Egremont | |
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General information | |
Location | Egremont, Cumbria, Copeland England |
Coordinates | 54°29′10″N3°31′44″W / 54.4861°N 3.5289°W |
Grid reference | NY010111 |
Platforms | 2 [1] |
Other information | |
Status | Disused |
History | |
Original company | Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway |
Pre-grouping | LNWR & FR Joint Railway |
Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway |
Key dates | |
1 July 1857 | Opened |
7 January 1935 | Closed to passengers |
11 March 1940 | Reopened to workmen's trains [2] |
8 April 1940 | Closed |
6 May 1946 | Reopened |
16 June 1947 | Closed, but remained open for workmen's trains [3] |
6 September 1965 | Workmen's trains ended [4] |
11 December 1969 | School service ended, station closed [5] |
Location | |
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Egremont railway station was built by the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway as the first southern terminus of what would become the Moor Row to Sellafield branch. In 1878 the company was bought out by the LNWR and Furness Railway who operated the line jointly until grouping in 1923.
The station was towards the northern end of the town, in Cumbria, England. [6] [7]
The line was one of the fruits of the rapid industrialisation of West Cumberland in the second half of the nineteenth century, opening to passengers on 1 July 1857.
The station remained as the railway's southern terminus until 1869 when the company, in partnership with the Furness Railway, built a southern extension from Egremont to the coast line at Sellafield, with an intermediate station at Beckermet. This enabled traffic from the Cleator Moor and Rowrah areas, especially iron ore, to move much more readily southwards.
In 1922 eight northbound passenger trains left Egremont, two connected with trains to Whitehaven at Moor Row, all the others continued there without a change. A Saturdays Only evening train terminated at Moor Row. The southbound service was similar. There were no Sunday trains. [8]
The LNWR and Furness Joint Railway divided traffic responsibilities so that passenger traffic through the station was usually worked by the Furness Railway. [9] [10]
A three times a day unadvertised workmen's service from Moor Row to Beckermet Mines began on 15 January 1912, calling at Woodend, Egremont and St Thomas Cross Platform. [11] It is not yet clear when this came to an end or if other services were provided.
Goods traffic was typical of an industrial area, sustaining sidings and goods depots long after passenger services were withdrawn. [12]
In 1946, the Milk Marketing Board opened a dairy on the eastern side of the goods yard. The dairy had a siding where milk tanks were filled and was worked by its own diesel shunter. These tanks were worked to Carlisle and then south down the West Coast Mainline to London.
Mineral traffic was the dominant flow, though this was subject to considerable fluctuation with trade cycles. A considerable amount of iron ore travelled south through and from Egremont bound for the furnaces of Millom and Barrow-in-Furness.
Stations and signalling along the line south of Rowrah were changed during the Joint regime to conform to Furness Railway standards. [13]
The station closed on 7 January 1935 when normal passenger traffic ended along the line.
Life flickered briefly in Spring 1940 when workmen's trains were reinstated to support a period of high activity building the Royal Ordnance Factory at Drigg, but that lasted less than a month. [4]
A public Sellafield-Egremont-Moor Row-Whitehaven service was reinstated on 6 May 1946, only to be "suspended" on 16 June 1947, a victim of the post-war fuel crisis. Bradshaw still listed the service as Suspended in 1949. [4] It was never reinstated. [14]
Workmen's trains to Sellafield ended on 6 September 1965. [15]
Remarkably, a wholly new unadvertised passenger service started in September 1964, conveying pupils to Wyndham School in Egremont from Seascale in the morning then home after school. Initially this comprised eight steam-hauled carriages, ending typically formed of a pair of Derby Lightweight 2-car units. Sources differ on when this service ended:- 3 March 1969 [2] or 11 December 1969. [5]
Iron Ore from Beckermet Mines continued to pass through the station site until 1980, after which the line was closed and lifted. [16] [17]
By 2013 satellite images appeared to show that the route through Egremont was a sliver of Public Open Space. The route of the line south of Egremont through to the junction with the Cumbrian Coast Line can be traced on satellite images with some ease, forming the western boundary of the village of Thornhill, passing to the west of the centre of the village of Beckermet and curving to join the coast line between the bridge over the River Ehen and Sellafield Station.
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
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Woodend Line and station closed | LNWR & FR Joint Railway | St Thomas Cross Platform Line and station closed |
Workington Central railway station was opened by the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway (C&WJR) in 1879 to serve the town of Workington in Cumberland, England. It was situated almost half a mile nearer the town centre than its rival Workington station.
Moor Row railway station was built by the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway. It served the village of Moor Row, Cumbria, England.
Beckermet railway station is a disused rail station located in the village of Beckermet in Cumbria.
Woodend railway station was planned by the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway on its Sellafield to Moor Row branch, but by the time the station opened the company had been bought out by the LNWR and Furness Railway who operated the line jointly until grouping in 1923.
Cleator Moor has had three passenger stations:
Cleator Moor West railway station was opened as "Cleator Moor" by the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway (C&WJR) in 1879. It served the growing industrial town of Cleator Moor, Cumbria, England.
Arlecdon railway station served the village of Arlecdon in the former English county of Cumberland, now part of Cumbria.
Rowrah railway station was built by the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway. It served the village of Rowrah, Cumbria, England.
Winder railway station was built by the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway. It served the village of Winder, Frizington, Cumbria, England.
Yeathouse railway station was a later addition to the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway. It served the communities of Yeathouse and Eskett, near Frizington, Cumbria, England.
Frizington railway station was built by the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway. It served the industrial Parkside area of Frizington, Cumbria, England.
St Thomas Cross Platform was a railway station used by workmen's trains on the Moor Row to Sellafield line on what is now the southeastern, Cringlethwaite, edge of Egremont, Cumbria, England.
Beckermet Mines railway station was situated at Pit No.1 of the mine of the same name. It was used by workmen's trains which travelled along a branch which curved eastwards off the Moor Row to Sellafield line, primarily to handle the iron ore lifted at the site.
Distington railway station was opened jointly by the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway (C&WJR) and the LNWR and Furness Joint Railway on 1 October 1879. It was situated on the northern edge of the village of Distington, Cumbria, England, where the C&WJR's north–south main line crossed the Joint Line's east–west Gilgarran Branch.
Harrington railway station, or Church Road halt, was a railway station in Harrington, Cumbria, England. It was opened by the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway (C&WJR) on the company's Harrington Branch which connected with the Lowca Light Railway at Rosehill to provide a through route from Lowca to Workington Central and beyond.
Rosehill railway station was opened by the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway (C&WJR) on the company's Harrington Branch which connected with the Lowca Light Railway (LLR) at Rosehill to provide a through route from Lowca to Workington Central and beyond.
Siddick Junction railway station was opened by the Cleator and Workington Junction (C&WJR) and London and North Western Railways in 1880 to provide exchange platforms for passengers wishing to change trains from one company's line to the other. A passenger travelling from Maryport to Distington, for example, would change at Siddick Junction. As a purely exchange station - like Dovey Junction and Dukeries Junction elsewhere in the country - the owning companies would not need to provide road or footpath access or ticketing facilities as no passengers were invited to enter or leave the station except by train.
Buckhill Colliery Halt railway station was an unadvertised halt for workers at Buckhill Colliery north east of Camerton, near Cockermouth in Cumberland, England.
Oatlands railway station served the village of Pica and Oatlands Colliery in the former English county of Cumberland, now part of Cumbria.
Parton Halt railway station was opened by the LNWR and FR Joint Railway in January 1915 and closed by the LMSR fourteen years later in 1929.