North East England - Steam Days Screenshots - Large Screenshots Possible

1914: Stopping passenger for Alnwick

The domed roof was a feature of the vans, as were the sliding doors. They were built to replace old open fish wagons.
Here, in Northumberland circa 1914 a down morning stopping passenger train from Newcastle to Alnmouth and Alnwick passes Amble junction in the hands of a veteran Fletcher 2-4-0 of the 1440 Class.




The set of arc roof carriages has been supplemented with a 32ft luggage van, a Fish Van from North Shields (Tynemouth Goods and Fish Station) and a L.N.W.R. horsebox. Perhaps the Duke of Northumberland has a new addition coming to join his stable at Alnwick Castle?




Passing the N.E.R. milepost marking 27 miles from Newcastle.




Rural Northumberland between Amble Junction and Acklington station. You might think that the smoke, grit and grime of the coalfields are behind you but there is one more colliery yet to come before you achieve that milestone. Shilbottle Colliery is served by a branch off the ECML to the south of Alnmouth. It extracted a high grade coal which even had a royal customer, Buckingham palace in London.




Arriving at Acklington station. A distinctive feature of this wayside Northumberland station was a set of elevated coal drops behind the down platform. With prevailing south westerly winds a blustery day would add to pasenger discomfort by blowing coal dust across the platform.
 
1951 Northumberland

I have been working on my Chevington route, which encompasses a section of the ECML in Northumberland and the Amble branch. Chevington was the junction station for the branch. While it lost its passenger traffice early, in 1930, it remained open for coal traffic until 1970, with coal being shipped out from the small port to as far afield as London.




A4 Pacific KINGFISHER with the down CAPITALS LIMITED passing colliery houses near Stobswood, to thenorth of Widdrington.




Stobswood colliery with an austerity 0-6-0ST at work.




A "Flying bedstead" austerity 2-8-0 waits on the colliery branch (the junction is close north of Widdrington station) as the A4 races by.
 
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1960 Stobswood, Northumberland

Thanks Annie, it is a veteran loco now.

Stobswood Northumberland and a K3 outing with coal empties for Stobswood colliery on the Stobswood Colliery branch, which actually ran close alongside the ECML, with the junction just to the north of the station platforms at Widdrington Station.


 
1920s ECML in Northumberland

Northeast England during the steam era. A cab view from a D49 on the ECML in Northumberland between Chevington station and Amble junction.


 
1920s ECML in Northumberland

Northeast England during the steam era.

Below, the D49 is a little further north between Chevington and Amble Junction on the down fast line, passing a native and his dogs.




Below, passing Amble Junction, with the line for Amble swinging away to the northeast.


 
1920s ECML in Northumberland

Northeast England during the steam era. The view from the cab as the D49 approaches Acklington station.




In 2020 Acklington station remains in existence, even if there is only one passenger service to Newcastle in the morning and one service back from Newcastle in the evening, both serving stations as far as Chathill between Alnmouth and Berwick. The fact that the down DMU has to run as far as Belford to use the turnout there in order to switch to the up line has long formed an argument in the town to re-instate Belford station.
 
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1920s ECML Northumberland

Thanks Annie,

Some cab shots from the L.N.E.R. A1 Class Gresley Pacific on the Up express for London Kings Cross.




The view from the cab approaching Acklington from the north.




Having passed through Acklington station the line south towards Amble junction.




Amble junction's Up distant signal.
 
1920s ECML Rural Northumberland

Hi Robd - I certainly hope that we see it (and not from indoors) though it looks like spring will be mainly seen from inside our homes or within our gardens (the lucky ones who have a garden that is).

Below, while waiting at Widdrington station, the cab view from the D49 of a former N.E.R. Worsdell J27 0-6-0 of Percy Main shed bringing a coal train off the Stobswood Colliery branch, bound for staithes on the north side of the River Tyne at Northumberland Dock. it will mean a reversal at Morpeth for the J27 to gain the Blyth & Tyne route. This will need to be done smartly, since Morpeth sits astride the ECML and the District Controller will want the humble coal train out of the way of any express passenger trains. The desire to keep the main line clear for express passenger trains contributes to time standing idle for the footplate crews of mineral engines. Around half their shift of eight hours will be spent waiting, either at the colliery, in a loop or in a siding.





