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With an ultimate aim of joining coast to castle, the Aln Valley Railway is to be built along the disused trackbed that runs from Alnmouth station to Alnwick in Northumberland. There have been several obstacles that have worked against us since the start of the project, but we are now under way.
We have designed our new station that will be built close to the Lionheart Business Park in Alnwick, are currently practicing our track laying and preparing our rolling stock at Longhoughton and Wooler.
We are looking for willing volunteers to help with a wide range of tasks and generous benefactors who can provide hard cash or goods and services in kind. For more information on helping, please click here.
AVR Members in front of ex-London Port Authority 0-6-0T Richboro’ undergoing restoration at Wooler, Northumberland in Dec 09.
Latest News:
Planning Granted!
Last modified on 2010-07-04 18:01:05 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
At a meeting which took place in Alnwick on the evening of Thursday 1st July, the Northumberland County Council Northern Planning Committee passed unanimously the Planning Application, submitted by the Aln Valley Railway Trust, for Phase 1 of the reinstatement of the former branch line between Alnwick and Alnmouth.
Phase 1 will include the establishment of a new station, to be called Alnwick (Lionheart), on a green field site immediately adjacent to the A1 Alnwick by-pass. This site will include passenger facilities and covered accommodation for locomotives and stock. A new curve will connect the site with the alignment of the former trackbed. The rails will be laid, in the first instance, as far as an overbridge known as Greenrigg Bridge, just to the east of the seven-arch Stephenson-designed Cawledge Viaduct. This site will become a temporary terminus where a run-round loop will be laid.
At the side of the railway, and securely fenced from it, will be a cycle path and footpath which will eventually form a safe link between Alnwick and Alnmouth, and will connect with other such paths.
In Phase 2, planned for the future, the line will be extended to a point close to Alnmouth for Alnwick station on the East Coast Main Line.
The Planning Committee have imposed several ‘conditions’, some of which are ‘standard’ for the construction and operation of heritage railways. They include the following:
- operating days to be limited in the first instance to 53 days per year with trains of a maximum length of two carriages
- the improvement of access to the Lionheart station site from the A1/A1086 junction to be agreed with the Highways Authority
- the prohibition of noisy works activity on Sundays or Bank Holidays or outside the hours of 0800-1800 (Mondays to Fridays) or 0800-1300 (Saturdays)
- the carrying out of measures to conserve species and their habitat, including clearance of vegetation outside the bird breeding season, provision of bird boxes, provision of additional woodland and adherence to regulations as regards badger setts
- the submission of plans for the drainage of cuttings, disposal of surface water from the station site and for pollution prevention management during construction works
The ‘approval’ included permission for a car park, station building (with associated services), an ‘education & display’ building and operating facilities.
The Trust will shortly proceed with further discussions with the landowners, the Northumberland Estates, to finalise details for the Lease of the site.
Meanwhile the rolling stock and motive power for the line are stored and worked upon at two sites: the railway’s temporary base at Longhoughton station goods yard, and the engineering works of Michael Fairnington at Wooler.
Needless to say, after almost 15 years of work and preparation, the Committee and Members of the Trust and Society are both delighted and relieved that the Planning Application was approved!