured on 17 June 1835; it authorised the building of the Redheugh line, and also a Tyne bridge there (instead of Derwenthaugh) to serve the north shore quays, although the Scotswood bridge was retained in the authorised works. Share capital was increased by £90,000 and a further Public Works Loan Board loan of £60,000 was included in the act. Removal of Giles Giles encountered friction with the directors, especially the Newcastle group, which included members with considerable engineering expertise, who did not hesitate to give contradictory instructions directly to contractors without informing Giles. The difficulty increased at the end of 1832 when Giles failed to forecast costs of completion of the line consistently, or to explain the inconsistency, or to attend board meetings. On 28 May 1833 Giles was removed to the position of consulting engineer, and his assistant John Blackmore took over the supervision of the construction. The directors interfered to a considerable extent with the progress of the construction, and not always to beneficial effect. The company circularised landowners as this was specifically forbidden in the company's act of Parliament; the response was generally favourable or acquiescent, and the company undertook to use coke instead of coal to minimise any smoke nuisance. ==Operation pre-1923==

Opening of the first section of line The first section of line to be completed was from Hexham to Blaydon; this was to enable the lead produced at Hexham to be brought to a navigable section of the Tyne, as it was considered a lucrative traffic. Rail carriage was going to be considerably cheaper than the alternative, and the lead producers at Hexham had been stockpiling their product there in anticipation of the opening of the line. On 14 August 1834 an ad hoc arrangement was agreed with Joseph Ritson, the contractor for construction of that part of the line, to carry the lead over the unfinished line, using his temporary track and construction wagons, and horse haulage. This was started on 25 August 1834. (A request to operate a passenger coach on the same basis was declined.) The railway opened for passengers with considerable ceremony on 9 March 1835. With 600 tickets issued, the two recently acquired locomotives, Comet and Rapid each hauled a trainload of three carriages, consisting of gentlemen's carriages mounted on trucks and wagons fitted with seats. The regular passenger service began on 10 March; there were four trains each way between Blaydon and Hexham every weekday, one each way on Sundays. Newcastle passengers were conveyed to and from Blaydon by omnibus, or by steam boat from Newcastle quay when the tide was favourable. and from Hexham to Haydon Bridge on 28 June 1836. A short section east from Derwenthaugh to the mouth of the River Team near Dunston was opened for goods traffic in September 1836. The line from Derwenthaugh to Redheugh, the Gateshead terminus, was fully opened on 1 March 1837. The operated a ferry to cross the Tyne to Newcastle, at 66 The Close, where they had a ferry pier. It had been intended to open the western end of the line at the same time as the first opening at Hexham, but trouble with the construction of a tunnel at Cowran badly delayed the works. So difficult did the ground prove that the tunnel was abandoned and a deep cutting substituted, at considerable additional expense. Eventually the western end was opened from Greenhead to the Carlisle station at London Road on 19 July 1836. The Earl of Carlisle's mineral traffic had already been running for a short time (since 13 July), his modernised line, the Brampton Railway, having been altered to join the at Milton (later Brampton Junction), and opened formally on 15 July 1836. His traffic had used horse traction, the horses riding in dandy carts downhill. The western destination at the canal basin was reduced to secondary importance, and was now described as the Canal Branch, to be opened later. Blenkinsopp Colliery was located a short distance east of Greenhead and that was given a rail connection concurrently. The Canal Branch saw its first traffic of grain on 25 February 1837, and it was formally opened on 9 March 1837. Its purpose was transshipment to and from the canal itself, and the terminal was for goods only; This left the gap in the middle of the route, between Haydon Bridge and Blenkinsopp (near Greenhead). It had been left until last because it was expected to be the least remunerative section of the route. For the time being goods were conveyed between Gateshead and Carlisle, being