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Border Counties Railway
All photographs of this railway in date order.
![Looking west over the former Bellingham station.<br><br>[Mike Shannon //]](/images/0/230.jpg "Bellingham (North Tyne)")
![Looking south at Saughtree station.<br><br>[Shelley Mann //]](/images/0/231.jpg "Saughtree")
![Looking north at Saughtree station.<br><br>[Shelley Mann //]](/images/0/232.jpg "Saughtree")
![Looking south at Saughtree station.<br><br>[Shelley Mann //]](/images/0/233.jpg "Saughtree")
![View of Barrasford building and platform. This view looks south east along the line.<br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //]](/images/23000/23376.jpg "Barrasford")
![Looking south east from Wark signalbox to the former station. This signalbox still survives.<br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //]](/images/23000/23379.jpg "Wark")
![Scene on the Border Counties line following closure between Riccarton Junction and Bellingham. View towards the closed Plashetts station with the link from <I>Slater's Incline</I> coming in from the right. The incline was used to bring coal down from the workings in the hills above Plashetts to sidings alongside the station. Beyond the trees to the right were the coal screens and a brickworks, with much of the output from both being supplied to customers in either Carlisle or Hawick. The landscape has changed completely since the photograph was taken, with much of the area now submerged beneath Kielder reservoir. Part of Slater's Incline is now used by the Kielder Ferry as a landing stage on the east side of the reservoir. [See image 17579]<br>
<br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //]](/images/26000/26241.jpg "Plashetts")
![Photograph taken in Border Counties territory in the late 1960s, showing part of the magnificent Kielder Viaduct with the photographer's car (a 1968 Cortina Mk 2) parked in the foreground (or vice versa).<br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //]](/images/29000/29963.jpg "Kielder Viaduct")
![View north at Reedsmouth following closure, with the line to Riccarton Junction on the left and the Wansbeck Valley route to Morpeth on the right. The station had closed to passengers in 1956 with the signal box eventually being converted to living acomodation [see image 19664 for a similar view around half a century later]. <br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //]](/images/32000/32801.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![Water filled cutting of the closed Border Counties Railway - now the Kielder Reservoir.<br><br>[Ken Lewis //]](/images/58000/58044.jpg "Lewiefield Halt")
![A photograph taken looking north from the now infilled bridge towards Kielder station in 1950 with the Border Counties line heading for Riccarton Junction. Opened in 1862, the station was renamed Kielder Forest in 1948.<br><br>[Frank Spaven Collection (Courtesy David Spaven) //1950]](/images/27000/27306.jpg "Kielder Forest")
![Reedsmouth Junction. NE 0.6.0 5101 on arrival from Scotsgap.<br><br>[G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 06/04/1950]](/images/7000/7554.jpg "Reedsmouth Junction")
![Reedsmouth Junction. NB 0.6.0 65232 waiting to cross passenger.<br><br>[G H Robin collection by courtesy of the Mitchell Library, Glasgow 06/04/1950]](/images/7000/7555.jpg "Reedsmouth Junction")
![Looking south past Saughtree station in 1963, with the (now-demolished) viaduct over the Dawston Burn in the distance. Had the 1990s' plans of Borders Transport Futures been successful then nowadays this view would have featured a heavy freight railway conveying military traffic from Otterburn, and timber from Kielder Forest to mills in Carlisle, Workington and Chirk. <br><br>[Frank Spaven Collection (Courtesy David Spaven) //1963]](/images/41000/41794.jpg "Saughtree")
![Ivatt 2-6-0 no 43129 at Reedsmouth on 9 November 1963 with the RCTS/SLS <I>Wansbeck Wanderer</I>. View from the signal box is south towards Hexham with the train standing at the Wansbeck Valley platform and the Border Counties line to Riccarton Junction on the right.<br><br>[K A Gray 09/11/1963]](/images/23000/23266.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![The RCTS/SLS <I>Wansbeck Wanderer</I> stands at the Wansbeck Valley platform at Reedsmouth on 9 November 1963 behind Ivatt 2-6-0 no 43129. <br><br>[K A Gray 09/11/1963]](/images/35000/35377.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![View north from the tall signal box at the south end of Reedsmouth station on 9 November 1963. The photograph was taken during a photostop on the RCTS/SLS <I>'Wansbeck Wanderer'</I> railtour. The Border Counties line to Riccarton Junction runs off to the left through rural Northumberland towards Bellingham. The line is seen passing the former locomotive shed, officially closed in 1952 when a sub to 52C Blaydon. On the right is the station approach road from the hamlet of Redesmouth on the River Rede (note the spelling). Off picture to the right is the Wansbeck Valley platform, at which Ivatt 2-6-0 no 43129 is standing with the special. For the view south from the signal box at this time [see image 23266] <br><br>[K A Gray 09/11/1963]](/images/35000/35727.