About the Station

A Bit of History -

The building: Barter Books is lucky to be located in part of a superb old Victorian railway station designed by William Bell in 1887. At 32, 000 sq. ft, the building is one of remarkable size and grandeur for a small market town. This is because, as seat of the Dukes of Northumberland, an impressive train station was deemed necessary in the 19th century to impress visiting royalty.The branchline, itself, however, was closed in 1968 with the notorious Beeching cuts. And it is one of the ambitions of the owners that it one day be restored (see the Aln Valley Railway Project). To find out more there are two excellent books for sale The Alnwick Branch by Bartle Rippon and The Alnwick and Cornhill Railway by John Addyman and John Mallon.

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A busy-looking station with trains waiting in both platforms in the mid-1950s. A V3 2-6-2T waits at Alnwick's platform one to depart with its train to Alnmouth. The white wooden building was a later addition that bacame the refreshment room; but in later years it was used as a store room where empty pigeon baskets were often kept (Rev John Parker)

Platform Two, where arrivals and departures to and from Alnmouth and Newcastle took place, stands empty waiting, for the next train. Today, this area has been transformed into the Barter Books Shop (Aln Valley Railway Society)

Platform 1 of Alnwick station with the Coldstream train waiting inside the relatively new train shed around 1887. The view displays the wonderful arched roof and stonework of the building. (Aln Valley Railway Society)

A panoramic scene of Alnwick station. The platform of the original station was used for goods traffic, and a gate was added to transform it into an unloading dock for cattle brought in for sale at the local markets. The small building towards the front is the weigh office. Not only are there three sidings full of cattle wagons, but a rake of early carriages stands in the sidings beside platform two. The Lion tower dominates the background skyline. (Roger Carpenter, Duncan Wilcox Collection)

The Prince and Princess of Wales, the future King George V and Queen Mary, are greeted at Alnwick Station in July 1908 by the Duke of Northumberland and other dignitaries. The station is well decorated with floral tributes, and the platform is lined with a company of the Northumberland Fusiliers. (Aln Valley Railway Society)

North Elevation as at 1887

North Elevation today. Right hand door was added after 1938 created for WH Smith's bookshop.

Evacuees from Newcastle on their way to the Northumberland Hall before being billeted in various parts of the district.

From the early 1850s, "No. 73", the very first railway locomotive between Alnwick and Bilton (later renamed Alnmouth) station.

The former coal office at Wagonway Road later became the weigh office for the adjacent weighbridge. This undated picture shows some of the staff posed in front of the office. (John Mallon Collection)

The site of the staith, located at the northern end of Wagonway Road, was used successively by the colliery wagonway and then North Eastern Railway, LNER and British Railways. In this photograph, dating from the BR era, three coal hoppers are positioned over the coal drops. (John Mallon Collection)

On the last day of steam working, 18th June 1966, K1 62011 is seen at Alnwick at 7.20am(John Newbiggin and Neville Stead

Later, class 9F 2-10-0 92099 enters Alnwick station from Alnmouth (John Newbiggin and Neville Stead)

A two-coach DMU stands at platform one waiting for passengers and its departure to Newcastle. It is post-1965 as track has been singled inside the train shed (G Harrop/Duncan Wilcock Collection)

Frank Clegg in 1964 with one of Alnwick's delivery wagons well loaded with bicycles and spades among the vast variety of sundries aboard (Margaret Clegg)

Alnwick station in August 1962. The Lion Tower, known locally as "The Farmers' Folly", stands proudly above the station roof (Aln Valley Railway Society)

Some of the ornate ironwork that could be found in and around Alnwick station. This view is of the entrance to platform one, from where all trains to Coldstream departed before closure of the Cornhill branch. (John Mallon)

On 19th March 1966, class K1 2-6-0 No 62011 stands in the west about to transfer its coaches to the east platform for a departure to Alnmouth (Ian S Carr)

Having moved its coaches into the east platform 62011 now awaits departure to Alnmouth (Ian S Carr)

Present Day - Take a tour

The interior: the bookshop is made up, principally, of seven rooms. Our entrance was the old Station Parcels' Room, which still has the open window with bars through which passengers would buy railway tickets. Just beyond that window was the original Station entrance, now a Children's Room. The middle room marks the beginning of the outbound platform, with the buffers at one end.

Off one side of this room and directly opposite what is now the Children's Room is a range of rooms which formed the central island of the station. These now contain the Old waiting room which remains a place for the public just to sit, read newspapers, enjoy the open fire, drink coffee - and just get away from it all, toilets and buffet. Flanking this range of rooms is the biggest room of the shop, part of the old outgoing platform where the trains stopped. (The demarcations of the well for the tracks, now filled in with concrete, are still clearly visible.)

About the Station

A Bit of History -

Present Day - Take a tour

One of the largest secondhand bookshops in Britain