carted by road over the gap. The section was finally constructed, and on 15 June 1838 a train carried the directors in a trial run over the line between Newcastle and Carlisle. The anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, 18 June, was chosen as the official opening day. Five trains left Carlisle from 6 am to arrive in Redheugh between 9:30 am and just after 10 am. The official passengers crossed the Tyne by boat and marched in procession through Newcastle to a breakfast at the Assembly Rooms. A procession of thirteen trains, led by "Rapid" acting as pilot, left for the return journey to Carlisle at 12:30 pm. While the trains were travelling between Ryton and Brampton rain fell and soaked most of the 3,500 passengers who were travelling in uncovered wagons. The last train arrived in Carlisle after 6:00 pm and there was "a disorderly stampede for refreshments". The Newcastle passengers now needed to return from Newcastle: by 6:30 pm some had returned to their seats to wait in the uncovered wagons while the rain continued; the first train did not leave until nearly 10 pm, when a thunderstorm broke. On the return journey a collision between two trains at Milton held up the trains further, and the last train did not arrive back in Redheugh until 6 am. The first line complete The opening dates may be summarised thus: • Carlisle Canal Basin to London Road station: 9 March 1837; • Carlisle London Road to Greenhead: 19 July 1836; short mineral extension to Blenkinsopp the same day; • Greenhead to Haydon Bridge: 18 June 1838; • Haydon Bridge to Hexham: 28 June 1836; • Hexham to Blaydon: 9 March 1835; • Blaydon to Derwenthaugh: 11 June 1836; • Derwenthaugh to Redheugh: 1 March 1837. The single-track sections on the line in 1840 were from Stocksfield to Hexham, and from Rose Hill to Milton; on the double track sections the practised right-hand running. Most stations did not have elevated platforms. The Alston branch There were lucrative lead ore deposits in the north Pennines around Alston and Nenthead. Transport to market was expensive and slow, and was significantly improved when the main line opened; the ore was railheaded from Haltwhistle. The directors had considered a branch railway to Alston and Nenthead from 1841 and a branch was authorised by the '''''' (9 & 10 Vict. c. cccxciv) on 26 August 1846, capital £240,000. The line would have had an ascent of 1,100 feet. However serious opposition from landed proprietors was experienced, and the route of the line was modified. A modified route was authorised on 13 July 1849; the final four miles to Nenthead was dropped, on the basis that Alston as a railhead was sufficient. In March 1851, the 4 miles from Haltwhistle to Shaft Hill was opened for goods trains, followed by passenger operation from 19 July 1851. The upper end of the branch, from Alston to Lambley and the short Lambley Fell branch opened for goods trains on 1 January 1852, the Lambley Fell branch. The intermediate part of the line had to wait for the completion of Lambley Viaduct; on 17 November 1852 the viaduct was ready and the branch started full operation. There were two passenger trains each way every weekday; the primary purpose of the line was mineral traffic. A third passenger train was added from 1870. The lead industry in the area declined sharply from the 1870s, but coal and lime traffic continued, and formed the mainstay of the rather thin traffic on the line. The line climbed all the way from Haltwhistle, 405 feet above sea level, to Alston, 905 feet; the first section from Haltwhistle was at a gradient of 1 in 80, 70 and 100, and there was a section of 1 in 50 close to Alston. The Border Counties Railway On 31 July 1854 the first part of the Border Counties Railway (BCR) was authorised by the Border Counties Railway (North Tyne Section) Act 1854 (17 & 18 Vict. c. ccxii). It ran from a junction at Hexham with the , running north to mineral deposits. Further acts authorised extension to make a junction with the Border Union Railway (BUR), better known later as the Waverley Route. The North British Railway (NBR) were sponsors of the and were hostile at first, but later saw the as a useful adjunct; a junction was made at Riccarton in 1862. The very much wished to get access to Newcastle independently of the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway, and later its successor, the North Eastern Railway (NER) and saw this route as a means to that end. They negotiated an exchange of running powers; they got the facility from Hexham to Newcastle and the got running powers