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The Alnwick & Cornhill Railway

The Alnwick & Cornhill (A&C) line was a railway built to serve the social needs of a sparsely populated area, almost as an obligation, by a large rich railway company.
Passenger service began on Monday 5 September 1887.
The last passenger service was axed on 20 September 1930 after a life of 43 years.
During WW2 there was an upsurge in traffic as many of the large houses were adopted for military purposes. Their uses included headquarters, hospitals, schools for evacuated children, training areas together with munitions, fuel and food stores. A fighter airfield built at Milfield gave Akeld a new lease of life. Timber and sand and gravel were needed in vast quantities for war defences and heavy trains carrying both were frequently dispatched from the line.
Freight continued but the collapse of a bridge north of Ilderton in October 1949 resulted in the line being worked as two sections: Alnwick to Ilderton and Cornhill to Wooler.
The southern section was closed on 28 February 1953. Parts of the northern section lingered until the Beeching axe fell on 29 March 1965.


'The Alnwick & Cornhill Railway', by John Addyman and John Mallon published by North Eastern Railway Association provides most of the information here and has many excellent old photographs.
The book is available from Barter Books which now occupies a large part of the old Alnwick Station!
by Russel Wills

Created: Mon, 28 Apr 2014, Updated: Mon, 28 Apr 2014


49 images use this description. Preview sample shown below:

NU1412 : Another fine access bridge over the old Alnwick & Cornhill Railway by Russel Wills
NU1311 : Aqueduct over the old Alnwick & Cornhill Railway by Russel Wills
NT8637 : Abutments of a dismantled railway bridge by Russel Wills
NT9729 : Trackbed of the old Alnwick & Cornhill Railway by Russel Wills
NU0025 : Track bed of the Alnwick to Cornhill railway by Russel Wills
NU1210 : Sheep on the trackbed of the old Alnwick to Cornhill Railway by Russel Wills
NU1412 : Bullfinch  by Russel Wills
NU1311 : Lemmington Bank crosses the old Alnwick & Cornhill Railway by Russel Wills
NT8534 : Arable land, Mindrum Station by Richard Webb
NT8733 : Former Signal Cabin by Russel Wills
NU0321 : Former signal box, Roseden Crossing by Richard Webb
NU1311 : Vegetated abutment of aqueduct by Russel Wills
NU1412 : Coming out of the cutting by Russel Wills
NT9031 : Looking down the valley of Bowmont Water by Russel Wills
NU1412 : Summit on the Alnwick to Cornhill Railway by Russel Wills
NU1412 : The approach to The Summit from Alnwick by Russel Wills
NT8534 : Bridge over former railway by Russel Wills
NU0025 : The showground by Richard Webb
NU1411 : The Alnwick & Cornhill Railway track bed by Russel Wills
NU1412 : Fallen boulders in the cutting by Russel Wills
NU0321 : Trackbed, Cornhill Branch by Richard Webb
NT8733 : Langham Bridge and Bowmont Water by Richard Webb
NT9629 : Signal Cabin at Bendor Crossing by Russel Wills
NU0024 : Bridge under dismantled railway line by Russel Wills
NU1311 : Fine dry stone wall (apart from the gap!) by Russel Wills

... and 24 more images.

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