 
More excellent cab screenshots Frank. I suppose with the lockdowns Trainz folk will have to what I do all the time and escape into their own created worlds.
 
1920s ECML in Rural Northumberland

Hi Annie, thanks for that. Yes, here the digital permanent way gangs have been out laying track. Perhaps on the Chevington route the gangs will reach Broomhill on the Amble branch, which will then mean connecting track to another colliery.

Today it is hard to imagine the port of Amble as a port where coal was shipped out in quantity. A marina was built on the site of the small shipyard and there is virtually no trace of the staithes where coal was tipped in to the colliers. It is an indicator of just how busy the ports of the Wear, Tyne and Blyth were that a place the size of Amble (or its ancient name "Warkworth harbour") was able to prosper as a coal shipping location. In the mix of Amble's growth was the costs of rail haulage to staithes at Blyth or on the Tyne versus the cost of hauling it to Amble for collection by coastal shipping. However, smaller colliers of the size which could dock at Amble were more expensive per ton than the larger ones docking at Blyth, but the staithes at Blyth were busy with tipping coal from the collieries around Blyth and Ashington. (some in steel bodied 40 Ton N.E.R. bogie hoppers) There may have been anxiety on the part of the colliery owners about incurring demurrage charges if they delayed a collier at Blyth or on the Tyne because it could not get a timely spot at the staithes or when there could not be loaded promptly because of inability of their trainload to access the staithes. No staithesmaster would have been happy about an idle collier taking up one of his berths.

The L.N.E.R. Gresley A1 pacific approaches Amble Junction from the north.




Approaching Chevington.


 
The Amble Branch Water tank

Northeast England during the steam era. On the Amble branch, at 3/4 of a mile from the zero point at Amble Junction there was a water tank and water crane. It is mentioned in Bartle Rippon's book on the Amble branch and its location is clear on both the 25 inch to the mile map as well as the N.E.R. line diagram for the branch. What is not clear is why it was sited on plain single track some distance away from the junction, intermediate station or even the level crossing some distance away to the east. I cannot say whether passenger trains stopped to water there, given the existence of a tank and water crane at the Amble terminus, but if they did it certainly would have extended the journey time by a significant factor, probably to the great frustration of passengers. Most branch trains terminated at Chevington, necessitating a change of train. There were only a couple of railway cottages at Chevington, so it was definitely not a destination in its own right. It is surprising that it survived the closure of the Amble branch passenger service.


 
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The Amble Branch

Thanks for that Ardaeshir. One of the things about photographs of real routes is that it helps generate an almost limitless list of "things I wish were on the DLC"!! In the case of the actual water tank it was a brick structure with iron/steel plate riveted plates for the tank. The brickwork was around twelve feet high with what looks to be a concrete/stone lintel course above that on which the tank sat. There was a door and a window in the tank base on the side facing the track.

My tracklaying has reached Broomhill, which means that I need to find a reasonable wooden building to stand in for the station building which was located there between 1879 and 1930. It was, in overall terms, the same outline as that on the Up platform at Chevington, which means that it was not of the impressive manorial stone style seen at Acklington, Warkworth and Belford. Chevington seems to have had brick ends compared to Broomhill's total timber construction, just to make it interesting. The Amble terminus was something different again. A brick built station building with access from the street at ground floor level but platforms on the first floor level some eight to ten feet above that. That makes it more like Waterhouses station on the Waterhouses branch.

Regards
Frank
 
The ever present problem of trying to find buildings that are a close enough match, - or else a good enough base for retexturing. I'm presently having to look at retexturing a bunch of Victorian shops modelled for the modern era to make them proper Victorian era shops again.

That lonely water tank makes for a great screenshot and looks very like the sort of thing that would be found on a goods or minerals traffic only line. From your description though Frank it does seem to be a mystery as to its original purpose on the Amble branch.
 
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