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![View south from the tall signal box at Reedsmouth on 9 November 1963 with the Border Counties route to Riccarton on the right and the Wansbeck Valley line to the left. Ivatt 2-6-0 no 43129 is in the process of running round the RCTS/SLS <I>'Wansbeck Wanderer'</i> railtour.<br><br>[K A Gray 09/11/1963]](/images/36000/36819.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![The RCTS/SLS <I>'Wansbeck Wanderer'</I> railtour photographed at Reedsmouth on 9 November 1963. Ivatt 2-6-0 no 43129 is in the process of running round its train at the Wansbeck Valley platform. [See image 36819]<br><br>[K A Gray 09/11/1963]](/images/40000/40362.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![Shrouded in steam, a member of the footplate crew climbs back on board Ivatt 4MT 2-6-0 no 43129 at Bellingham on 9 November 1963. The locomotive has just run round <I>The Wansbeck Wanderer</I> and is preparing to return to Reedsmouth. The special will later visit the Rothbury branch [see image 31617] before heading back to Newcastle via Morpeth.<br><br>[K A Gray 09/11/1963]](/images/44000/44046.jpg "Bellingham (North Tyne)")
![The photographer's sons chase each other along the platform of Kielder's distinctive station in April 1964.<br><br>[Frank Spaven Collection (Courtesy David Spaven) /04/1964]](/images/34000/34362.jpg "Kielder Forest")
![Stormy skies over Kielder in April 1964. Virtually the same location as the photograph taken 14 years earlier [see image 27306] although the rails have long gone and a terrace of new Forestry Commission houses has appeared.<br><br>[Frank Spaven Collection (Courtesy David Spaven) /04/1964]](/images/42000/42061.jpg "Kielder Forest")
![Old stone signal box near Wark on the Border Counties line, thought to have been photographed in October 1966. <br><br>[Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) /10/1966]](/images/21000/21351.jpg "Wark")
![An old NBR whistle, a gift from an enthusiast in 1969, last used to referee rugby matches during games periods at Peebles High School and before that....allegedly... used by the station master at Kielder on the Border Counties Line.<br>
<br><br>[Bruce McCartney //1969]](/images/28000/28037.jpg "Kielder Forest")
![Reedsmouth in 1986. The old signal box, which stood at the junction of the Wansbeck and Border Counties lines, has since been converted to living accommodation [see image 17434].<br><br>[Roy Lambeth //1986]](/images/13000/13537.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![Originally built as a double track railway but only ever had a single track as seen here. The trackbed of the Border Counties Railway about one mile south west of Saughtree Station looking north east. The station itself is located around the bend behind the trees. The picture was taken from close to where Spout Sike passed below the formation. [Ref query 22 January 2018] <br><br>[Charlie Niven //1994]](/images/62000/62606.jpg "Saughtree")
![Looking north at the stumps of the former Border Counties viaduct running north from Border Counties Junctions.<br><br>[Ewan Crawford /11/1997]](/images/9000/9238.jpg "Border Counties Junction")
![The former Border Counties station at Bellingham in use as a council roads depot in 1998, some 42 years after closure to passengers. <br><br>[Ewan Crawford //1998]](/images/42000/42766.jpg "Bellingham (North Tyne)")
![The former signal box at Wark still standing in 2002.<br><br>[Mike Shannon /05/2002]](/images/57000/57356.jpg "Wark")
![Reedsmouth Junction Shed in 2002. The former line to Riccarton is to the left.<br><br>[Mike Shannon /05/2002]](/images/57000/57372.jpg "Reedsmouth Shed")
![Chollerton goods shed from the road in 2002.<br><br>[Mike Shannon /05/2002]](/images/57000/57443.jpg "Chollerton")
![Chollerton station cottages from the road.<br><br>[Mike Shannon /05/2002]](/images/57000/57450.jpg "Chollerton")
![The former Wansbeck platform at Reedsmouth Junction in 2002. The station building and former signalbox have become housing.<br>
<br><br>[Mike Shannon /05/2002]](/images/57000/57515.jpg "Reedsmouth Junction")
![Wall signal box from the south.<br><br>[Mike Shannon /05/2002]](/images/57000/57522.jpg "Wall")
![Wall station platform from the north in 2002.<br><br>[Mike Shannon /05/2002]](/images/61000/61485.jpg "Wall")
![Wark signal box from south in 2002.<br><br>[Mike Shannon /05/2002]](/images/61000/61495.jpg "Wark")
![Wall, showing the new station building from the south in 2002.<br><br>[Mike Shannon /05/2002]](/images/61000/61522.jpg "Wall")
![Humshaugh station viewed from the roadway.<br><br>[Mike Shannon /05/2002]](/images/61000/61547.jpg "Humshaugh")
