Step back in time with directors’ carriage
Heritage railway introduces a class act. Tony Henderson reports.
Visitors to a Northumberland heritage railway will be able to turn back the clock to the days when directors were a class apart from their passengers.
The Aln Valley Railway has restored the directors’ carriage which dates from 1896.
The North Eastern Railway carriage was equipped with its own kitchen, toilet and armchairs so that the directors and senior officers of the railway could travel in style.
Initially it was lit by oil lamps but there is evidence of both gas and electricity being used after 1911. The vehicle was later used as a dynamometer car, engineers’ saloon and tunnel inspection vehicle.
Now from April 4, it will be added to specified journeys on the Aln Valley line for passengers paying a £5 supplementary fee added to the normal ticket price.
“The carriage looked derelict when it arrived and it has been a major restoration job,” said railway spokesman Roger Jermy.
“The directors travelled in style in what was quite a sumptuous carriage.”
The project by the railway’s carriage team has involved restoration of the carriage’s wooden buffer beams, reconstruction of the veranda, attention to the roof and replacement of damaged panels, plus a full repaint. The restored interior contains the original furniture
“The public will now have a chance to ride in this historic vehicle like royalty,” said Roger.
The carriage will be in operation on 28 trips starting from April 4, 5, 6 and 25 until December.
The principal objective of the Aln Valley Railway Trust is the restoration and operation of the railway between Alnmouth and Alnwick, providing an additional tourist attraction for the area.
The project also aims to develop the railway corridor as a sustainable transport link as well as a recreational and educational resource for the local community and visitors.
Due to the building of the A1 bypass which cut the original track bed on the outskirts of Alnwick and the construction of industrial units and a supermarket on ex-railway land, a new station has been built on a greenfield site in Lloyd’s Field, adjacent to the Lionheart Enterprise Park just outside the town.
The Lionheart Station is parallel to the A1 and a permissive cycle path runs alongside the railway line, which will link up with the National Cycle Network at Alnmouth and the A1068 next to the A1.
This provides a safe corridor for cyclists, pedestrians and riders, and has also been proposed to form the basis for an educational nature trail.
The first phase of the project has seen a track laid from Lionheart to Greenrigg Halt which is acting as a temporary terminus until the line beyond and towards Alnmouth can be developed.
In related railway news, Tanfield Railway running between Gateshead and County Durham has been awarded a £130,000 grant by the Reece Foundation for a three-year initiative aimed at strengthening volunteer development and expanding engineering opportunities for young people.
The investment follows the railway’s 300th anniversary celebrations in 2025 and recent national recognition as the Heritage Railway Association’s “Railway of the Year.”
The funded programme, Tanfield Tracks: Pioneering People on the World’s Oldest Railway, will create a new People Development and Youth Engagement Manager role. This post will aim at growing the railway’s volunteer team to 300 individuals by 2027 and establish a more structured, professional approach to volunteer recruitment, training and retention.
The project will also deliver involvement with 300 young people aged 10–25, developing pathways into STEM through heritage engineering, restoration, and railway operations. Thirty young participants will take on dedicated volunteer roles, gaining experience designed to help overcome barriers to education and employment.
David Watchman, Tanfield Railway general manager, said: “Coming off the back of our incredible 300th anniversary in 2025 and our recent success at the Heritage Railway Association Awards, it is vital that we don’t just look back at our history, but firmly toward our future.
“This support from the Reece Foundation allows us to turn that anniversary momentum into a lasting legacy.
“People are at the centre of everything we achieve at Tanfield and by investing in a dedicated manager to manage, mentor and engage with our volunteers and the next generation, we are ensuring that the skills required to maintain the world’s oldest railway are passed across in our region, providing tangible STEM opportunities and a sense of pride in our shared industrial railway heritage.”