from Berwick to Edinburgh. This proved a catastrophic deal for the , as the Hexham route was impossibly circuitous and difficult, whereas the now ran all east coast main line trains, passenger and goods, through to Edinburgh. The Allendale branch The Beaumont Lead Company was operating at Allendale, 12 miles east of Alston, and it too suffered heavy transport costs in conveying its output to the railway, at Haydon Bridge. Its manager was Thomas J. Bewicke, raised the possibility of a branch line with the North Eastern Railway. The London Lead Company had a lead smelting plant at Langley, about two miles from Haydon Bridge, and it too was supportive of a branch line, which would inevitably serve their works. This attracted local support and the Hexham and Allendale Railway obtained the Hexham and Allendale Railway Act 1865 (28 & 29 Vict. c. lxxxvii) on 19 June. The line was to leave the at a junction just west of Hexham and climb, mostly at 1 in 40, into the hills. The line opened on 19 August 1867 for mineral traffic as far as Langley, and on 13 January 1868 the entire line was opened for goods and mineral trains. Passengers had not been a priority, but passenger trains started operating on 1 March 1869. The Newcastle and Darlington Junction Railway was part of the group of companies managed by George Hudson, the Railway King. Hudson's clear intention was to get a through line to Edinburgh, and he made public plans to cross the Tyne from Gateshead, and to build a common station in Newcastle. Those ideas became the High Level Bridge and Newcastle Central station. In the years leading to 1844 controversy reigned over the route to be taken by a railway connecting Edinburgh and Glasgow with the English network. Numerous possibilities were urged, not all of them practicable. An east coast route from Newcastle through Berwick, and west coast routes from Carlisle seemed to be the most realistic due to the high ground of the Cheviot Hills and the Southern Uplands, but a route from Hexham through Bellingham and Melrose was put forward. This was welcomed by the as it would have brought traffic to their line. In the event the North British Railway was authorised in 1844 followed by the Caledonian Railway in 1845. At the west end of the line, a through route between London and Scotland was being formed too; the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway opened in December 1846 connecting ultimately to London, and the Caledonian Railway reached Carlisle from Edinburgh and Glasgow in February 1848. Those two railways formed a joint station in Carlisle, named "Citadel Station", but although the use of the station by the was obviously in the public interest, the owners demanded an excessively high price and the stayed outside throughout its independent existence. However the Glasgow and South Western Railway had managed to obtain entry to Citadel station, and omnibuses were provided to carry through passengers between London Road and Citadel stations; the through tickets included the omnibus connection between the stations. Takeover bids As the idea of a railway network developed, so did the wish to form larger companies by merger. The Newcastle and Carlisle was approached with an offer to lease by the Caledonian Railway in March 1848, and the company received another offer soon afterwards from Hudson's York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway (YN&BR). The Caledonian offered 6% dividend in perpetuity and all profits of up to 8%, and the offered 6% for 3 years, and 7% thereafter. On 25 April 1848 the directors considered the offers but thought they were not lucrative enough. The shareholders met on 31 May 1848 and contrary to the view of the directors voted that the offer be accepted. The resulting agreement was effective from 1 August 1848, and the leased the Maryport and Carlisle line too, intending to operate them as a single entity. In fact serious revelations about George Hudson's shady business methods emerged at this time, and the findings of the resulting committees of enquiry among his many companies were so damaging that he was unable to continue in his leadership role. The lease by the required an act of Parliament to authorise it, and it became impossible to sustain the proposal. The bill for the act failed, and the reverted to independence from 1 January 1850. New track The original line had been laid with short rails on stone blocks, and these soon proved inadequate for modern railway operation with locomotives. In the early 1850s, the set about improving its line and