Beal
The level crossing at the station in 1965
General information
Location	Beal, Northumberland England
Coordinates	55°40′37″N 1°54′10″W / 55.6769°N 1.9029°W / 55.6769; -1.9029
Grid reference	NU062426
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway
Pre-grouping	North Eastern Railway
Post-grouping	LNER British Rail (North Eastern)
Key dates
29 March 1847 (1847-03-29)	Opened
29 January 1968 (1968-01-29)	Closed

Beal railway station, also known as Beal for Holy Island railway station, was a railway station that served the village of Beal, Northumberland, England from 1847 to 1968 on the East Coast Main Line.

History

The station opened on 29 March 1847 by the York, Newcastle and Berwick Railway. It was situated just under a mile along the Holy Island Road which runs from the A1 to Holy Island. There was no footbridge or subway so the passengers had to switch between platforms via a level crossing. A large stone-built goods warehouse was provided to the northwest of the station which was entered via one of the two sidings. In 1941, Beal was one of the few stations to remain open during the period of the Second World War, the others being Alnmouth, Chathill, Tweedmouth and Belford. The goods warehouse was demolished sometime after British Rail formed. The station closed on 29 January 1968.^[1][2]

The local rail user group SENRUG has been campaigning since September 2016 to have local services on the Newcastle - Berwick - Edinburgh corridor increased with regular local commuter services extended northwards from Morpeth to Berwick-upon-Tweed and Edinburgh. As part of this campaign they have proposed that the former station at Beal should be reopened so as to improve public transport access to Lindisfarne and St Cuthbert's Way.^[3]

References