There were a number of unscheduled calling points on the section of the line between Slaggyford and Lambley, including those at Whitwham, Softley and Burnstones.[2] Trains regularly stopped to allow passengers to board and alight, despite no platform or facilities being available at these locations.
Following a 42-year closure, the station reopened in June 2018, as part of the South Tynedale Railway.[3]
History
The Newcastle and Carlisle Railway was formed in 1829, opening to passengers in stages from March 1835.[4] A branch line from Haltwhistle to Alston and Nenthead was first considered in 1841, with the line authorised by an Act of Parliament in August 1846.[5] It was later decided that a line operating as far as Alston was sufficient, with the amended route approved by a further Act in July 1849.
In March 1851, the 4½-mile section from Haltwhistle to Shaft Hill (which was later renamed Coanwood) was opened to goods traffic, with passenger services commencing in July 1851. The 8¼-mile section of the line between Alston and Lambley opened to goods traffic in January 1852, along with a short branch to Lambley Fell, with passenger services commencing in May 1852.
Slaggyford, along with Featherstone Park, was reduced to unstaffed halt status in 1954. Coanwood followed closely after, becoming an unstaffed halt in 1955.
The line was originally marked for closure in the 1960s, under the Beeching plan, however the lack of an all-weather road kept it open. Following improvements to the road network, including a temporary level crossing over the branch at Lambley, the line was closed on 3 May 1976 by the British Railways Board, with the last train working two days earlier.[8] The line was replaced in part by a bus service, which was operated by Ribble Motor Services.
South Tynedale Railway
For more information about the preserved narrow-gauge railway, see South Tynedale Railway.
^Quick, Michael (2009). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology. Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 368. ISBN978-0901461575.
^Quick, Michael (2009). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain: A Chronology. Railway and Canal Historical Society. pp. 99, 370 and 428. ISBN978-0901461575.
^James, Leslie (November 1983). A Chronology of the Construction of Britain's Railways 1778-1855. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 22. ISBN0-7110-1277-6. BE/1183.