South Tynedale Railway

Hi Guys this has been started to focus on all the things that have been happening here of late

 

Press Release for North East Tourism Awards

STR Leader of the Track!

2017 has been an absolutely fantastic year for South Tynedale Railway, with the conclusion of a 3 year, £6.5 million development project which included a £4.2 million Heritage Lottery Fund grant, the opening of the new facilities at Alston station in July by HRH the Duke of Gloucester and now winning two gold awards at the North East England Tourism Awards 2017.

Developments this season have been very well received by visitors and include an accessible viewing gallery above the engineering workshop, new cafe with extra outdoor seating and offering an exciting seasonal menu with lots of locally sourced produce and catering for gluten free, vegetarian and vegan diets. The Discovery Centre, with its exhibition, cinema, meeting space and kitchen, was recently used as a venue for the North Pennines Star Gazing Festival and is increasingly being hired as a venue for workshops and events.

Dogs are welcome everywhere on site from the trains, to the cafe, to the viewing gallery and the Discovery Centre. Dogs are even welcome to book on to the Santa Special trains which this year run on 9th, 10th, 16th,17th,18th and 19th December, and just like the children, dogs receive their own present from Santa!

Richard Graham Chair of South Tynedale Railway said:

'We were thrilled to receive a Highly Commended in last year's NE England Tourism Awards but are absolutely delighted to have received Gold in two categories, Small Visitor Attraction and Dog Friendly Business, this year. We are pleased that all of the recent developments have been well received by our visitors and have helped us to win these awards. We are proud to run with a blended team of staff and volunteers and we going full steam ahead for next season with lots of exciting events in the pipeline.’

Sarah Stewart, chief executive at destination management and marketing organisation NewcastleGateshead Initiative, said: “Huge congratulations to all of tonight’s winners. It’s been another brilliant year for entries and we received a high standard of entrants across all categories.

“The tourism sector in the North East of England continues to thrive, from our buzzing city centres to our beautiful coastline and varied countryside. Next year promises to be another exciting one for the region as we welcome the Great Exhibition of the North which will have a major impact on our visitor, and wider, economy.”

 

What happens to the Matheran 740 locomotive with Klien-Lindner drive?
There is a K-L locomotive near Copenhagen running every summer saturday and X-mas specials
Very reliable

 

Who owns the trackbed from Slaggyford to Haltwhistle? Will the STR be able to get access to it for the next extension?

 

From the 2017 AGM Report, Developments section:

"Completing the STR ~ Slaggyford to Haltwhistle extension work to acquire and negotiate access to land along the 8 - mile route between Slaggyford and Haltwhistle has continued for a number of years. At 31st March 2017, the Society owns the listed viaducts and adjacent land north of both Lambley and Alston Arches; Northumberland County Council has formally agreed to a freehold transfer of the formation between Slaggyford and Rowfoot, and also to transfer the freehold of the land currently held on long - leasehold between Gilderdale and Slaggyford. Su strans/Railway Paths Ltd own the stretch between Rowfoot and just south of the A69 Haltwhistle by - pass. Sustrans/RPL have formally offered to transfer the freehold for this section to STRPS, when the footpath/cycleway has been re - aligned along the east sid e of the formation. The Society also owns 5 acres of land, which used to be the South Goods Yard at Haltwhistle Station. Structural surveys along the route, supported by a £100,000 grant from SIB in 2014, found sections of the South Tyne Trail in good condition, but parts in a poor state of maintenance and repair. Generally existing structures were in satisfactory condition, although 1 structure (Knarr Burn Viaduct) is in poor/very poor condition, requiring remedial works within the next 5 years. Since then the Environment Agency has commented that works are needed to conserve the concrete apron under Alston Arches Viaduct. Time is passing, so a fresh HLF application is planned to raise funds to repair, restore and renovate the South Tyne Trail, including th e structures either owned or coming into STRPS ownership, between Slaggyford and Haltwhistle, and to prepare the formation so that track laying can begin when a Transport and Works Order is approved."

 

This sounds good. I really like this line - must get up there again as much has happened since my last visit.

Stu

 

Good news - and a post to bookmark for when someone trots out the old "Sustrans are bas****s who hate steam railways" on every thread about extensions!

 

Really excited about the long term plans for this line. It will be quite a different railway from the one I visited a few years ago.

After that, it's the long-awaited extension to Eastgate (just kidding ).

 

Good news indeed but my dislike of Sustrans has deeper foundations than just their obstruction of railway reinstatements.

 

What is the status of the Slaggyford extension? When I visited recently it was not yet being used.

 

Indeed they have a certain arrogance and needs more accountable governance - Someone told me a tale some years ago that they converted a ex-railway in the west of my county and on completion expected the local authority to then look after and maintain it, the authority had little or no consultation on the scheme, nor had any budget to take on such a path! Now that's not to say I dislike the general aim of the organisation (I am a cyclist myself) although I wish they spent less time looking at pretty rides down narrow roads and ex railways in the country and more time encouraging and building cycle only commuter routes (with the help of local government).

 

I was once interviewed for a job in their main office (in Bristol above the Arnolfini art gallery, at least at the time) and didn't get it. So clearly they must be evil!

 

That's standard sustrans policy I gather...

 

A small gallery and short video from Tuesday this week featuring Newcastle in action.
http://preservedrailway.weebly.com/south-tynedale-railway.html