8/12/2017 Beckermet railway station - Wikipedia

Beckermet railway station

Coordinates: 54.4450N 3.5198W

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Tracks were laid southwards from Whitehaven and Moor

Row as far as Egremont by the Whitehaven, Cleator and Beckermet
Egremont Railway, opening to passengers on 1 July 1857.

By the 1860s the company sought to extend southwards from

Egremont to meet the coastal line at Sellafield, aiming for
Millom, Barrow-in-Furness and beyond. The Furness
opposed this, but the two companies came to an
accommodation and built the Egremont to Sellafield
extension as a joint line. Beckermet railway station was the Beckermet railway station, 1961
sole intermediate passenger station on the extension.
Location
The station was on the western edge of the village, in Place Beckermet, Cumbria
Cumbria, England.[7][8]
Area Copeland
Coordinates 54.4450N 3.5198W

Contents Grid NY015065

reference
1 History Operations
2 Services
3 Rundown and closure Original LNWR & FR Joint Railway
4 Afterlife company
5 See also Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish
6 References
Railway
6.1 Sources
7 Further reading Platforms 2[1][2][3]
8 External links History
2 August 1869 Opened
7 January Closed to passengers
History 1935

The line to Egremont was one of the fruits of the rapid 11 March Reopened to workmen's trains[4]
industrialisation of West Cumberland in the second half of 1940
the nineteenth century, opening to passengers on 1 July 1857. 8 April 1940 Closed
Egremont remained as the railway's southern terminus until
1869 when the company, in partnership with the Furness 6 May 1946 Reopened
Railway, built a southern extension from Egremont to the 16 June 1947 Closed[5]
coast line at Sellafield, with an intermediate station at 1953 Reopened for workmen's trains to
Beckermet. This enabled traffic from the Cleator Moor and
Sellafield
Rowrah areas, especially iron ore, to move much more
readily southwards. 6 September Workmen's trains ended[6]
1965
Services Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain
In 1922 five northbound passenger trains left Beckermet, two A B C DF G HJ KL MO PR S TV WZ
connected with trains to Whitehaven at Moor Row, all the
others continued there without a change. A Saturdays Only UK Railways portal
evening train terminated at Moor Row. The
southbound service was similar. There were no Whitehaven, Cleator
Sunday trains.[9] & Egremont Railway
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The LNWR and Furness Joint Railway divided Cleator and Workington
traffic responsibilities so that passenger traffic Junction Railway
Cumbrian Coast line Cockermouth and
through the station was usually worked by the to Carlisle Workington Railway
Furness Railway.[10][11] Marron Junction
Workington Central
Goods traffic was typical of an industrial area, Workington Main Bridgefoot
sustaining sidings and goods depots long after Harrington
passenger services were withdrawn.[12] Parton Halt Branthwaite
Distington
Mineral traffic was the dominant flow, though Gilgarran Branch
this was subject to considerable fluctuation with Distington Works
trade cycles. A considerable amount of iron ore Ullock
travelled south through Beckermet bound for the Parton Lamplugh
furnaces of Millom and Barrow-in-Furness.
Rowrah
Stations and signalling along the line south of Whitehaven Summit
Rowrah were changed during the Joint regime to Winder
conform to Furness Railway standards.[13] Whitehaven Tunnel
Yeathouse
Corkickle Eskett
Rundown and closure Eskett Junction
Mirehouse Junction Frizington
The station closed on 7 January 1935 when
Moor Row Cleator Moor West
normal passenger traffic ended along the line.
Cleator Moor East
Life flickered briefly in Spring 1940 when St Bees Cleator Moor (first)
workmen's trains were reinstated to support a Woodend
period of high activity building the Royal St Bees Golf Halt Gillfoot
Ordnance Factory at Drigg, but that lasted less Egremont
than a month.[6] Nethertown St Thomas Cross
Platform
Beckermet Mines
A public Sellafield-Egremont-Beckermet-Moor Braystones Beckermet
Row-Whitehaven service was reinstated on 6
May 1946, only to be "suspended" on 16 June Sellafield
1947, a victim of the post-war fuel crisis. Cumbrian Coast line
to Barrow-in-Furness
Bradshaw still listed the service as Suspended in
1949.[6] It was never reinstated.[14]

Workmen's trains to Sellafield ended on 6 September 1965.[15][6]

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[4] or 11 December 1969.[16] Sources are silent on whether this
called at Beckermet or passed straight through.

Afterlife
By 2013 satellite images appeared to show that the Beckermet station site was Public Open Space, though the
village had expanded towards the station site.

