Hello everyone, and welcome to Coldstream, my layout which has been under consideration and construction for a VERY long time. I've had a thread on RMWeb for some time (though I haven't posted anything for a few years) which some of you may have seen. I'm not going to repeat all the stuff that was on RMWeb, rather I will start with the current state of play, and take it from there. But first, a short potted history of the real location.
The station was opened in the mid-19th century by the Berwick and Kelso Railway (soon to be taken over by the North Eastern). When it first opened, the station was known as Cornhill (not unreasonably, as it's in the village of Cornhill-on-Tweed, the town of Coldstream being over a mile away on the other side of the river, and in a different country)! The station was renamed Coldstream in, IIRC, 1873, perhaps in an attempt to lure Victorian tourists to visit. The Berwick and Kelso made an end-on junction with the North British branchline from St. Boswell's (on the Waverley route) just east of Kelso, thereby potentially allowing through traffic between the East Coast main line (at Tweedmouth) and the Waverley, although the NER and NBR seem to have gone out of their way to avoid convenient passenger connections at Kelso. In LNER days, some through passenger services from Berwick to St Boswell's (and indeed Jedburgh) were introduced.
In 1887 the NER opened the Alnwick and Cornhill Branch (A&C), which meandered for about 35 miles through rural Northumberland from Coldstream to Alnwick. Facilities at Coldstream were upgraded at this time, including installation of a turntable.
The A&C was never going to make any money (and the view seems to be that its' construction was mainly a blocking move to discourage the NBR from heading towards Newcastle), and it closed to passengers in 1930. Severe flooding in the area in 1948 resulted in the A&C being cut in two, and operated as two distinct freight branch lines from Alnwick to Ilderton and from Coldstream to Wooler. The southern section closed to freight in 1953.
The Tweed Valley line on which Coldstream lies proved to be extremely useful when part of the East Coast main line was temporarily closed following the floods of 1948: facing junctions at both Tweedmouth and St. Boswells meant that through traffic could be easily routed over the Tweed Valley. Following re-opening of the ECML, a number of freight trains between Newcastle and Edinburgh were routed along the Tweed Valley line each day, presumably to maintain crew route knowledge: this lasted for several years.
The passenger service along the Tweed Valley was rationalised in 1955 when many of the intermediate stations closed. Coldstream hung on for a while longer, passenger services being withdrawn in 1964 and freight services (including the stub of the A&C to Wooler) ceasing in 1965.
More information, and prototype photos, can be found on the Disused Stations website.
I'll give some more information about the layout, and pictures of the current state of play in another post.
The station was opened in the mid-19th century by the Berwick and Kelso Railway (soon to be taken over by the North Eastern). When it first opened, the station was known as Cornhill (not unreasonably, as it's in the village of Cornhill-on-Tweed, the town of Coldstream being over a mile away on the other side of the river, and in a different country)! The station was renamed Coldstream in, IIRC, 1873, perhaps in an attempt to lure Victorian tourists to visit. The Berwick and Kelso made an end-on junction with the North British branchline from St. Boswell's (on the Waverley route) just east of Kelso, thereby potentially allowing through traffic between the East Coast main line (at Tweedmouth) and the Waverley, although the NER and NBR seem to have gone out of their way to avoid convenient passenger connections at Kelso. In LNER days, some through passenger services from Berwick to St Boswell's (and indeed Jedburgh) were introduced.
In 1887 the NER opened the Alnwick and Cornhill Branch (A&C), which meandered for about 35 miles through rural Northumberland from Coldstream to Alnwick. Facilities at Coldstream were upgraded at this time, including installation of a turntable.
The A&C was never going to make any money (and the view seems to be that its' construction was mainly a blocking move to discourage the NBR from heading towards Newcastle), and it closed to passengers in 1930. Severe flooding in the area in 1948 resulted in the A&C being cut in two, and operated as two distinct freight branch lines from Alnwick to Ilderton and from Coldstream to Wooler. The southern section closed to freight in 1953.
The Tweed Valley line on which Coldstream lies proved to be extremely useful when part of the East Coast main line was temporarily closed following the floods of 1948: facing junctions at both Tweedmouth and St. Boswells meant that through traffic could be easily routed over the Tweed Valley. Following re-opening of the ECML, a number of freight trains between Newcastle and Edinburgh were routed along the Tweed Valley line each day, presumably to maintain crew route knowledge: this lasted for several years.
The passenger service along the Tweed Valley was rationalised in 1955 when many of the intermediate stations closed. Coldstream hung on for a while longer, passenger services being withdrawn in 1964 and freight services (including the stub of the A&C to Wooler) ceasing in 1965.
More information, and prototype photos, can be found on the Disused Stations website.
I'll give some more information about the layout, and pictures of the current state of play in another post.
