Berwick-upon-Tweed: A CrossCountry Voyager standing at platform 1 of Berwick station waiting to take a service South
Graham Morgan 07/07/2010

Berwick-upon-Tweed

Location type

Station

Names and dates

Berwick (1846-1955)
Berwick-upon-Tweed (1955-)

Station code: BWK National Rail
Where: North East England, England
Opened on the North British Railway.
Opened on the Newcastle and Berwick Railway.
Open on the Edinburgh to Berwick.

Description

This is an island platform station. It is located at the north end of the Royal Border Bridge on the north bank of the Tweed.

The station was built on the site of Berwick Castle.

The original station was built slightly offset from the viaduct with a bypass line running down its west side, the station on a double track loop to the east. This had a trainshed and was partly built with stone from the demolished part of the castle.

The station was briefly the terminus of the line from North Bridge (now Edinburgh Waverley) until construction of the Royal Border Bridge by the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway in 1850.

The station was rebuilt to its present form by the London and North Eastern Railway between 1924 and 27, to a design planned by the North British Railway but delayed by the Great War and uncertainty over The Grouping in 1923. The main building is on the east side with a footbridge over to island platform.

The overall layout of the station has been, sidings to the west, station, and goods yard to the east, approached from the north. The goods yard site is now a car park.

Local

English Heritage - Berwick-upon-Tweed Castle and Ramparts

Tags

Terminus station

Aliases

Berwick-Upon-Tweed

External links

NLS Collection OS map of 1892-1914
NLS Collection OS map of 1944-67
NLS Map
NLS Map
NLS Map
NLS Map




Nearby stations
Tweedmouth
Scremerston
Velvet Hall
Burnmouth
Goswick
Ayton
Norham
Eyemouth
Beal
Reston
Reston [1st]
Chirnside
Twizell
Etal
Edrom
Berwick Roundhouse Shed
Royal Border Bridge
Berwick-upon-Tweed Guardhouse
Tweedmouth Power Box
Tweedmouth Shed
Scremerston Colliery and Tile Works
Mine
Scremerston Colliery Incline House
Tourist/other
Berwick Station Signal Box
Berwick Junction Signal Box
Berwick Central Signal Box
River Tweed
Berwick North Signal Box
Tweed Dock
Marshall Meadows Signal Box
Location names in dark blue are on the same original line.


Customs


Tax was still raised on spirits crossing the border from Scotland to England when the railway opened. Whisky could be confiscated from passengers, searching for spirits by customs leading to much delay, until an Act of Parliament removed the impediment.


Quicksilver


When first opened in 1846 Berwick-upon-Tweed was the end of the line from Edinburgh North Bridge, the Royal Border Bridge (1850) was unbuilt and the Newcastle and Berwick Railway (1847) was not yet open. Passengers to or from the south would travel via the 'Quicksilver' coach between Berwick and Newcastle.


Chronology Dates

18/06/1846North British Railway
Opened from Edinburgh to Berwick and the branch from Longniddry to Haddington. Stations opened at Edinburgh, Berwick. Further stations followed around 22 June.
  /  /1848Newcastle and Berwick Railway
Extended from Tweedmouth over the Royal Border Bridge to Berwick by the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway.
15/01/1897North British Railway
The North British Railway begins to operate the through trains from Edinburgh Waverley to London Kings Cross from Edinburgh as far as Berwick where the North Eastern Railway takes over.

News items

05/11/2023Woodend Bridge deck project begins on multi-use path [Border Telegraph]
24/07/2023'Stations need staff' - concerns over proposals that affect railway stations in Alnmouth, Berwick and Morpeth [Berwick Advertiser]
14/06/2023Major repair work completed at Royal Border Bridge [Network Rail]
26/05/2023Tweed Valley railway: Plan for proposed route to be revealed [Border Telegraph]
05/10/2022Berwick councillor accuses Transport Secretary of making U-turn on railway ticket offices [Berwick Advertiser]
30/07/2022Trains disrupted between Alnmouth and Berwick due to electricity failure [Berwick Advertiser]
03/03/2022Berwick 'would have key role' in bid to restore old rail links [Berwick Advertiser]
25/02/2022Repairs on the Royal Border Bridge [Rail Engineer]
20/01/2022Major repairs to Royal Border Bridge throughout 2022 community invited to learn more [Network Rail]
03/12/2021Protest event over proposal for Travel Centre at station [Berwick Advertiser]

Books


A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: Scotland - The Lowlands and the Borders v. 6 (Regional railway history series)

A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: The North-east v. 4 (A regional history of the railways of Great Britain)

Drem to Edinburgh: Including Gullane, Haddington, Tranent, Musselburgh and Fisherrow Branches (Scottish Main Lines)

Edinburgh St. Margaret's: The Story of the 'Other' Edinburgh Depot of the North British Railway 1845-1967

Exploring Disused Railways in East Scotland

Last Trains: Edinburgh and South East Scotland v. 1
LNER Wagons: Volume 3: Scottish Area: Ex North British and Ex-Great North of Scotland Railway Wagons
Newcastle (Rail Centres)

Newcastle To Alnmouth.: and the Amble Branch. (Eastern Main Lines.)

North British Railway in Northumberland, The

North British Railway, Vol. 1 (Standard Railway History)

North British Railway, Vol. 2 (Standard Railway History)

Signalling and Signal Boxes along the North British Railway, Great North of Scotland Railway and the CLC Routes

South East Scotland (British Railways Past & Present)

The Castle and the Bear: A Brief History of the North British Railway

The North British Railway a History
The North British Railway, Volume 1, One,
The Vanished Railways of Old Western Dunbartonshire (Britains Railways/Old Photos)

Vanished Railways of West Lothian