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The Furness and Midland Joint Railway was a joint railway in England owned by the Furness Railway and the Midland Railway. Construction was agreed in 1862 for a line from Carnforth, on the Furness system, to Wennington, on the Midland Railway line from Yorkshire to Morecambe. Royal assent was received in June 1863 and the contract for the route was let to Benton & Woodiwiss soon after at a cost of some £102,850. [1]
The 9½ mile line opened in April 1867 for freight, with passengers services beginning on 6 June of that year. These initially ran to a temporary depot near Furness & Midland Junction where the two lines met, as the connecting curve to the main Carnforth Joint station was not completed until 1880. The two companies agreed from the outset, that the Midland would work all traffic over the line and operate the stations; whilst the Furness would maintain the track and structures from its Engineer's Office in Barrow. But as the Midland had their own "in-house" Signalling Department, the Midland installed and maintained the signalling on the line. Soon after opening, the Midland transferred its existing Irish & Isle of Man steamer services from Morecambe (where the harbour was prone to silting and difficult to reach at low tide) to the newly extended dock facilities at Piel Pier, near Barrow and began running connecting trains over the Joint line to serve it. The line also carried significant quantities of freight - mainly minerals from the Barrow area headed for West & South Yorkshire and worked by the F.R as far as the exchange yards at Carnforth, where Midland locos would take over. The Midland also built its own locomotive depot near Carnforth East Junction (some distance east of the station) to service the locos that worked the route - this still stands today, although it is no longer in railway use.
The boat trains were transferred to a new station adjacent to the deep water Ramsden Dock at Barrow-in-Furness in 1881 but would end altogether in 1904 when the Midland opened its new rail-served port at Heysham [2] and moved its ferry routes there also. The line though remained a busy freight and passenger route right up until the 1923 Grouping (when the London Midland and Scottish Railway took over) and beyond.
Stations on the route were located at Melling, Arkholme and Borwick. Other notable structures include the 1230yd (1118m) Melling tunnel, a bridge over the Lancaster Canal at Capernwray and two viaducts near Arkholme, one of which takes the line across the River Lune.
The line is still in use today as part of the Leeds to Morecambe Line, although there are no stops - Melling station was closed as an economy measure in 1952, whilst the other two suffered the same fate when the local stopping service over the line was withdrawn by the British Transport Commission in September 1960. All three station houses survive and are still used as private dwellings. Trains continue from Wennington to Leeds over former "little" North Western Railway metals. The original connection along the northern side of the triangular junction between the Joint line and the Furness Line at Carnforth was removed in 1998 after several years of disuse, meaning that any through trains using the route to reach destinations toward Barrow now have to reverse at Carnforth station.
The Furness Railway (Furness) was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.
The North Western Railway (NWR) was an early British railway company in the north-west of England. It was commonly known as the "Little" North Western Railway, to distinguish it from the larger London and North Western Railway (LNWR).
The Furness line is a British railway between Barrow-in-Furness and Lancaster, joining the West Coast Main Line at Carnforth. A predominantly passenger line, it serves various towns along the Furness coast, including Barrow-in-Furness, Ulverston and Grange over Sands. It runs through Cumbria and Lancashire.
The Morecambe branch line is a railway line in Lancashire, England, from Lancaster to Morecambe and Heysham, where trains connect with ferries to Douglas, Isle of Man. To reach Heysham, trains must reverse at Morecambe.
Carnforth railway station serves the town of Carnforth in Lancashire, England. The building was designed by architect William Tite and was used as a location in the 1945 film Brief Encounter. It is now operated by Northern and situated 6 miles (9.7 km) north of Lancaster on the West Coast Main Line.
Melling-with-Wrayton is a civil parish in the City of Lancaster in the English county of Lancashire. It includes the village of Melling and the hamlet of Wrayton, to the northeast. The parish had a population of 290 recorded in the 2001 census, increasing slightly to 299 at the 2011 census.
Heysham Port railway station serves the port of Heysham in Lancashire, England. It is the terminus of the Morecambe Branch Line from Lancaster and is situated 4 1⁄4 miles (6.8 km) south of Morecambe.
Skipton railway station is a Grade II listed station which serves the town of Skipton in North Yorkshire, England on the Airedale Line, which gives Skipton access to destinations such as Leeds, Bradford, Carlisle, Lancaster and Morecambe. The station is operated by Northern Trains and is situated 27 miles (43 km) north-west of Leeds.
Hellifield railway station serves the village of Hellifield in North Yorkshire, England.
Bentham railway station serves the small town of High Bentham in North Yorkshire, England. It lies on the Leeds to Morecambe Line, between Wennington and Clapham, 19 miles (31 km) east of Lancaster. It is the nearest station to Ingleton, North Yorkshire and is owned by Network Rail.
Wennington railway station serves the village of Wennington in Lancashire, England. It is situated on the Leeds to Morecambe Line 15 3⁄4 miles (25 km) northeast of Lancaster and operated by Northern, who provide all passenger train services.
Morecambe Promenade Station was a railway station in Morecambe, Lancashire, England. It was opened on 24 March 1907 by the Midland Railway and closed in February 1994. After twelve weeks break in passenger service for the revision of track work and signalling a new Morecambe station was opened on a site closer to the town centre.
The Leeds and Bradford Extension Railway was an early British railway company in the West Riding of Yorkshire. It built a line from Shipley near Bradford through Keighley and Skipton to Colne. The Skipton–Colne Line closed in 1970, but the remainder of the line is still in use today, and once formed part of the Midland Railway's main line route from London to Glasgow.
Kildwick and Crosshills [sic] was a railway station off Station Road in Cross Hills, North Yorkshire, England. It served the villages of Cross Hills, Cowling, Glusburn, Kildwick and Sutton-in-Craven.
The Leeds–Morecambe line, also known as the Bentham line, is a railway line running between Leeds, Skipton, Lancaster and Morecambe in northern England. The service is operated by Northern. The route covered by the service was historically part of the Midland Railway. The line is electrified at 25 kV AC overhead between Leeds City and Skipton- this section is known as the Airedale line.
Arkholme for Kirkby Lonsdale railway station served the village of Arkholme in Lancashire, England. It is situated on what is now the Leeds–Morecambe line between the current Wennington and Carnforth stations.
Settle Junction railway station was located near the town of Settle, North Yorkshire, England, immediately to south of the junction between the Midland Railway's North Western and Settle-Carlisle branches, 39 3⁄4 miles (64.0 km) northwest of Leeds.
The Otley and Ilkley Joint Railway was a railway line running between the towns of Otley and Ilkley in West Yorkshire. The line was managed and run jointly by the Midland Railway (MR) and the North Eastern Railway (NER) and was 6 1⁄2 miles (10 km) long. Opened to passenger traffic on 1 August 1865 and freight traffic some months later, the line ran for almost 100 years before partial closure in July 1965 when the line to Otley closed. Today passenger services run over the rest of the line as part of the West Yorkshire Passenger Transport Executive (WYPTE) Wharfedale Line.
Morecambe Euston Road was the terminus station of the London and North Western Railway's branch line to Morecambe, in Lancashire, England. It closed in 1962, after which all trains to Morecambe used the nearby Morecambe Promenade station.
Borwick railway station formerly served the village of Borwick in Lancashire, England. It was located on the Furness and Midland Joint Railway line between Carnforth and Wennington, 3 miles (5 km) east of Carnforth Joint station.
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