Lambley was a railway station on the Alston Branch Line, which ran between

Haltwhistle Haltwhistle is a market town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, east of Brampton. It had a population of 3,811 at the 2011 Census. Stone-built houses are a feature of Haltwhistle. It is one of two settlements in Great Britain which c ...

and Alston. The station, situated south-west of Haltwhistle, served the village of Lambley 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 ...

. The station was opened by the North Eastern Railway on 21 May 1852, following the completion of

Lambley Viaduct Lambley Viaduct is a stone bridge across the River South Tyne at Lambley in Northumberland. Formerly a railway bridge, it remains open to pedestrians but one end of the viaduct has been fenced off. History Lambley viaduct crosses the River So ...

. 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 over the

River South Tyne The River Tyne is a river in North East England. Its length (excluding tributaries) is . It is formed by the North Tyne and the South Tyne, which converge at Warden Rock near Hexham in Northumberland at a place dubbed 'The Meeting of the Wat ...

. The viaduct was designated a

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

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.

History

The

Newcastle and Carlisle Railway The Newcastle & Carlisle Railway (N&CR) was an English railway company formed in 1825 that built a line from Newcastle upon Tyne on Britain's east coast, to Carlisle, on the west coast. The railway began operating mineral trains in 1834 between ...

was formed in 1829, opening to passengers in stages from March 1835. A branch line from

to Alston and Nenthead was first considered in 1841, with the line authorised by an

Act of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the Legislature, legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of ...

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 4-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 8-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 The Brampton Railway was a mineral railway built in 1798 to bring coal from workings on Tindale Fell to staiths at Brampton. It was a development of short sections of earlier wooden railways. When the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway was opened i ...

. Construction of the branch line was completed in November 1852, following the opening of the, now

over the

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 British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

, 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 Ribble Motor Services was a large regional bus operator in the North West England based in Preston. History Ribble Motor Services commenced operating in 1919, and grew to be the largest operator in the region, with a territory stretching f ...

. Since the line's closure, a section of the line has since reopened in stages between Slaggyford and Alston, with heritage services operated by the

South Tynedale Railway The South Tynedale Railway is a preserved, narrow gauge heritage railway in Northern England and at 875ft is England's second highest narrow gauge railway after the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway in north Devon. The South Tynedale line runs fro ...

References

Sources

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External links

* {{Closed stations Northumberland Disused railway stations in Northumberland Former North Eastern Railway (UK) stations Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1976 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1852 1852 establishments in England Beeching closures in England