rolling stock. In 1850-1 the 31 miles between Blenkinsopp and Ryton was relaid and by 1853 all the original rails had been replaced. The joints were now fished for the first time. By March 1853 the electric telegraph was in full operation on the line. Conversion to coal When locomotive traction had been introduced, the undertook to use coke as a fuel as it was supposed to be nearly smokeless. As the volume of train movements on the line increased, the expenditure on coke climbed considerably, and in 1858 some locomotives used coal instead, even though the company's Derwenthaugh coke ovens had been expanded in 1852. The use of coal so reduced costs of fuel that by 1862 it was virtually complete on the line. Accidents and incidents • On 1 May 1844, the boiler of locomotive Adelaide exploded at Carlisle, Cumberland, injuring two people. • In 1844 or 1845, a train collided with a cow at Ryton, County Durham and was derailed, killing the driver. • On 28 January 1845, the boiler of locomotive Venus exploded whilst it was hauling a freight train. ==Amalgamation with the North Eastern Railway==

The North Eastern Railway (NER) was created on 31 July 1854 by the merger of the YN&BR with the York and North Midland Railway and the Leeds Northern Railway. Agreement to merge the and the was reached in January 1859, approved by the board on 18 February 1859. However two shareholders obtained a Court of Chancery judgment in July 1859 that the agreement had exceeded the companies' powers, and they resumed independent, although collaborative, operation. An application to Parliament in 1860 to amalgamate also failed when the North British Railway opposed the bill. However negotiations continued and amalgamation was agreed upon, and this time ratified by the '''''' (25 & 26 Vict. c. cxlv) of 17 July 1862. The managed to negotiate access to the Citadel station at Carlisle at the same time. The 1862 act also gave the running rights over the between Hexham and Newcastle, the gaining reciprocal rights over the between Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh. Initially the ran four trains a day between Newcastle and via Border Counties Junction at Hexham, although by 1904 this had been reduced to three trains a day. The station in Carlisle was almost a mile away from city centre and inconvenient for passengers. The joint Lancaster and Carlisle Railway and Caledonian Railway station in the centre of the city, , had opened in 1847 and the 1862 act made the a tenant. Passenger services began to terminate at the Citadel station on 1 January 1863. In the summer of 1863 the work of changing from right-hand running to the British convention of left-hand running was undertaken. The estimated cost was £4,000 and it was done in stages. The branch line to Alston closed in 1976. The railway was diverted to avoid Farnley Scar Tunnel in 1962; the tunnel portals remain and both are listed monuments. In October 1982, the connection from Newcastle to the line was diverted to use the line through before rejoining the former Redheugh branch at Derwenthaugh crossing the King Edward VII Bridge. The Scotswood bridge and the line to it was closed to all traffic from 4 October that year. Part of the northern side of the line towards Central remained in use to serve a cement terminal at Elswick until 1986. The line today Today the Tyne Valley Line follows much of the former route between the two cities. The line is double track with fourteen intermediate stations; it is not electrified. The train service is provided by Northern. there were typically two trains an hour between Carlisle and Newcastle, with three trains an hour between Hexham and Newcastle. In addition there are local service between and Newcastle. Line speeds are predominantly and trains typically take between 83 and 92 minutes to travel from Carlisle to Newcastle. The line links the East Coast and West Coast Main Lines, and is used by diverted long-distance trains when these lines are blocked to the north. The Tyne Valley Community Rail Partnership works with train companies, local businesses and communities to promote rail travel and are accredited by the Department for Transport. They also undertake a wide range of projects, the biggest of which is the current refurbishment of the waiting rooms and redundant station buildings at Haltwhistle (2020–21). ==Topography==

