A short film of last days of the Haltwhistle to Alston branch, one of a handful of lines that managed to survve the 60s Beeching axe only to succumb to closure in the mid-1970s.

I visited Haltwhisle a couple of years ago. Though it’s no longer a junction, the station is still open on the cross-country line from Newcastle to Carlisle. The distinctive North Eastern Railway footbridge and the magnificent elevated signalbox shown at the beginning are still in use. I walked along the Alston branch trackbed as far as the viaduct across the Tyne shown early in the film, which is still standing.

The BR blue four-car DMUs that were always associated with the North-East of England are long gone now, like the Alston branch itself.