The railway branch line from Haltwhistle to Alston opened in 1852. The line was closed on 3 May 1976 by the British Railways Board, with the last train working two days earlier. It was the last surviving passenger branch line in rural North East England.
Jack Teasdale, a railway/photography enthusiast, travelled by train from Blaydon up the beautiful Tyne Valley line to Haltwhistle, filming his journey on the way, before filming the branch on the final days before closure.
Since 1983 the delightful South Tynedale Railway has been operating narrow gauge passenger trains, gradually extending the line north from Alston station and using the old track bed. It now runs to the village of Slaggyford, a distance of nearly five miles.
PS. There is no soundtrack. Also when the Super8 cine was transferred to VHS video many years ago it has not done the image quality any favours including the top part of the cine pictures missing due to the incompatible frame size. Never mind, it is what it is. It's still a nice record of an absolutely lovely branch line and I highly recommend going up to Alston to see the South Tynedale Railway.
PS. You may be interested in Jack's video on the Blaydon Races Centenary 1962 and another on the Ryton Centenary 1963.
15 окт 2024