![Reedsmouth in May 2002, looking north from the trackbed towards the converted signal box that stands on the platforms.<br><br>[Mike Shannon /05/2002]](/images/61000/61655.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![Wall station viewed from the west in 2002.<br><br>[Mike Shannon /05/2002]](/images/61000/61695.jpg "Wall")
![Wark station building in 2002.<br><br>[Mike Shannon /05/2002]](/images/61000/61721.jpg "Wark")
![Normally submerged beneath the waters of the Kielder Reservoir, this is a bridge on the former Border Counties line.<br>
<br><br>[Ken Lewis //2003]](/images/58000/58070.jpg "Lewiefield Halt")
![Beware of the Bull. Tarset station, September 2003, looking south towards Hexham.<br><br>[John Furnevel 12/09/2003]](/images/4000/4847.jpg "Tarset")
![Looking north over Kielder Viaduct in the autumn of 2003.<br><br>[John Furnevel 21/09/2003]](/images/5000/5725.jpg "Kielder Viaduct")
![Kielder Viaduct - northern exit - September 2003.<br><br>[John Furnevel 21/09/2003]](/images/5000/5726.jpg "Kielder Viaduct")
![Magnificent Kielder Viaduct, September 2003.<br><br>[John Furnevel 21/09/2003]](/images/5000/5728.jpg "Kielder Viaduct")
![Built in 1862 to carry the Border Counties Railway over the Deadwater Burn and surrounding marshland, Kielder Viaduct is considered to be one of the finest surviving examples of Victorian engineering using the skew-arch method of construction. The viaduct is seen here looking south towards Kielder Reservoir in September 2003. Attached to the viaduct directly ahead is a plaque commemorating the work of Peter Nicholson of Newcastle, a pioneer geometrician involved in perfecting the technique.<br><br>[John Furnevel 21/09/2003]](/images/57000/57547.jpg "Kielder Viaduct")
![The former Bellingham station in September 2003, seen from the doorway of Bellingham Heritage Centre. The station building is in use as council offices. At the far end of the platform the old goods shed still stands, with the base of the former stone signal box, now converted for use as a store, just visible in the council yard beyond the fence. [See image 45381]<br><br>[John Furnevel 24/09/2003]](/images/1000/1843.jpg "Bellingham (North Tyne)")
![The old Station at Bellingham in September 2003.<br><br>[John Furnevel 24/09/2003]](/images/2000/2506.jpg "Bellingham (North Tyne)")
![The trackbed of the Border Counties Railway through Falstone looking south towards Bellingham in September 2003. The former station master's house is nearest the camera, with the stone signal box at the far end. The whole site is currently undergoing refurbishment and conversion for use as holiday accommodation.<br><br>[John Furnevel 24/09/2003]](/images/5000/5390.jpg "Falstone")
![Looking north along the trackbed at Falstone in September 2003, where the station buildings and signal box are being modified as holiday accommodation.<br><br>[John Furnevel 24/09/2003]](/images/5000/5392.jpg "Falstone")
![A mile west along the Tyne from Hexham station is the site of Border Counties Junction. Here the Carlisle line continues west while the trackbed of the former Border Counties line begins to turn north towards the river (left) which it crossed en route to Riccarton [see image 9347]. The south supporting wall of the signal box that straddled the line can be seen built into the cutting in the right background.<br><br>[John Furnevel 07/05/2006]](/images/9000/9290.jpg "Border Counties Junction")
![The remains of the Border Counties Railway bridge over the Tyne in May 2006 looking east along the river towards Hexham. The site of Border Counties Junction on the Newcastle - Carlisle line is off picture to the right.<br><br>[John Furnevel 07/05/2006]](/images/9000/9347.jpg "Border Counties Junction")
![A misty morning on the Tyne a mile west of Hexham station in May 2006. The photograph is taken looking north from alongside the site of Border Counties Junction on the Newcastle - Carlisle route [see image 9290] and shows the remains of the bridge that took the Border Counties Line across the river at the start of its journey north to Riccarton Junction.<br><br>[John Furnevel 07/05/2006]](/images/41000/41785.jpg "Border Counties Junction")
![Barrasford station, now a Scout hall.<br><br>[Clive Barlow 25/05/2006]](/images/9000/9640.jpg "Barrasford")
![Barrasford station, now a Scout hall.<br><br>[Clive Barlow 25/05/2006]](/images/9000/9641.jpg "Barrasford")
![Wall looking to Reedsmouth Junction.<br><br>[Clive Barlow 25/05/2006]](/images/9000/9643.jpg "Wall")
![The former Wark station.<br><br>[Clive Barlow 25/05/2006]](/images/9000/9644.jpg "Wark")
![The former Wark station showing the two platforms.<br><br>[Clive Barlow 25/05/2006]](/images/9000/9645.jpg "Wark")
![The station building at Bellingham (closed to passengers in October 1956) standing on the single platform. Photographed in May 2006.<br><br>[Clive Barlow 25/05/2006]](/images/9000/9646.jpg "Bellingham (North Tyne)")
