Alnwick branch line

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Alnwick branch
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Alnwick closed 1968
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Cornhill branch towards Coldstream
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East Coast Main Line towards Edinburgh
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Alnmouth
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East Coast Main Line towards Newcastle

The Alnwick branch line was a railway line in Northumberland, northern England. It ran from Alnmouth railway station, on the East Coast Main Line, to the town of Alnwick, a distance of 2.75 miles (4.5 km).

It opened in 1850 to both freight and passenger traffic; passenger operations included direct Newcastle to Alnwick services, as well as regular shuttle runs between Alnmouth and Alnwick. As late as 1966, some of the Alnmouth to Alnwick shuttles were operated by steam locomotives, making this one of the very last British Rail routes with steam-hauled passenger services.

Although the line survived the Beeching cuts, it was closed in January 1968 on cost grounds. The Aln Valley Railway Society campaigns for the line to be reopened and passenger services restored. The old embankment after the line had crossed the A1 now forms the rear boundary of some of the gardens on the Royal Oak Gardens residential development.

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