View source for Alston railway station

{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2020}}
{{Short description|Station in Cumbria on the South Tynedale Railway}}
{{Infobox station
| name = Alston
| type = Station on [[heritage railway]]
| image = Alston station and Metro Cammell dmu.jpg
| address = 
| borough = [[Alston, Cumbria|Alston]], [[Westmorland and Furness]]
| country = England
| coordinates = {{coord|54.815|-2.442|format=dms|region:GB_type:railwaystation|display=inline,title}}
| grid_name = [[Ordnance Survey National Grid|Grid reference]]
| grid_position = {{gbmapscaled|NY716467|25|NY716467}}
| owned = [[South Tynedale Railway]]
| manager = [[South Tynedale Railway]]
| platforms = {{plainlist|
*1 (1852–2017)
*2 (2017–)
}}
| original = [[Newcastle and Carlisle Railway]]
| pregroup = [[North Eastern Railway (UK)|North Eastern Railway]]
| postgroup = {{plainlist|
* [[London and North Eastern Railway]]
* [[Eastern Region of British Railways|British Rail (Eastern Region)]]
}}
| years = 21 May 1852
| events = Opened
| years1 = 3 May 1976
| events1 = Closed
| years2 = 30 July 1983
| events2 = Reopened as part of the [[South Tynedale Railway]]
| mapframe = 
| map_type = United Kingdom Eden#Cumbria
| map_caption = Location in [[Eden District|Eden]], [[Cumbria]]##Location in [[Cumbria]], England
| map_label_position = bottom
}}

'''Alston''' is a heritage railway station on the [[South Tynedale Railway]]. The station, situated {{Convert|13|mi|km|abbr=}} south of Haltwhistle, is in the [[market town]] of [[Alston, Cumbria|Alston]], in [[Cumbria]], England.

It was originally on the [[Alston line|Alston Branch Line]], which ran between [[Haltwhistle railway station|Haltwhistle]] and Alston. It was opened by the [[North Eastern Railway (United Kingdom)|North Eastern Railway]] on 21 May 1852, closing on 3 May 1976.<ref name="quick">{{Quick-stations-5|pages=10 & 49}}</ref> Following a seven-year closure, the station reopened in July 1983, as part of the South Tynedale Railway.

==History==
The [[Newcastle and Carlisle Railway]] was formed in 1829, opening to passengers in stages from March 1835.<ref>{{cite book|last=James|first=Leslie|title=A Chronology of the Construction of Britain's Railways 1778-1855|date=November 1983|publisher=[[Ian Allan Publishing|Ian Allan]]|isbn=0-7110-1277-6|location=Shepperton|page=22|id=BE/1183}}</ref> A branch line from [[Haltwhistle railway station|Haltwhistle]] to Alston and Nenthead was first considered in 1841, with the line authorised by an [[Act of Parliament (UK)|Act of Parliament]] in August 1846.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Whittle|first=George|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/7197045|title=The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway|publisher=David and Charles|year=1979|isbn=0-7153-7855-4|location=Newton Abbot|pages=73|oclc=7197045}}</ref> 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 {{Convert|4+1/2|mi|km|abbr=|adj=on|sigfig=1}} section from Haltwhistle to [[Coanwood railway station|Shaft Hill]] (which was later renamed Coanwood) was opened to goods traffic, with passenger services commencing in July 1851. The {{Convert|8+1/4|mi|km|abbr=|adj=on|sigfig=2}} section of the line between Alston and [[Lambley railway station|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]],<ref name="nhle42">{{NHLE|grade=II*|num=1042918|desc=Railway Viaduct Across River South Tyne|access-date=7 November 2020|mode=cs2}}</ref> [[Lambley Viaduct]] over the [[River Tyne|River South Tyne]].<ref name="fenton3">{{cite magazine|last=Fenton|first=Mike|date=January 2018|title=Byway of the 'Barra'|magazine=BackTrack|location=Easingwold|publisher=Pendragon Publishing|volume=32|issue=321|pages=26–30}}</ref>

The station was well provided having a single platform with a train shed roof covering both the platform, and two tracks. The train shed roof was originally arc-shaped but was replaced in 1872–3 with a double-pitched roof.<ref>{{cite book |last= Wright |first= Ian L |title= London & North Eastern |series = Branch Line Memories |volume = 4 |publisher = Atlantic Transport Publishers |location = Truro |page= 36 |year= 1986 |isbn= 0 906899 19 2}}</ref> The train shed was connected to a set of station buildings with ornate chimneys and [[mullion]]ed windows. Beyond the platform the line terminated in a [[Railway turntable|turntable]], although this was removed before the end of steam. 

