The Amble branch line was a branch railway line in

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

, England, that ran from Amble Junction north of Chevington on the

East Coast Main Line The East Coast Main Line (ECML) is a electrified railway between London and Edinburgh via Peterborough, Doncaster, York, Darlington, Durham and Newcastle. The line is a key transport artery on the eastern side of Great Britain running broa ...

Amble Amble is a town on the North Sea coast of Northumberland, England, at the mouth of the River Coquet; Coquet Island is visible from its beaches and harbour. In 2011, it had a population of 6,025. Etymology There are two suggested origins of ...

via Broomhill. The line was single track to Broomhill and then double track to Amble.

History

Built in 1849 by the

York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway The York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway (YN&BR) was an English railway company formed in 1847 by the amalgamation of the York and Newcastle Railway and the Newcastle and Berwick Railway. Both companies were part of the group of business interest ...

to carry coal from the local collieries to

's Warkworth Harbour, the line was finally completely open to passengers in 1879. The Amble branch became part of the

London and North Eastern Railway The London and North Eastern Railway (LNER) was the second largest (after LMS) of the " Big Four" railway companies created by the Railways Act 1921 in Britain. It operated from 1 January 1923 until nationalisation on 1 January 1948. At th ...

during the

Grouping Grouping may refer to: * Muenchian grouping * Principles of grouping * Railways Act 1921, also known as Grouping Act, a reorganisation of the British railway system * Grouping (firearms), the pattern of multiple shots from a sidearm See also ...

of 1923. During the 1920s the line carried 750,000 tons of coal a year. The line closed to passengers seven years later, in 1930, but the goods service continued. In 1943, the council raised the question of restoring passenger services; however, the railway company stated that this would not be feasible due to the levels of freight traffic and that the necessary signal boxes had already been dismantled. The line became part of the

North Eastern Region of British Railways The North Eastern Region was a region of British Railways from 1948, whose operating area could be identified by the orange signs and colour schemes that adorned its stations and other railway buildings. It was merged with the Eastern Region ...

on nationalisation in 1948. In 1964 the goods service was withdrawn and the line closed completely in 1969.

References

External links

The line on Northumbrian Railways

{{DEFAULTSORT:Amble Branch Line North Eastern Railway (UK) Closed railway lines in North East England Railway lines opened in 1849 Railway lines closed in 1969 Rail transport in Northumberland 1849 establishments in England