Introduction The Tyne Valley Line is a scenic route linking the two northern cities of Newcastle and Carlisle. With both being important rail hubs, Newcastle being a key calling point on the East Coast Mainline, and Carlisle the same on the West Coast. Both stations have services to/from London and Scotland, and are always truly vibrant. The Tyne Valley Line roughly follows the route of the River Tyne, and is ~60 miles (97km) long, with 16 stations, with speeds of up to 65mph. The Route The Route is a key connection between the East and West Coast Mainlines, especially when one has closures. The Lines 16 stations are: - Carlisle - Wetheral - Brampton - Haltwhistle - Bardon Mill - Haydon Bridge - Hexham - Corbridge - Riding Mill - Stocksfield - Prudhoe - Wylam - Blaydon - MetroCentre - Dunston - Newcastle (Central) Let's take a tour. Starting at Newcastle, a major hub on the East Coast Main Line, the route begins with trains passing over either the King Edward VII Bridge or High Level Bridge (Depending on starting platform and/or how busy the station is). No matter the platform or bridge, all trains pass through the King Edward Bridge North and South junctions, where trains head for the Tyne Valley Line. After diverging left, and after a short tunnel section, where we pass under the East Coast Main Line, we exit the tunnel, and pass Norwood Junction - another link to the ECML - and Tyne Yard. The line speed drops to 25mph until after Dunston Station -once Tyne and Wear's least used station - After this, trains pick up speed before the first major stop at the MetroCentre shopping centre. We now pass Swalwell Junction - Commonly used by Reversing Trains - before reaching Blaydon station. Having stopped there, we then head to Wylam, the birthplace of the "Father of Railways" himself, George Stephenson! We now continue into the scenic centre of Northern England, where many market towns are served - such as Prudhoe Stocksfield, Riding Mill, and Corbridge. After these stations, our next major station is Hexham. Yet another market town, Hexham station is our First Terminus on route, with services to Nunthorpe (Ending at Newcastle in this representation) terminating here, more on them later. Leaving Hexham, the route continues past the site of the former Fourstones station, today having a Level Crossing. This is one of many closed/abandoned stations on the route. After this, we call at Haydon Bridge, Bardon Mill, Haltwhistle. The route then passes through Brampton station and finally Wetheral station. After this, the line then continues with no further stops to Carlisle. Here we find our terminus, and also meet the West Coast Mainline and the famous Settle - Carlisle line. Rolling Stock The route would be set a a fair few years back, with 3 Trains, and 2 operators: ScotRail (featuring the fabulous Saltire Livery) and Northern (Featuring the iconic Serco-Abellio livery (Debranded). Included - BR Class 142 The Class 142... Truly the Marmite of Great Britain's Railways. Well, there is an upside, the 142 would require a HP Mechanic. Jokes aside, the Pacers really are a unique bunch of Units, having served way longer than they were supposed to, and being hated by many, and loved by many. - BR Class 156 Liveries: ScotRail Saltire, Serco-Abellio Northern Rail (Debranded) The BR Class 156 "Super Sprinter" are DMUs built in the late 1980s by Metro-Cammell for British Rail. Today seeing service on a Variety of Operators, the 156 still are going strong, serving some of the UK's most scenic routes. - BR Class 158 Got to love a 158, eh? First introduced by British Rail many years ago in Scotland, the 158s became the predominant Express MU in the UK, serving everywhere from Cornwall to Wales, Scotland and the North. Layer(s) - BR Class 66 Layering from Great Western Express or East Coastway, the Class 66 would operate Freight along this line. - NTP Locos Operate Railtours Services Driveable Northern 1tph • Carlisle - Newcastle (For Morpeth) Calling at: Haltwhistle, Hexham, Prudhoe and MetroCentre. 1tph • Carlisle - Newcastle Wetheral, Brampton (1tp2h), Haltwhistle, Bardon Mill (1tp2h), Haydon Bridge, Hexham, Prudhoe and MetroCentre (if train calls at Brampton it skips Bardon Hill, and vice versa.) 1tph • Hexham - Newcastle (For Nunthorpe) All Stops Scotrail ??? • (From Glasgow Central) Carlisle - Newcastle Semi Fast It is also worth noting that Scotrail and Northern stock occasionally operate on each others services. AI Only (Using already existing stock only) Newcastle: 1tph • Morpeth - Carlisle: Extension of Carlisle - Newcastle services shown above. - Class 156, 158 2tpd • Chathill - here. - Class 156, 158 Carlisle: Northern: 1tph • to/from Lancaster - here - Class 156 1tp2h • to/from Leeds - Here - Class 158 1tp2h • to/from Leeds - here (again) - Class 158 ScotRail: 1tp2h To/from Glasgow Central - Here - Class 156 ~1tp2h To/From Dumfries - Here - Class 156 (1tpd in Northern Livery) So, why this route? Well, first off we have the fact that the last Northern English route was released back in the TSW1/2020 days, and also both (TVL and NTP) are in BR, we have yet to see a modern- or at least post-privatisation - Northern route. This route is probably one of the best for the job. It connects two large rail hubs, both on Highly-Requested routes (Just saying, with Carlisle here and Glasgow Central, that's two of WCMLN's complicated areas done with...), And also brings three iconic and highly-demanded locos to the came, the Class 156, Class 158 and Class 142. As anyone who owns Cathcart Circle will likely know, in the Pollockshields Area, a Diesel line branches off. This is the Glasgow Southwestern Line, which comes to Carlisle. (among other places) the 156 included here could layer on there for some extra life at Glasgow. Anyway, layers aside. I think this would be a fabulous choice for the next route for the UK, and bring the North back. Thanks for reading!