![Bellingham looking to Reedsmouth Junction.<br><br>[Clive Barlow 25/05/2006]](/images/9000/9647.jpg "Bellingham (North Tyne)")
![Reedsmouth engine shed. The line to Riccarton was to the left and the junction behind the camera.<br><br>[Clive Barlow 25/05/2006]](/images/9000/9648.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![Reedsmouth, Riccarton platforms looking to the junction.<br><br>[Clive Barlow 25/05/2006]](/images/9000/9649.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![Reedsmouth; Border Counties platforms to left and Wansbeck Railway platform to right.<br><br>[Clive Barlow 25/05/2006]](/images/9000/9650.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![Reedsmouth; Border Counties platforms to left and Wansbeck Railway platform to right. The signalbox and station buildings still stand.<br><br>[Clive Barlow 25/05/2006]](/images/9000/9651.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![Reedsmouth; building still standing on the Riccarton bound platform.<br><br>[Clive Barlow 25/05/2006]](/images/9000/9652.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![Standing on the track bed by Gowanburn bridge beside the Kielder Reservoir. This photograph was taken in 2007, the 'low year'.<br><br>[Ken Lewis //2007]](/images/57000/57762.jpg "Lewiefield Halt")
![A mile west of Hexham the picturesque Border Counties Railway left the Newcastle and Carlisle and turned north on its journey to Riccarton Junction. After crossing the River Tyne the first stop was at Wall. The much rebuilt station is seen looking north on a rainy 5 November. Note the old coach standing at the end of the platform beyond the stone signal box. <br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/17000/17335.jpg "Wall")
![Across the fields stands the old station at Humshaugh on the Border Counties line. The platform is still in place with the main building now a substantial private house and the refurbished former goods shed located to the left of the picture. View northwest on 5 November....in the rain.<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/17000/17336.jpg "Humshaugh")
![The former Border Counties Railway station in the village of Barrasford, Northumberland, standing on the banks of the North Tyne and seen here looking west on 5 November 2007. The famous old quarry located to the north of the village, and now operated by Tarmac Construction, claims to have supplied building materials to the Emperor Hadrian. <br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/17000/17359.jpg "Barrasford")
![Six miles north of Hexham (as the crow flies) stands the village of Chollerton. View west over the road junction in the village centre on 5 November 2007, looking towards the old Border Counties station.<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/17000/17360.jpg "Chollerton")
![The Border Counties station site at Wark, Northumberland, on 5 November looking back towards Hexham. Probably the best drained lawn in the village.<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/17000/17385.jpg "Wark")
![At the confluence of the North Tyne and the River Rede is the village of Redesmouth. Despite the spelling the station was known as Reedsmouth! Approach along the Border Counties line from Hexham on 5 November 2007. On the left is the route to Riccarton Junction, while on the right is the Wansbeck Valley line to Morpeth. The tall building is the converted signal box with the station building beyond.<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/17000/17432.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![Standing on the Border Counties trackbed at Reedsmouth on 5 November looking back towards the junction. The viewpoint shows the height of the former signal box. Note the garden ornament.<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/17000/17434.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![The old 2-road locomotive shed at Reedsmouth standing to the north of the station on the east side of the Border Counties line. The shed, which ended its life as a sub-shed of Blaydon (52C), has been put to use by the local farmer. The photograph, taken in November 2007, more than 40 years after closure, shows rails still present in the foreground. <br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/17000/17436.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![The old Border Counties station building at Bellingham on 5 November 2007 with the usual chilly and slightly uncomfortable aura surrounding it. My thoughts, as always, turn to Stephen King's <I>The Marsten House</I>... (add sound of creaking floorboard and owl hooting)<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/17000/17629.jpg "Bellingham (North Tyne)")
![Running along the overgrown cutting on the left, the Border Counties line arrived at Tarset, some 20 miles north of Hexham. The former station, now a fairly secluded private residence, is seen looking southeast towards Bellingham from the road bridge on 5 November 2007.<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/17000/17630.jpg "Tarset")
