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The Rothbury Branch was a single track railway line in Northumberland, England, that ran from Scotsgap to Rothbury on the Border Counties Railway via the stations of Longwitton, Ewesley, Fontburn Halt, and Brinkburn.
In 1859 Parliament authorised the Wansbeck Railway Company to build the line from Morpeth to Reedsmouth. In 1862 the line from Morpeth to Scotsgap opened.
The next year the Northumberland Central Railway were authorised to construct a line from Scotsgap to Ford on the Berwick to Kelso line. They also were permitted to build a short branch line to Cornhill. Due to financial difficulties the line was to be built in stages[1] starting with the section from Scotsgap to Rothbury which was started in August 1869 and completed by November 1870. Two years later the Northumberland Central Railway was acquired by the North British Railway. On 3 July 1875 a major accident occurred on the line just south of Longwitton[2] leading to the deaths of three people. The North British Railway and the branch line became part of the London and North Eastern Railway in 1923. Reduced services, down to two a day during the Second World War[3], and increasing competition from road transport made the line increasingly uneconomical. In September 1952 passenger services were withdrawn and the line closed in November 1963[4].