he original Aln Valley railway was closed in the late 1960's and the track was removed. Thoughts of re-opening the branch line started in 1995, but due to the A1 road cutting across the old trackbed, a new site was chosen for a station on the South East side of the road. Construction began in 2012 and now is over half way to
Alnmouth. I think this was only the second or third year for the show, having had to cancel its 2020 event due to covid. Unfortunately the disruption and distraction due to covid, plus a local steam rally, meant that the event wasn't well supported by military vehicles, with only three WW2 vehicles and two post war attending, plus three classic cars across the weekend. It's a shame, as it has the making of a great event if better supported. There were a number of re-enactors there, plus the Seatones singing a number of shows across each day.
On both Friday and Saturday evenings, I went for a wander around the rail yard, to look at the locos and rolling stock. They have a few locos up and running, but only the 0-6-0 Austerity No.60 saddle tank loco ran during the weekend.
One display, at the bridge end of the platform, was a "Cold War" display. They had a couple of vehicles and a range of weapons from both NATO and Warsaw Pact forces. They went on frequent patrols around the site during the weekend.
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