![Falstone station, undergoing further conversion to residential/holiday accomodation. The platform side is seen here lit by a low winter afternoon sun on 5 November 2007. The stone signal box at the far end of the platform has been subsumed within the overall structure as a result of the insertion of a new extension (green section) between it and the main building, while modifications have also been carried out to the front of the old station. View south east along the Border Counties trackbed towards Bellingham. <br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/17000/17659.jpg "Falstone")
![<I>'This station must be one of the least important in the British Islands, serving as it does so sparsely populated a district. No proper roadway leads to it, access being by a footpath across a field. It is under the charge of one female official, who is empowered to issue tickets to but six stations...'</I> [The Border Line, James Logan Mack, 1924.] Deadwater station in 2007, the border lies just behind the camera.<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/17000/17665.jpg "Deadwater")
![The only Scottish station on the Border Counties line was Saughtree, around 2 miles north of the border, seen looking back towards Deadwater on 5 November 2007. Restoration work, including some relaying of track, has taken place here since closure in 1956, plus the arrival of a diesel locomotive and wagons. From here the line ran south west to skirt Saughtree Fell, before turning north again to reach Riccarton Junction. <br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/17000/17752.jpg "Saughtree")
![The converted station building still standing on the platform at Reedsmouth, seen here on 5 November 2007 looking northeast from the trackbed of the Border Counties line to Riccarton Junction. The Wansbeck Valley line to Morpeth ran along the far side of the wide island platform.<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/18000/18042.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![The southern approach to Reedsmouth on 5 November 2007, some 51 years after withdrawal of passenger services. The tall converted signal box is nearest the camera with the main station building further along the island platform. On the nearside is the trackbed of the Wansbeck Valley line to Scotsgap and Morpeth, while on the west side was the Border Counties line to Riccarton Junction.<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/19000/19664.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![The remote Border Counties station at Tarset on 5 November 2007, more than 50 years after closure. View is south along the former station approach from the main road looking towards Reedsmouth, with the trackbed of the Riccarton Junction - Hexham line running along a cutting to the left of the privately owned 1861 station building. <br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/21000/21691.jpg "Tarset")
![Approaching Reedsmouth from the north in November 2007 along the trackbed of the Border Counties line from Riccarton Junction. The station had been closed to passengers for over half a century by this time. Just beyond the converted signal box was the juction with the Wansbeck line from Morpeth which came in from the east on the other side of the station, beyond which the line continued south towards Hexham.<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/26000/26986.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![The former station at Wark, Northumberland, in November 2007. The line ran along the other side of the buildings and the view is south towards Hexham. Wark station closed to passengers in October 1956. [See image 17385]<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/42000/42137.jpg "Wark")
![<I>'Sub to Blaydon (52C)'</I> was how the old 2-road Border Counties locomotive shed at Reedsmouth was described at the time of its official closure in September 1952. The modifield building is seen here in use by the local farmer in 2007, with rails still in place. View is north with Reedsmouth station behind the camera.<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/46000/46054.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![The impressive skew arch viaduct that once carried the Border Counties line over the A6079 a quarter of a mile south of Chollerton station, seen here in November 2007. [Ref query 178].<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2007]](/images/57000/57304.jpg "Chollerton")
![The northern extremities of Kielder Water seen looking south from the ramparts of Kielder Viaduct on the former Border Counties Railway on 7 November 2007. At 200 billion litres, Kielder is the largest man made lake in Europe. <br><br>[John Furnevel 07/11/2007]](/images/17000/17570.jpg "Kielder Viaduct")
