In the late evening of the 8th March 2025, ‘The Seven Counties Rambler’ operated by SRPS Railtours and hauled by Class 37’s 37409 ‘Loch Awe’ and 37043 ‘Isle of Mull’ departed Newcastle Central Station on the final leg of an epic tour of southern Scotland and Northern England, bound for Edinburgh and finally Linlithgow, whereContinue reading “The Route of the N.C.L. with Maps and 99 Days of Petition Success!”
Category Archives: Petition
N.C.L. Meeting with David Smith, MP for North Northumberland
A big thank you to David Smith MP for his time, and that of his assistant Theo in meeting with me to discuss the Northumberland Coast Loop rail campaign today via a Teams call. It was a very positive meeting, and hopefully working together into the future! As the above document (still a work inContinue reading “N.C.L. Meeting with David Smith, MP for North Northumberland”
Petition Progress – 761 Signatures Towards Better Northumberland Rail and Bus Services
Start a Newcastle – Edinburgh Rail Service via Blyth Bebside and Northumberland Park As of the 10th May 2025, the petition to ‘Start a Newcastle – Edinburgh Rail Service via Blyth Bebside and Northumberland Park‘ has gained 330 signatures. This route would better enable ‘within Northumberland’ trips by rail, such as Berwick and Alnmouth (forContinue reading “Petition Progress – 761 Signatures Towards Better Northumberland Rail and Bus Services”
The data case for Edinburgh bound trains from the Northumberland Coast Loop Stations
Inspired by the latest Railnatter episode (No. 258 ‘Data, maps and how to use them (with Will Deakin), it revealed some sources of data to augment the case for direct northbound rail travel from stations now opened and soon to open on the Northumberland Line. One of these sources was railwaydata.co.uk, which was used toContinue reading “The data case for Edinburgh bound trains from the Northumberland Coast Loop Stations”
Revive the ‘Coast and Castles Connection’ Brand for Alnwick, Alnmouth Station and Amble ‘Bus Meets Train’ Bus Service?
An excellent existing, but fading brand? A few days ago, and passing through the village of Warkworth, Northumberland. I took an opportunity to stop and photograph the seemingly now defunct ‘Coast and Castles Connection’ branding still adorning the bus stop at the top of Beal Bank, Warkworth. As can be seen in the images above,Continue reading “Revive the ‘Coast and Castles Connection’ Brand for Alnwick, Alnmouth Station and Amble ‘Bus Meets Train’ Bus Service?”
Looking Back and Looking Forward: The Northumberland Coast Loop, April 2025
Presentation on the Past On Tuesday 15th April, I attended an excellent presentation, hosted by Morgan Sindall and delivered by local historian Ed Orwin called ‘Newcastle to Ashington By Train: A Journey Through Time’. This was hosted at the brilliant Energy Central Learning Hub building on Quay Road in Blyth, Northumberland, and in the roomContinue reading “Looking Back and Looking Forward: The Northumberland Coast Loop, April 2025”
A Virtual Railway Station for Alnwick? Inspired by Keswick.
Keswick: A ‘Virtual’ Railway Station for the Lake District town? A recent article from Rail Advent has shown an interesting way that the town of Keswick, in Cumbria, has gained a new ‘station’ on the national network, served not by trains, but by buses. In the article, it describes how Keswick has a ‘virtual railwayContinue reading “A Virtual Railway Station for Alnwick? Inspired by Keswick.”
Petition Progress!
A great start to April with continued progression of both petitions, and a sizeable growth in both since the last post on the blog on 4.4.25. Newcastle – Northumberland Park – Blyth Bebside – Edinburgh Rail Service As of 6.4.25, the rail service petition now stands at 264 signatures, great progress over the last fewContinue reading “Petition Progress!”
Early April Update from the N.C.L.
There have been a number of positive news releases in recent days, so here is a short post to tie them together and a lot of optimism for the future! Northumberland Line The Northumberland Line continues strong performance since opening, with a recent announcement that 250,000 trips on the route are expected by Easter 2025, justContinue reading “Early April Update from the N.C.L.”
N.C.L. News: Newcastle, Bedlington & Edinburgh Rail Link, plus the Alnwick to Amble Bus Meets Train Campaign.
Newcastle – Bedlington – Edinburgh Rail Service Campaign As of 21.3.25, the petition for the Northumberland Coast Loop route to Edinburgh from Newcastle (Newcastle – Bedlington – Pegswood – Berwick – Edinburgh) is performing well with 237 verified signatures It has also now got a much easier link to view and sign it at https://www.change.org/northumberlandcoastloopedinburghContinue reading “N.C.L. News: Newcastle, Bedlington & Edinburgh Rail Link, plus the Alnwick to Amble Bus Meets Train Campaign.”
The Northumberland Coast Loop 