Other buildings included an engine shed, goods shed, snowplough shed and [[Signalling control|signal box]], amongst others. An unusual feature of the station was the height of the original platform, which was constructed to be only {{convert|12|in|cm}} high. This was, however, later increased to {{convert|30|in|cm}}.<ref name="fenton">{{cite magazine|last=Fenton|first=Mike|title=Byway of the 'Barra'|magazine=BackTrack|location=Easingwold|publisher=Pendragon Publishing|publication-date=January 2018|volume=32|issue=321|pages=26–30}}</ref>

The station was host to a [[camping coach]] in 1933 and from 1936 to 1939 – one of 119 vehicles converted by the [[London and North Eastern Railway]] between 1933 and 1938.{{sfn|McRae|1997|p=10}}

==Demise and closure==
Alston became an unstaffed halt in 1969, with [[Lambley railway station|Lambley]] succeeding three years earlier. [[Featherstone Park railway station|Featherstone Park]] and [[Slaggyford railway station|Slaggyford]] were reduced to unstaffed halt status in 1954, along with [[Coanwood railway station|Coanwood]] in 1955.

The line was originally marked for closure in the 1960s, under the [[Beeching cuts|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, Northumberland|Lambley]], the line was closed on 3 May 1976 by the [[British Railways Board]], with the last train working two days earlier.<ref name="quick"/> The line was replaced in part by a bus service, which was operated by [[Ribble Motor Services]].

==South Tynedale Railway==
{{For|more information about the preserved narrow-gauge railway|South Tynedale Railway}}{{South Tynedale Railway|collapse=true|collapsible=true}}In July 1983, the station reopened as part of the [[South Tynedale Railway]], also serving as the organisation's headquarters. The [[Narrow-gauge railway|narrow-gauge]] [[heritage railway]] operates along a {{Convert|5|mi|km|abbr=|adj=on|sigfig=1}} section of the former [[Alston line|Alston Line]], which closed to passengers in May 1976. The railway serves former stations at [[Slaggyford railway station|Slaggyford]] and Alston, as well as purpose-built stations at [[Lintley Halt railway station|Lintley Halt]] and [[Kirkhaugh railway station|Kirkhaugh]].

==See also==
* [[Alston, Cumbria|Alston]]
* [[South Tynedale Railway]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
{{refbegin}}
* {{Butt-Stations}}
* {{Jowett-Nationalised}}
* {{Jowett-Atlas}}
* {{cite book|last=McRae|first=Andrew|title=British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region) |volume=Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One) |publisher=Foxline |year=1997 |isbn=1-870119-48-7 }}
{{refend}}

==External links==
* {{Commons-inline}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20061002112700/http://www.strps.org.uk/str/history/branchlinehistory.htm A brief history of the Alston branch from the South Tynedale Railway Preservation Society]
* [http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=54.8163&lon=-2.4439&layers=6 The station on a navigable Edwardian 6" Ordnance Survey map, via ''National Library of Scotland'']

{{rail start}}
{{Disused Rail Insert}}
{{rail line|previous={{rws|Slaggyford}}|route=[[North Eastern Railway (United Kingdom)|North Eastern Railway]]<br>{{small|[[Alston line|Alston Branch Line]]}}|col={{NER colour}}}}
{{heritage rail insert}}
{{rail line |previous={{rws|Kirkhaugh}}|route=[[South Tynedale Railway]] |col={{heritage rail colour}}}}
{{s-end}}

{{Cumbria railway stations}}

[[Category:Heritage railway stations in Cumbria]]
[[Category:Former North Eastern Railway (United Kingdom) stations]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1976]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1852]]
[[Category:Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1983]]
[[Category:1852 establishments in England]]
[[Category:Beeching closures in England]]
[[Category:Alston, Cumbria]]