![Kielder Viaduct looking northwest on 7 November 2007. <br><br>[John Furnevel 07/11/2007]](/images/17000/17571.jpg "Kielder Viaduct")
![View north towards the former Kielder station (Renamed Kielder Forest in 1948) on 7 November, with the overgrown trackbed of the Border Counties Railway running off to the left of the road on its way to Riccarton Junction. In the background stands part of the massive Kielder Forest itself.<br><br>[John Furnevel 07/11/2007]](/images/17000/17572.jpg "Kielder Forest")
![View near the site of Plashetts station on 8 November 2007, taken from the west side of Kielder Water, with the remains of the station and sidings now lying below the reservoir. The coal found in the hills above Plashetts was one of the key factors in the decision to build the Border Counties line. <I>Slaters Incline</I>, down which loaded coal wagons (latterly from Far Colliery) were lowered to the sidings alongside Plashetts station, came in from the right. This was part of the original Plashetts Colliery Wagonway. [See image 26241]<br><br>[John Furnevel 08/11/2007]](/images/17000/17579.jpg "Plashetts")
![The station building at Kielder, closed in 1956, seen on 8 November 2007 looking north west. <br><br>[John Furnevel 08/11/2007]](/images/17000/17580.jpg "Kielder Forest")
![One of the later additions to the ironwork along the top of Kielder Viaduct commemorates the four companies who operated the Border Counties line. Seen here on 8 November 2007.<br><br>[John Furnevel 08/11/2007]](/images/17000/17581.jpg "Kielder Viaduct")
![View north west over the former level crossing towards the old station house at Thorneyburn in November 2007. The station, on the Border Counties line between Kielder and Bellingham, opened in 1861 and closed in 1956. <br><br>[John Furnevel 12/11/2007]](/images/17000/17646.jpg "Thorneyburn")
![Approaching the level crossing at Thorneyburn station, between Kielder and Bellingham on the Border Counties Railway in November 2007. View is north with the platform remains off to the right. The former station house on the other side of the crossing is now a private residence. [See image 17646]<br><br>[John Furnevel 12/11/2007]](/images/38000/38167.jpg "Thorneyburn")
![The trackbed of the Border Counties line at Falstone on 2 November 2010. The former station here has been converted to holiday accomodation. View is south towards Reedsmouth Junction and Hexham.<br><br>[John Furnevel 02/11/2010]](/images/31000/31527.jpg "Falstone")
![The old Border Counties station at Barrasford, looking north towards Reedsmouth on 25 September 2011. The station closed in 1956 although nowadays the building still sees regular use as the Barrasford Scout Centre.<br>
<br><br>[John Steven 25/09/2011]](/images/35000/35806.jpg "Barrasford")
![Sixty years after H.C. Casserley took a well known photograph from a Hexham bound train this photograph was taken from a northbound service on the approach to Saughtree courtesy of today's owners of the station, [Geoff & Meg Mann]. The station was beautifully restored from a ruin as a house. It is preserved in a wonderfully understated manner.<br><br>[Ewan Crawford 01/05/2012]](/images/38000/38722.jpg "Saughtree")
![Running down the east side of the Border Counties Railway for the first third of a mile was a long siding served by two platforms or loading banks one after the other on the east side of the line (the use of which I don't know). This siding allowed reversal into the coaling area and sidings to the east side of the junction. This view shows the southern of these two platforms and the view looks to Hexham.<br><br>[Ewan Crawford 01/05/2012]](/images/38000/38784.jpg "Riccarton Junction")
![On the southern approach to Reedsmouth Junction the base of two former signalposts can be seen. The view is looking north and the trackbed was to the right.<br><br>[Ewan Crawford 30/04/2013]](/images/43000/43305.jpg "Reedsmouth Junction")
![These carriages provide somewhere to eat at Bellingham (North Tyne). The museum is behind the camera and the view looks to Reedsmouth.<br><br>[Ewan Crawford 30/04/2013]](/images/43000/43308.jpg "Bellingham (North Tyne)")
![Looking west towards the site of Countess Park station, the temporary terminus of the Border Counties Railway from 1860 to 1861. Located just over a mile south of the village of Redesmouth, Countess Park consisted of a run-round loop and temporary platform. It closed when the line was extended north in February 1861.<br><br>[Ewan Crawford 30/04/2013]](/images/45000/45508.jpg "Countess Park")
![The railway viaduct at Tarset on the Border Counties line, photographed looking west on 30 April 2013. Looks like it has had a fair bit of attention over the years.<br><br>[Ewan Crawford 30/04/2013]](/images/45000/45524.jpg "Tarset")
