On Saturday 4th July 2026, ‘The Tynesider’ railtour, operated by The Railway Touring Company and West Coast Railways, ran north from London to Newcastle; with the train continuing to Morpeth to take advantage of the ‘balloon loop’ formed by the East Coast Main Line (ECML) and the former Blyth and Tyne lines to turn the loco and train around without needing a turntable for the loco.
The reason for turning a steam hauled train in this way is so that the locomotive can head chimney first, and also allows the support coach to remain behind the locomotive, and using a turntable isn’t always possible, which also could mean shunting the train to put the support coach at the correct end, whereas running around a balloon loop (teardrop shape of track) resolves these movements.
However, this railtour made some unusual movements, and used all three sides of the Morpeth Triangle on Saturday 4th July 2026, which is very unique.
The question this railtour poses yet again is that should this route be utilised ahead of extending the line north to Newbiggin by the Sea?
The Morpeth Triangle and the six rail routes possible.
At Morpeth, the arrangement of the track forms a triangular junction (see image below from Rail Map Online) which allows up to six different routes to be taken by trains as described below.
Please note that the stations at Morpeth and Pegswood are currently open, but the station at Hepscott is long closed and demolished, it is shown here to illustrate the route between Bedlington and the ECML. Also, for the route of the ECML north of Pegswood, only a small number of stations are listed.
The ECML route: Newcastle, Morpeth, Pegswood, Edinburgh
Newcastle, Morpeth to Pegswood, then Alnmouth, Berwick Upon Tweed, and Edinburgh (Northbound route)
Edinburgh, Berwick Upon Tweed, Alnmouth, and Pegswood to Morpeth, then Newcastle via Cramlington (Southbound route)
The Bedlington Balloon Loop (Newcastle to Newcastle via Bedlington and Morpeth)
Newcastle, Manors, Cramlington, then Morpeth, Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, Northumberland Park, Manors,and Newcastle (the clockwise ‘balloon loop‘)
Newcastle, Manors, Northumberland Park, Seaton Delaval, Newsham, Blyth Bebside, Bedlington, then Morpeth, Cramlington, Manors, Newcastle (the anti-clockwise ‘balloon loop‘)
The Northumberland Coast Loop Route (Newcastle, Bedlington, Pegswood, Edinburgh)
Newcastle, Manors, Northumberland Park, Seaton Delaval, Newsham, Blyth Bebside, Bedlington, Pegswood, Alnmouth, Berwick Upon Tweed, Edinburgh (Northbound route)
Edinburgh, Berwick Upon Tweed, Alnmouth, Pegswood, Bedlington, Blyth Bebside, Newsham, Seaton Delaval, Northumberland Park, Manors, Newcastle. (Southbound route)
Morpeth to Hepscott and back to Morpeth again via the North Curve?
‘The Tynesider’ with steam loco Tangmere on the front came to Morpeth from Newcastle via Cramlington as would be expected for it to go clockwise around the ‘balloon loop’ via Bedlington; but instead of going directly from Morpeth towards Hepscott then Bedlington, the train instead left Morpeth heading towards Pegswood, stopping just beyond Morpeth North Junction, then coming back around the Morpeth North Curve being dragged by the Class 47 diesel on the back of the train towards Hepscott, then run back again via the same route as 5Z51 Morpeth to Morpeth.
This was done presumably to maintain driver knowledge, as it is assumed that the location of taking water wasn’t on the Morpeth North Curve itself.
Morpeth to Newcastle via Bedlington
Once the above Morpeth to Morpeth via Hepscott working had been completed, Tangmere, at the head of ‘The Tynesider’ took the train around the Bedlington Balloon loop back to Newcastle for the return to London as the 1Z51 Morpeth to London Kings Cross.
This route between Hepscott and Bedlington would run past the site of the long closed Choppington station, one that both myself and SENRUG argue should be reopened id services on the Northumberland Coast Loop as well as between Morpeth and Bedlington are established.
From the above timetable, we can see that Morpeth to Bedlington was timetabled at 18 minutes, but was actually done in just 16¼ minutes, not bad for a trailing load of 715 tonnes behind a steam loco built in 1947!
Bringing this lightly used line into regular service use?
This railtour once again demonstrates how the proposed Northumberland Coast Loop route is ready for regular services; if Tangmere and its 715 tonne train could run over it just a few days ago, then it is in a clearly ready state for rail services to North Northumberland and Scotland from Bedlington, and perhaps should be a higher priority than the Newbiggin extension since the line exists and could be put to use far faster?
Advantages
- Using the Northumberland Coast Loop route would add extra rail services in both directions from Newcastle to Bedlington, adding more seats and avoiding the worst ‘crushes’ on carriages when the line is busy.
- It would offer a much more direct and faster rail link between SE Northumberland, North Northumberland, and Scotland boosting the local, regional, and national economy. For example supporting events at places like Port of Blyth such as the Tall Ships, or at Blyth Battery and Seaton Delaval Hall.
- It is just a short link between Bedlington and the ECML near Morpeth; so should be a relatively low-cost and therefore cost-effective expansion of the rail network.
- It help would enable Choppington station to reopen, by providing a service along that line, though this new station is an optional extra, not a necessity so could be a separate or later addition to services running via Hepscott.
- The route would give added resilience to the ECML; disruptions on the line between Morpeth and Newcastle could be bypassed by some trains running via Bedlington, meaning fewer cancellations of all trains between Newcastle and Edinburgh.
The Northumberland Coast Loop 