Since 1983, the South Tynedale Railway Preservation Organisation has been running and improving the railway as an incorporated society, building on the work of an informal group that began in 1973. The railway follows the historic Haltwhistle to Alston branch line of British Rail. The line, which opened in phases between 1851 and 1852, lasted more than a century before being closed in 1973 and 1976. A non-profit organisation was founded to take over the entire route, but its initial efforts were unsuccessful. A reorganised organisation, on the other hand, was successful in opening the first step of a small gauge railway in 1983. The railway has evolved and profited since then.