![Located between Bellingham and Tarset, Charlton was the temporary terminus of the Border Counties Railway from 1861 to 1862. The terminus, consisting of a small timber platform and shelter, was located just south of Charlton House and remained marked on OS maps for some time after closure. This view looks west over the site in April 2013, from what would have been the platform end.<br><br>[Ewan Crawford 30/04/2013]](/images/45000/45623.jpg "Charlton [BCR]")
![Humshaugh opened as Chollerford but was later renamed after the larger, but more distant, village of that name. Closed with the Border Counties line in 1956, this view looks north towards Reedsmouth over the old station, now a private residence.<br><br>[Mark Bartlett 05/06/2013]](/images/43000/43325.jpg "Humshaugh")
![Wall station, the first on the Border Counties line out of Hexham, lies some way to the south of the small village it served. Since closure in 1956 it has become a private residence and has been extended. It is seen here from the A6079 road looking down towards the River North Tyne. There is a Mk1 BR coach at the north end of the station site.<br><br>[Mark Bartlett 06/06/2013]](/images/43000/43412.jpg "Wall")
![The old Bellingham station, closed in 1956, as seen from the road into the village from Redesmouth. It was later used as Council offices but has a plaque identifying its former role. [See image 1843] for the platform side view.<br><br>[Mark Bartlett 07/06/2013]](/images/43000/43579.jpg "Bellingham (North Tyne)")
![Remote doesn't really do justice to the countryside around Deadwater. Just to the north of the old station a platelayer's hut still stands alongside the Border Counties trackbed, nearly sixty years after closure. The abutments of an old overbridge can also be seen but the road itself has been straightened out across the old line. View looks north towards Saughtree and Riccarton Junction in June 2013. <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 07/06/2013]](/images/43000/43655.jpg "Deadwater")
![Just to the north of Tarset station is this splendid three arch skew bridge that once carried the Border Counties line over the Tarset Burn near the point where it joins the North Tyne. The bridge is being maintained in good order and the right hand arch has been lined with concrete. [See image 21691] for a view of the site of Tarset station itself. <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 07/06/2013]](/images/43000/43710.jpg "Tarset")
![Falstone, as seen from the roadside in June 2013, showing the extensions that have been made in converting the station into holiday accommodation. [See image 31527] for the platform side view. Neighbouring Plashetts station did not fare so well after closure as it was demolished and the site lies under Kielder Water. There are good photographs of all the Border Counties stations prior to closure on the excellent Disused Stations website. <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 07/06/2013]](/images/43000/43750.jpg "Falstone")
![Wark station looking south towards Barrasford. I had an interesting conversation with the owner, who has lived in the old station since 1960 just after freight services ended. The right hand side of the building as seen here was single storey but the first floor extension has been faced with local stone and so appears on first inspection to be part of the original building. The platform edging stones are at their original height but the surface behind sloped down towards the building causing damp problems. This section has therefore been dug out and a gentle slope away from the building towards the ramp put in - problem solved in a neat and ingenious way. <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 07/06/2013]](/images/43000/43940.jpg "Wark")
![The former Border Counties station at Bellingham in July 2013. The station closed to passengers in 1956, with the line back to Reedsmouth finally abandoned in 1963. The station building was subsequently put to use as Council offices. Behind the camera is Bellingham Heritage Centre. The coaches provide additional exhibition space and tea room facilities.<br><br>[John Yellowlees 06/07/2013]](/images/43000/43859.jpg "Bellingham (North Tyne)")
![Southern approach to Kielder Viaduct in November 2013. <br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2013]](/images/45000/45400.jpg "Kielder Viaduct")
![Looking north over the Kielder Burn alongside the viaduct on 5 November 2013. The Border Counties line continued north west from here before eventually meeting up with the Waverley route at Riccarton Junction.<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2013]](/images/45000/45417.jpg "Kielder Viaduct")
![Looking north towards the former Kielder Forest station in November 2013. The trackbed to the left has become heavily overgrown since closure [see image 27306] although little has changed significantly around here in the past sixty-odd years - with the exception of the number of trees and the volume of water.<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2013]](/images/45000/45435.jpg "Kielder Forest")