Preceding station Disused railways Following station

St Thomas Cross Platform Sellafield

Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont and Furness Jount Railway
Line and station closed Line and station closed

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See also
Furness Railway
Cleator and Workington Junction Railway
Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway

References
1. Robinson 2002, p. 39. 11. Quayle 2007, p. 38.
2. Bairstow 1995, p. 33. 12. Quayle 2007, p. 79.
3. Webb & October 1964, p. 787. 13. W McGowan Gradon's 1942 Furness Railway
4. Croughton, Kidner & Young 1982, p. 142. study, via cumberlandarchives.co.uk (http://ww
5. Butt 1995, p. 90. w.cumberlandarchives.co.uk/content/view/239/4
6. Quayle 2007, p. 87. 8/1/13/)
7. Smith & Turner 2012, Map 26. 14. Marshall 1981, p. 116.
8. Jowett 2000, Map 36. 15. Suggitt 2008, p. 56.
9. Bradshaw 1985, p. 510. 16. Quayle 2007, pp. 87-8.
10. McGowan Gradon 2004, p. 12.
11. Quayle 2007, p. 38.
Sources

Anderson, Paul (April 2002). Hawkins, Chris, ed. "Dog in the Manger? The Track of the Ironmasters".
British Railways Illustrated. Clophill: Irwell Press Ltd. 11 (7).
Bairstow, Martin (1995). Railways In The Lake District. Martin Bairstow. ISBN 1-871944-11-2.
Bradshaw (1986) [1922]. Bradshaw's July 1922 Railway Guide (reprint). Guild Publishing London.
Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger
station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd.
ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199 (https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/60251199).
Croughton, Godfrey; Kidner, Roger W.; Young, Alan (1982). Private and Untimetabled Railway
Stations, Halts and Stopping Places X 43. Headington, Oxford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0 85361 281
1.
Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to
the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137
(https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/22311137).
McGowan Gradon, W. (2004) [1952]. The Track of the Ironmasters: A History of the Cleator and
Workington Junction Railway. Grange-over-Sands: Cumbrian Railways Association. ISBN 0-9540232-2-
6.
Marshall, John (1981). Forgotten Railways: North West England. Newton Abbot: David & Charles.
ISBN 0 7153 8003 6.
Quayle, Howard (2007). Whitehaven: The Railways and Waggonways of a Unique Cumberland Port.
Pinner: Cumbrian Railways Association. ISBN 978-0-9540232-5-6.
Robinson, Peter W. (2002). Cumbria's Lost Railways. Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 1 84033 205 0.
Smith, Paul; Turner, Keith (2012). Railway Atlas Then and Now. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978 0 7110
3695 6.
Suggitt, Gordon (2008). Lost Railways of Cumbria (Railway Series). Newbury: Countryside Books.
ISBN 978-1-84674-107-4.
Webb, David R. (October 1964). Cooke, B.W.C., ed. "Between the Solway and Sellafield: Part Two". The
Railway Magazine. London: Tothill Press Limited. 110 (762).

Further reading
British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas And Gazetteer. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. 1997 [1958].
ISBN 0-7110-0320-3.
Atterbury, Paul (2009). Along Lost Lines. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-2706-2.

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Bowtell, Harold D. (1989). Rails through Lakeland: An Illustrated Journey of the Workington-
Cockermouth-Keswick-Penrith Railway 1847-1972. Wyre, Lancashire: Silverling Publishing Ltd.
ISBN 0-947971-26-2.
Joy, David (1983). Lake Counties (Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain). Newton Abbot:
David & Charles. ISBN 094653702X.
Webb, David R. (September 1964). Cooke, B.W.C., ed. "Between the Solway and Sellafield: Part One".
The Railway Magazine. London: Tothill Press Limited. 110 (761).
Western, Robert (2001). The Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway OL113. Usk: Oakwood Press.
ISBN 0-85361-564-0.

External links
The station on overlain OS maps surveyed from 1898, via National Library of Scotland (http://maps.nls.u
k/geo/explore/#zoom=16&lat=54.4452&lon=-3.5207&layers=6)
The closed station on a 1948 OS Map, via npe maps (http://www.npemap.org.uk/tiles/map.html#301,506,
1)
Map of the line with photos, via RAILSCOT (https://www.railscot.co.uk/Whitehaven_Cleator_and_Egre
mont_Railway/index.php)
The railways of Cumbria, via Cumbrian Railways Association (http://www.cumbria-railways.co.uk/)
Photos of Cumbrian railways, via Cumbrian Railways Association (http://cumbrianrailways.zenfolio.co
m/)
The railways of Cumbria, via Railways_of_Cumbria (https://web.archive.org/web/20160322115319/htt
p://cumbrianrailways.org.uk/Railways_of_Cumbria.php)
Cumbrian Industrial History, via Cumbria Industrial History Society (http://www.cumbria-industries.org.
uk/a-z-of-industries/railways/)
The line's and station's Engineer's Line References, via railwaycodes.org.uk (http://www.railwaycodes.or
g.uk/ELRs/_mileages/W/WET.txt)
Furness Railtour using many West Cumberland lines 5 September 1954, via sixbellsjunction (http://www.
sixbellsjunction.co.uk/)
A video tour-de-force of the region's closed lines, via cumbriafilmarchive (http://thecumbriafilmarchive.c
om/#/cumbrias-lost-lines/4545854062)

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