Aln Valley Railway

Saturday, 7th June 2008 saw South East Northumberland Rail Users Group (SENRUG) charter a promotional train tour from Morpeth. Passengers on each of the 3 pre-booked trips were taken in a Northern Rail 2 car unit from Morpeth to Newcastle Central then on to the Blyth & Tyne route to the former Ashington Station. Passengers weren’t allowed to disembark but the potential for a resumption of services was there for all to see. Once the train driver changed ends, the charter backtracked to slightly beyond the former Bedlington Station where once again the driver swapped ends and took the train on the final leg through Choppington and Hepscot to Morpeth where everyone disembarked. There were many speed restrictions on the Blyth/Ashington/Bedlington/Morpeth routes which did at least allow time for ‘taking in’ the scenery on a sunny warm day and it was surprising how difficult it can be to identify locations when seen from unfamiliar angles. The near 2 hour round trip was a bargain at £6 per ticket and will have done much to promote SENRUG’s cause.