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The Alston Line was a 13.5-mile (21.7 km) standard gauge branch line railway that operated in the counties of Northumberland and Cumbria in England. Starting at its junction with the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway line at Haltwhistle, the line ran to the town of Alston. An 1846 Parliamentary Act authorised a line as far as Nenthead, providing an outlet for the lead mines in the Alston area, and plans were made to connect with railways further south. When the decision was made to terminate the branch at Alston, a further act was needed in 1849.
Initially the line opened in stages: from the junction to Shafthill (later renamed Coanwood) in 1851, and from Alston to Lambley in 1852. The full opening of the line awaited the construction of Lambley Viaduct[1], and was achieved later in 1852.
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In the 1950s freight services were withdrawn from Coanwood and all the intermediate stations were unstaffed. After the locomotive shed closed in 1959 and the line's goods services were withdrawn in the early 1960s the line operated with a Class 101 Diesel Multiple Unit based at Blaydon and ran as a siding, a simple railway with no signals other than those at the junction, from Haltwhistle. Although the line was marked for closure in the Beeching plan, the lack of an all-weather road kept it open. A link between local roads, including a temporary level crossing over the branch, was built in the Lambley area. This enabled Ribble Motor Services to run a replacement bus service. The line closed officially on the 3rd of May 1976 with the last train working two days earlier.
Despite efforts by the South Tynedale Railway Preservation Society to take over the line, the track was lifted soon after the closure.
In 1983 a narrow gauge railway opened between Alston and Gilderdale, and has since been extended northwards. Known as the South Tynedale Railway, this 2-foot (0.61 m) gauge line now runs 2.5 miles (4.0 km) from Alston to Kirkhaugh and includes a viaduct over the River South Tyne. A mile-long extension to a new station and temporary terminus at Lintley is under construction, nearing completion and will probably open at Easter 2012. Construction of the next section of two and a quarter miles to Slaggyford is under consideration and funding is being sought with hopes of completion by 2014 or 2015.
The track bed has been severed at two points close to the Haltwhistle junction by the A69 Haltwhistle Bypass and the removal of a former bridge on a minor road nearby.