The last surviving member of railway workers who helped keep an isolated Cumbrian town alive during one of Britain’s harshest winters is holding a talk on the matter next month.

Harold Bowron, 80, lives in Alston, and worked on the railroad as a clerk during the winter of 1962/63.

The Met Office said that winter is one of the coldest on record, with temperatures so low the sea froze in places, and blizzards, snow drifts, blocks of ice, and temperatures lower than -20C were seen.

Alston is very high up and experienced some of the worst of the winter in the county.

“It was cut off, so all the animals were fed from the air – there were helicopter drops all around Alston to feed the sheep and cattle.

“The only way into Alston was by rail, and that’s where we came in,” Mr Bowron said.

“There were 13 miles from Haltwhistle to Alston, and only two of us left who worked on the railway – a lad from Haltwhistle called Alan Walton, and I was the clerk.”

News and Star: Harold BowronHarold Bowron (Image: Ollie Rawlinson)

A van from South Shields would arrive at Haltwhistle with bread and cakes, the next van would bring animal carcasses for butchers, the third would have beer, and the fourth would be milk churns for farmers.

All this was loaded onto a passenger train led by a snow plough on the rail into Alston.

“We were walking above the cross pieces on telegraph poles, that’s how bad the snow was.”

The trains kept townsfolk alive for the six-week winter that seemed to never end, and for Mr Bowron it brought a strong sense of pride knowing how important his and his colleagues’ work was.

“You felt elated because you knew what you were doing.

“Snow ploughs were running from Newcastle to Carlisle, pushing the snow from one line to another, then they’d come back and push the snow back again – there was no room left at Haltwhistle station for snow, we couldn’t find anywhere to put it.”

Mr Bowron is the last living person who worked on the railway at the time, and he said despite his memories, the story has never fully been told regarding Alston.

Now, he’s calling on the people of Alston who have stories to share to tell a crowd at the Masonic Hall on April 19 at 7.30pm.

The local historical society are involved in the event, and the WI will provide catering.

Tickets for the event are £8, some going to the WI, and the rest going towards the South Tynedale Railway, which runs a miniature railway service which leaves from Alston.

After 30 years of retirement, Mr Bowron said he’s getting back to work as the South Tynedale Railways oldest ever volunteer, coming back to work on the very same railway in a different capacity, as full passenger services ceased in 1976.

“We need the stories of all those that lived in Alston,” he concluded.