This was how Ashington’s former railway station looked 30 years ago.
When our unflattering image was captured in October 1992, the station had been closed to passengers for 28 years - although freight trains would continue to use the line. It was a far cry from the booming early days. The station had opened in 1878 and was known as Hirst up until the late 1880s.
Ashington was one of many busy stops on the Blyth and Tyne line, the opening of which went hand in hand with the rapid growth of the coal industry in the area and linked the thriving towns and villages of South East Northumberland with Newcastle and stations in modern-day North Tyneside. Our second image, courtesy of the Armstrong Photographic Railway Trust, shows a pair of diesel passenger trains at an altogether smarter station in 1958.
