Featherstone Park was a railway station on the Alston Branch Line, which ran between Haltwhistle and Alston. The station, situated south-west of Haltwhistle, served the villages of Featherstone and

Rowfoot Rowfoot is a hamlet in Northumberland, England at . External links Hamlets in Northumberland {{Northumberland-geo-stub ...

in Northumberland. The station was opened by the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway on 19 July 1851. Originally known as ''Featherstone'', it was later renamed ''Featherstone Park'' on 23 June 1902 by the North Eastern Railway. Between Haltwhistle and Featherstone Park, there were two unadvertised calling points, at Park Village and Plenmeller Halt. A platform was extant at Plenmeller Halt from the early 1920s until the late 1940s, however trains regularly stopped to allow passengers to board and alight long after the halt's official closure. No such facilities existed at Park Village.

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

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 ...

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

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 ...

Demise and closure

Featherstone Park, along with

Slaggyford Slaggyford is a village in Northumberland, England about north of Alston, Cumbria. It is set in South Tyne valley (often called the Tyne Gap). Hadrian's Wall lies to the north of the Tyne Gap. The South Tyne Valley falls within the North Pennin ...

, was reduced to unstaffed halt status in 1954. The neighbouring station at

Coanwood Coanwood is a village in Northumberland, England, and is part of the Parish of Haltwhistle. It is about to the south-west of Haltwhistle, on the South Tyne. Nearby is the village of Lambley. Coanwood was anciently written as Collingwood meani ...

followed closely after, becoming an unstaffed halt 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 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

and Alston, with heritage services operated by the South Tynedale Railway.

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 1851 1852 establishments in England Beeching closures in England