The LNER Encyclopedia

I'm building a model of Alnwick goods shed at the moment and I'd like to, where possible, include the sort of goods that would have passed through the goods shed here. Can anyone advise, apart from general goods likely to go through Alnwick or any other NER goods shed, is there anything peculiar to Alnwick and the local area that would be loaded through the shed, or unloaded from it? Coal of course would be unloaded at the coal drops, animals at a cattle dock or exterior loading platform, so assume it would be more perishable goods, foodstuffs etc (although gather milk and parcels would all have been offloaded at the passenger station)

Fishing rods were a speciality of Alnwick with at one time 3 top manufacturers in the town. I only remember them as parcels traffic being loaded at platform 2

Goods handled at Alnwick in 1913 are listed as:
Building stone 2304 tons, Grain 1754 tons, livestock 1380 wagons. Other goods that totalled less than 100 tons were not recorded.
Coal was not itemised, but will have been quite heavy traffic. Other commodities handled will have been:
Agricultural machinery, lime, milk, animal foodstuff and fertiliser and malt in addition to the normal goods that would be handled at any depot at the time. Alnwick brewery received grain and despatched barrelled and bottled beer.
In the summer, large quantities of strawberries were despatched - they were grown on Alnwick Moor, and there would be many thousands of fleeces handled each spring.
In the 1950’s large numbers of rabbits were despatched in baskets, usually by passenger train.
Later, there were 2 depots that handled oil and petrol, one was situated a couple of hundred yards from the goods yard and the other, much larger one, about half a mile along the branch; so oil tankers will have been seen in the yard.
There was also a Sawmill just along the Cornhill branch which was rail served.

Rob

If you haven’t already got it, I would recommend you get a copy of Ken Hoole’s North Eastern Branch Line Termini. It has scale drawings of the track plan and most of the buildings, along with the usual selection of very useful photographs.

I have re-done my Flickr album on Alnwick which now includes a number of views from the Armstrong Railway Photographic Trust - many thanks to them for permission to use.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/irishswis ... 7666455361

Ernie