Kielder "The Green Dragon Railway"
The Green Dragon Railway
Fowler Saccharine being pulled up the incline by Fiji at the Statfold Barn Railway in March 2017.THTRail2013. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Several years ago there were plans to build a narrow gauge railway near Kielder Reservoir in Northumberland. The project was to be named "The Green Dragon" and would have been built on part of the trackbed of the Border Counties railway. A new terminus was planned near to Kielder castle (pictured below) with the railway rejoining the former Border Counties trackbed a short distance from there. Unfortunately the project never came to fruition. But, it is possible to walk the majority of the planned route. A grainy map of the proposed route does exist but it is difficult to make out some of the details of the route.
The line would have ran for just under 2 miles to a terminus at Gowanburn, near the site of Lewiefield Halt on the edge of Kielder Reservoir. Here a new landing for the reservoir ferry was to be constructed. This would have linked the village of Kielder with the rest of the Reservoir and it’s attractions for the first time.
The Route
As mentioned above the starting point for the new line was to be near the Castle (pictured below). After studying the map of the route that was made I’m guessing this new station was to be built near the nearby “Minotaur Maze”. I should point out that the orignal Kielder station does still exist. Located on the other side of the village it has now been converted into two private homes.
The narrow gauge line would have joined the orignal tracked a short distance from the orignal station site. This section of the railway would have had a Trestle bridge. Something not commonly seen on British railways. The below image shows where the GDR would have re-joined the Border counties railway.
Lakeside way lies behind the sign. A new bridge would also have been required here. Behind the camera is the trackbed towards Kielder Viaduct. The orignal route of the border Counties railway to Kielder station would've carried on straight ahead here.
The most impressive structure on the line is the 7 arch Kielder Viaduct. It was built in 1862 by the North British railway. Some reports suggest that the viaduct was submerged under Kielder water. I’m happy to report that this is not true!
©Copyright Brian Norman and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
A short distance passed the viaduct the main footpath branches off the old trackbed, which then becomes very overgrown. Thankfully the trackbed reemerges from the undergrowth a short distance away as the above photo shows it skirting the side of Bakethin Reservoir.
This view certainly shows how picturesque the Border Counties railway was. A short distance from here the trackbed was lost when the reservoir was constructed. The alignment of the Green Dragon would have swung inland close to the course of the forestry access road. From here it would have crossed over a small burn before rejoining the old trackbed close to the site of Lewiefield Halt.
Unfortunately I could not find the remains of Lewisfield halt because the trackbed was overgrown and hard to walk. I believe the above shot was taken near the site of the halt which would have been the terminus of the GDR.
From here the majority of the trackbed has been lost under when the reservoir was constructed. Although, as the below shot shows when the water is low in some areas it is possible to catch a glimpse of the trackbed. The trackbed reemerges near Falstone and remains pretty much intact all the way back down to Hexham.
Locos & Rolling Stock
©Copyright Chris Allen and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
The project got as far as buying at least one steam locomotive and coach This was. Fowler 0-4-2 "Saccharine" (pictured above) Which, would have been named “Green Dragon” after the project. The plan was for the loco to burn wood waste briquettes instead of coal. I’ve also seen reference to the project also buying a loco manufactured by Feldbahn. Although I can’t be certain of its identity and current location.
© Copyright Alan Murray-Rust and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence
The project also ordered one coach which, Like the Fowler this was sold to the Statfold Barn railway. The coach can be seen in the above photo. During the winter of 2007 the coach was displayed at leaplish waterside park on the shore of Kielder Reservoir. It was the only item of rolling stock from the project to have visited the area. Further coaches to the same design have been built for use at Stafold.
For a time the Fowler was stored at Alston on the South Tynedale Railway. This railway now has its own “Green Dragon” which runs on wood waste briquettes. Perhaps in years to come we’ll see more steam locomotives converted to run on these briquettes?
Final thoughts
It’s a massive shame this project never happened. I can’t say for definite why. But, perhaps the remote location of Kielder had something to do with it. From what I can tell there are no public transport links to the area. Despite being a beautiful location there are not a lot of other things to do in the area. Maybe if the area was to be developed a bit more as a tourist location then there would be calls for a heritage railway?
© Copyright Les Hull and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Although this scheme never took off there are some preserved sections of the Border Counties railway. North of Kielder the station at Saughtree has been restored complete with a short section of track and a Ruston diesel shunter, which occasionally runs (Pictured above).
Heading in the opposite direction the station at Bellingham has also been restored. The site now has a visitor center and a two carriage multiple unit (Southern Region 4-TC) which serves as a tea room. A number of the other stations on the line also survive as private dwellings. Wall station close to Hexham has MK1 coach and short section of track alongside the platform.
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