![View south from Kielder Viaduct in November 2013.<br><br>[John Furnevel 05/11/2013]](/images/45000/45446.jpg "Kielder Viaduct")
![The base of the former signal box at Bellingham, Northumberland, now in use as a store by the local council. Photographed on 6 November 2013 looking south over the fence from the heritage centre car park. The old station building is off to the right. [See image 1843] [Ref query 4787]<br><br>[John Furnevel 06/11/2013]](/images/45000/45381.jpg "Bellingham (North Tyne)")
![The 1861 station building at Bellingham looking north across Redesmouth Road (leading to Reedsmouth Station) on 6 November 2013. Note the bricked up pedestrian entrance alongside to the left. If anything, the old building looks even creepier from this side [see image 17629].<br><br>[John Furnevel 06/11/2013]](/images/45000/45490.jpg "Bellingham (North Tyne)")
![The two coaches located alongside the platform at Bellingham, seen here in November 2013, provide a tea room and exhibition space for the local heritage centre which stands off picture to the right. The old station building itself is used as offices by the local council.<br><br>[John Furnevel 06/11/2013]](/images/45000/45604.jpg "Bellingham (North Tyne)")
![Lineside remains alongside the trackbed of the Border Counties Railway approximately three quarters of a mile north west of Deadwater heading for Saughtree. View west from the road in November 2013. [Ref query 6299] <br><br>[John Furnevel 08/11/2013]](/images/45000/45769.jpg "Deadwater")
![Looking south from Kielder Viaduct on 18 April 2014.<br><br>[Colin Alexander 18/04/2014]](/images/47000/47047.jpg "Kielder Viaduct")
![Sunny day at Kielder. View south through the viaduct on 18 April towards Kielder Water.<br><br>[Colin Alexander 18/04/2014]](/images/47000/47072.jpg "Kielder Viaduct")
![View south east, Kielder Viaduct, April 2014. <br><br>[Colin Alexander 18/04/2014]](/images/47000/47113.jpg "Kielder Viaduct")
![The remains of the bridge that carried the Border Counties Railway over the River Rede just under a quarter of a mile north west of Reedsmouth station. Photographed on 20 May looking west from the adjacent road bridge. This section of the Border Counties line closed in 1963. [Ref query 6399]<br><br>[Peter Todd 20/05/2014]](/images/47000/47545.jpg "Reedsmouth")
![Scene at the former Saughtree station on the Border Counties Line on 3 May 2015, looking south towards Deadwater. [See image 38722]<br><br>[John Yellowlees 03/05/2015]](/images/51000/51179.jpg "Saughtree")
![This would be a perfect view with a steam engine, but a diesel will do nicely [see image 38722]. There is a permissive footpath from here to Riccarton Junction, but it is muddy and requires some fence climbing.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/07/2015]](/images/52000/52219.jpg "Saughtree")
![It’s a lean-to gym, but not as we know it. Looking North towards Riccarton, we see that Kielder Forest station [see image 42061] now serves the community in four ways: there are two houses in the former station building (right); a car service garage built on the trackbed (centre); and a gym in an annexe to the garage (left). Finally, the petrol pumps in the foreground are – unusually – operated by volunteer staff. There is a trackbed footpath South from here.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/07/2015]](/images/52000/52230.jpg "Kielder Forest")
![Railway workers' cottages at Saughtree, seen on a BLS visit. There seems to have been some tree clearance over the last 52 years [see image 41794]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/07/2015]](/images/53000/53975.jpg "Saughtree")
![The old Saughtree station is accessed via a rough track off the B6357. I think we can define its location as being 'off the beaten track'.<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/07/2015]](/images/60000/60121.jpg "Saughtree")
![Both the hole in the wall, and the track leading into it, are definitely not original features of these railwaymen's cottages at Saughtree. [see image 53975]<br><br>[Ken Strachan 10/07/2015]](/images/60000/60161.jpg "Saughtree")
![View north alongside the Border Counties Railway track bed, just south of Humshaugh station. This view looks north with the Chollerford bridge over the North Tyne visible on the left. The footpath leads to the Chesters Bridge Abutment, a nearby Hadrian's Wall antiquity. [Ref query 51674] <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 30/04/2016]](/images/54000/54990.jpg "Humshaugh")
![Humshaugh (pronounced Humshoff I'm assured) station closed in 1956 with the withdrawal of passenger services between Hexham and Riccarton Junction and is now a private residence. The old station is seen here, sixty years after the last passenger train left, from across the North Tyne river at Chollerford in April 2016. [See image 43325] <br><br>[Mark Bartlett 30/04/2016]](/images/55000/55126.jpg "Humshaugh")
