Tyne Valley Line

Tyne Valley Line

Principal stations (from east to west)

Newcastle
Dunston
Metro Centre (Gateshead)
Blaydon
Wylam
Prudhoe
Stocksfield
Riding Mill
Corbridge
Hexham
Haydon Bridge
Bardon Mill
Haltwhistle
Brampton
Wetheral
Carlisle

The Tyne Valley Line, also known as the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway (N&CR), is a railway line in northern England. The 60 mile (96 km) line was built in the 1830s, and links the city of Newcastle upon Tyne in Tyne and Wear with Carlisle in Cumbria.

The line follows the course of the River Tyne through Northumberland. Five stations and two viaducts on the route are listed structures.

Passenger services on the Tyne Valley Line are operated by Northern Rail and First ScotRail. The line is also heavily used for freight, and is an important diversionary route during East Coast Main Line closures.

Route

Immediately after crossing the Tyne from Newcastle, the Tyne Valley Line diverges from the southbound East Coast Main Line and passes west through Gateshead, with stations at Dunston, Metro Centre and Blaydon.

Past Blaydon, the line enters Northumberland and passes Wylam station. The station house at Wylam was built in 1835, and is Grade II* listed. Other principal stops in Northumberland include Prudhoe, Corbridge, Hexham and Haltwhistle.

In Cumbria, the Tyne Valley line serves Brampton Junction and Wetheral stations. The line joins the Settle-Carlisle Railway just before reaching Carlisle Citadel station.

The full list of towns and villages served by the line are listed below.

History

The railway was built by the Newcastle-on-Tyne and Carlisle Railroad Company, gaining Royal Assent on 22 May 1829. The line was built in sections from 1834 onwards; the entire route between Carlisle London Road station and Redheugh in Gateshead was formally opened to passengers on 18 June 1838. A temporary Tyne bridge was built at Scotswood to allow trains to reach a terminus in Newcastle – this opened on 21 October 1839. N&CR trains first used Newcastle Central Station on 1 January 1851.

The N&CR was absorbed by the North Eastern Railway on 17 July 1862. From 1864, trains ran to Carlisle Citadel station, and the old London Road station was closed. In 1870, the temporary bridge at Scotswood was removed – a new iron bridge, the Scotswood Bridge, was built to replace it.

A north Tyne route – the North Wylam loop – was constructed for colliery and passenger traffic in the mid-1870s. It diverged from the original S&CR at Scotswood, ran along the north bank of the Tyne, and crossed the river at Wylam where it joined the S&CR again. Stations were built at Newburn, Lemington and North Wylam. The North Wylam loop fell under the Beeching Axe in the 1960s, and closed to passengers on 11 March 1968.

On 4 October 1982, British Rail closed the Scotswood Bridge, which had become uneconomical to maintain. Tyne Valley trains from Newcastle were diverted to use the present route, crossing the King Edward Bridge south-west of Newcastle Central Station, and running via Dunston to Blaydon.

Rolling Stock

The line is not an electrified route; passenger services are therefore operated by diesel multiple units, typically Class 142 "Pacers" and Class 156 "Super Sprinters" which were introduced in the late 1980s. Prior to this, Metro-Cammell Class 101 units were used.

Railway lines in Great Britain:
<p style="font-size: 90%">High-speed main lines:	<p style="font-size: 90%">Channel Tunnel Rail Link – Channel Tunnel
<p style="font-size: 90%">'Classic' main lines:	<p style="font-size: 90%">Cross-Country – East Coast – Great Eastern – Great Western – Midland – West Coast
<p style="font-size: 90%">Other main lines:	<p style="font-size: 90%">Brighton – Chiltern – Chatham – Hastings – Highland – Kent Coast – London, Tilbury and Southend – North Wales – Portsmouth Direct – Settle-Carlisle – South Wales – South Western – Welsh Marches – Wessex – West Anglia – West of England
<p style="font-size: 90%">Secondary routes:	<p style="font-size: 90%">Airedale – Arun Valley – Ayrshire Coast – Caldervale – Cambridge-Norwich – Cotswold – Dearne Valley – East Coastway – Golden Valley – Glasgow South Western – Hallam – Harrogate – Harwich – Hope Valley – Huddersfield – Lea Valley – Leeds-Bradford – Medway Valley – North Downs – Pontefract – Robin Hood – Riviera – Wakefield – West Coastway – West Highland – York & Selby
<p style="font-size: 90%">Commuter lines:	<p style="font-size: 90%">Alton – Argyle – Bexleyheath – Birmingham Cross-City – Braintree – Caterham – Catford Loop – Chase – Dartford Loop – Gospel Oak-Barking – Hayes – Inverclyde – Ivanhoe – Maesteg – Mid-Kent – Morecambe – North Clyde – North Kent – North London – Northern City – Oxted – Romford-Upminster – Severn Beach – Sheerness – South London – St Albans Abbey – Sutton & Mole Valley – Tattenham Corner – Walsall – West London – Wharfedale – Whifflet
<p style="font-size: 90%">Rural lines:	<p style="font-size: 90%">Atlantic Coast – Avocet – Bittern – Buxton – Cambrian – Crouch Valley – Cumbrian Coast – Conwy Valley – Derwent Valley – Durham Coast – East Suffolk – Esk Valley – Far North – Felixstowe – Fen Line – Furness – Heart of Wales – Heart of Wessex – Island Line – Kyle of Lochalsh – Looe Valley – Lymington – Maritime – Marshlink – Marston Vale – Penistone – Ribble Valley – St Ives – Sudbury – Tamar Valley – Tarka – Tees Valley – Tyne Valley – Wherry – Windermere – Yorkshire Coast
<p style="font-size: 90%">Closed major routes:	<p style="font-size: 90%">Great Central – Honeybourne – Somerset & Dorset – Waverley – Woodhead

Categories: British railway lines | Transport in Northumberland | Transport in Cumbria | Transport in Tyne and Wear