Locations on the line were: Main line • Carlisle London Road; opened 19 July 1836; closed 1 January 1863 when trains diverted to Citadel; • Scotby; opened 19 July 1836; closed 2 November 1959; • Wetheral; opened 19 July 1836; closed 2 January 1967; reopened 5 October 1981; still open; • Heads Nook; opened by September 1862; closed 2 January 1967; • How Mill; opened 19 July 1836; closed 5 January 1959; • Brampton Fell; opened 19 July 1836; closed 1858; • Milton; junction for Brampton Town branch; opened 19 July 1836; renamed Brampton 1870; intermittently to 1971 was Brampton Junction; still open; • Naworth; opened 1871; closed 5 May 1952; • Low Row; opened 19 July 1836; closed 5 January 1959; • Rose Hill; opened 19 July 1836; renamed Gilsland 1869; closed 2 January 1967; • Greenhead; opened 19 July 1836; closed 2 January 1967; • Blenkinsopp Colliery; • Haltwhistle; opened 18 June 1838; still open; • Bardon Mill; opened 18 June 1838; still open; • Haydon Bridge; opened 28 June 1836; still open; • Allerwash; opened 28 June 1836; closed early January 1837; • Fourstones; opened early January 1837; closed 2 January 1967; • Warden; opened 28 June 1836; closed early January 1837; • (Border Counties Junction) • Hexham; opened 10 March 1835; still open; • Corbridge; opened 10 March 1835; still open; • Farnley Scar Tunnel; line diverted to by-pass the tunnel in 1962; • Riding Mill; opened 10 March 1835; still open; • Stocksfield; opened 10 March 1835; still open; • Mickley; opened 1859 closed 1915 • Prudhoe; opened 10 March 1835; still open; • West Wylam Junction; facing junction to Newburn line, 1876 to 1968; • Wylam; line open 10 March 1835; closed 3 September 1966 for engineering works; reopened 1 May 1967; still open; • Ryton; opened 10 March 1835; closed 5 July 1954; • Blaydon; opened 10 March 1835; closed 3 September 1966 for engineering works; reopened 1 May 1967; still open; • Blaydon East Junction; facing junction to Redheugh; • Consett Branch Junction; facing junction to Consett, 1867 to 1963; • Scotswood Bridge Junction; trailing junction from Consett, 1867 to 1963; • Scotswood; opened 21 October 1839; closed 1 May 1967; trailing junction from Newburn, 1875 to 1986; • Elswick; opened 2 September 1889; closed 2 January 1967; • Newcastle Shot Tower; inaugural trip on 21 May 1839, but opened fully 21 October 1839; closed almost immediately due to landslip; reopened 2 November 1839; closed on extension to Forth 1 March 1847; • Newcastle Forth; opened 1 March 1847; closed 1 January 1851 when trains diverted to Newcastle Central station; • Newcastle Central. Redheugh Branch • Blaydon East Junction'; (above); • Blaydon Loop Junction; trailing junction from Scotswood, 1897 to 1966; • Blaydon Curve Junction; trailing junction from Consett, 1908 to 1963; • Derwenthaugh; opened 1 March 1837; closed 30 August 1850; sporadic use from November 1852 until February 1868 by service from Redheugh to Swalwell Colliery; • Derwenthaugh Junction; trailing junction from Swalwell Colliery 1847 to 1989; trailing junction to Dunston from 1904; • Dunston Junction; trailing junction from Whickham Junction from 1908; facing junction to Low Fell from 1908; • Dunston East Junction; • Redheugh; opened 1 March 1837; closed 30 August 1850; reopened for Swalwell Colliery service November 1852, closed May 1853. Alston branch The line opened on 21 May 1852 except for the connection across a viaduct into Haltwhistle; it opened throughout on 17 November 1852; it closed on 3 May 1976. • Alston; • Slaggyford; • Lambley; • Coanwood:opened 19 July 1851 • Featherstone; opened 19 July 1851 Swalwell Colliery Branch Derwenthaugh Junction; Swalwell Colliery; opened to passenger trains November 1852; closed December 1853. ==Structures==

The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway built a considerable number of fine structures, many of them especially ambitious for the early date of construction. Many of them are on the Statutory List of Buildings of Special Architectural or Historic Interest. The Wetheral Viaduct known locally as Corby Bridge, and crossing the River Eden is listed Grade I; it consists of five semi-circular stone arches of 80 feet span. The next structure east, the Corby Viaduct, of seven arches, is grade II listed. The Gelt Bridge, on the outskirts of Carlisle, is a skew bridge of three elliptical arch spans. It is listed Grade II*. The Lambley Viaduct on the closed Alston branch is also Grade II* listed; there are nine principal spans of 58 feet span. The buildings at Wylam station are also Grade II* listed. ==South Tynedale Railway (heritage services)==

The South Tynedale Railway operates seasonal services on a narrow gauge railway laid on the former Alston branch track bed between Alston and Slaggyford. ==See also==