For 37 years (1988-2025) the humble four wheeled PCA waggons have taken alumina (a powder created from Bauxite ore) from the Port of Blyth terminal to the smelter in Fort William, Scotland (and also whilst open, the smelter at Lynemouth).
Somewhat famously, these waggons were for a short time hauled by Deltic 55022 ‘Royal Scots Grey’, with a YouTube clip set to the theme music for the 1971 movie Get Carter (some scenes filmed in Port of Blyth) you can view here: https://youtu.be/qYimjSWXEHE?si=PFxSEqP6cJD9SuUC
Still known locally as the ‘Alcan train’ from the long-standing former operator of the Smelter and branding on these waggons for many years, under Alvance these small four-wheelers have finally met the end, and will be presumably mostly scrapped on Sunderland Docks in the near future, though hopefully one or two might be saved for preservation.
On a happier note, this isn’t due to the end of the Alumina traffic from Port of Blyth to Scotland, it is simply that the wagons are being replaced by more modern and larger wagons.
In those 37 years, the PCA fleet of waggons has covered in excess of 50 million miles, equivalent to 2000 laps of the globe, 105 return trips to the Moon, or getting halfway to Mars, so they’ve certainly earnt their keep!
Please take a look at this piece from GB Railfreight for more information, from which a lot of the information for this blog post has been drawn: FINAL JOURNEY MARKS THE END OF AN ERA FOR FORT WILLIAM ALUMINA WAGONS.
EDIT: Please also view this video from GB Railfreight as a ‘Goodbye to the PCA’ too
End of the line for the PCA’s, but a start soon for Passenger Trains?
The route of the ‘Alcan’ train, leaving Port of Blyth, reversing in the Furnaceway sidings at Bedlington (on the Northumberland Line), before heading west, towards Hepscott, taking the Morpeth North Curve to join the East Coast Main Line, and passing through Pegswood, Alnmouth and Berwick bound for Scotland.
This freight route perhaps highlights the existing infrastructure that could provide an immediate uplift to the Northumberland Line in permitting a direct route to North Northumberland and into Scotland by using this lesser known rail route for passenger services?
This curve from Hepscott towards Pegswood direct has only existed for about 45 years, very modern in contrast to most of the rail network, and has been mostly, but not always, been used for railfreight as by that time, the ‘Blyth and Tyne’ hadn’t carried passengers routinely for 16 years (with stations such as Bedlington, Bebside, Newsham etc. closing in 1964).
The above photos show examples of diverted trains in the 1980’s/1990’s using the then freight only route, but this has also been done by a number of railtours too.
It is interesting to speculate that an alternative universe, and if stations had survived, it is probably highly likely that with the Morpeth North Curve being built, the area served by the Northumberland Line would likely now have the proposed Northumberland Coast Loop services up and running already.
With the Northumberland Line recently announcing 500,000 passengers, less than a year after opening, there is clearly a huge demand for rail travel in the area, and while Newcastle and destinations beyond is clearly a principal major flow, there is almost certainly a strong demand to head north into North Northumberland and Scotland, with places such as Alnwick, and Berwick being popular ‘day out’ destinations from towns like Blyth, as well as connections into Scotland.
Our petition for this route now stands at a strong 854 signatures since its launch in February, and 1000 signatures likely to be reached before Blyth Bebside station opens, lets hope that this potential expansion of passenger services can be considered as a ‘next step’ for the Northumberland Line?
If you’d like to support the petition, please sign here: https://chng.it/zThXj8HBpY
Thanks, RH
The Northumberland Coast Loop 