Lancaster and Carlisle Railway
Introduction
This line is open. It became part of the London and North Western Railway. The line famously crosses Shap Summit.
Dates
| / / | [Lancaster and Carlisle Railway] Takes over the Lancaster Canal, and thus the [Lancaster and Preston Railway]. Services to the south from Lancaster Penny Lane diverted to Lancaster Castle. |
| / /1846 | [Lancaster and Carlisle Railway] Line opened. |
| 09/06/1862 | [Eden Valley Railway] Opened from Kirkby Stephen ([South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway]) to Clifton (just south of Penrith [Lancaster and Carlisle Railway], the junction originally faced south). Engineer: {Thomas Bouch}. |
| / /1868 | [Settle and Carlisle Line] ([Midland Railway]) An agreement with the [London and North Western Railway] is reached over use of the [Ingleton Branch] ([Lancaster and Carlisle Railway]) and [Lancaster and Carlisle Railway] by the [Midland Railway]. The route would involve the [North Western Railway]. The [Midland Railway] tries to abandon the [Settle and Carlisle Line]. The [North British Railway] and the Lancashire and Yorkshire Railway block the abandonment. |
| / /1888 | [Lancaster and Carlisle Railway] [Caledonian Railway] Involved in the railway races to Edinburgh! |
| / /1900 | [Eden Valley Railway] Clifton Junction closed on opening of north facing junction with the [Lancaster and Carlisle Railway] at Eden Valley Junction. |
| / /1970 | [Caledonian Railway] [Lancaster and Carlisle Railway] [Lancaster and Preston Railway] [Preston and Wigan Railway] [Wigan Branch Railway] [Warrington and Newton Railway] [Grand Junction Railway] Weaver Junction (south of Warrington) to Glasgow electrification authorised. |
| 06/05/1974 | [Lancaster and Carlisle Railway] [Lancaster and Preston Railway] [Preston and Wigan Railway] Electric services begin. |
Locations along the line
These locations are along the line.
This was the junction between the approach to the original Lancaster [1st] terminus of 1840 and the extension north by the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway of 1846 which left the old terminus on a short branch.
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195115, working from Manchester Airport to Barrow, drops down the bank at Lancaster passing the site of Lancaster Old Junction on 14th October 2019. ...Mark Bartlett 14/10/2019
Recent cutting back of trees on the bank to the south of Lancaster has opened up the previously inaccessible site of Lancaster Old Junction. In this ...Mark Bartlett 14/10/2019
This is a five platform station.
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Delivery of the three-car CAF 195s seems to be nearing completion. Here is 195130, from a planned sub-class of thirty three units, on test at ...Mark Bartlett 04/10/2019
Freightliner 66607 takes the Up Through line at Lancaster (Castle) heading from Hardendale to Tunstead on 23rd October 2019. In Platform 3 195125 ...Mark Bartlett 23/10/2019
Ex LMS 4-6-0s, Jubilee no.45562 'Alberta' and Royal Scot no.46115 'Scots Guardsman' had just returned to Lancaster with the WCRC Santa Special trip to ...John McIntyre 24/11/2019
Melancholy Moment. DRS 37402 'Stephen Middlemore 23.12.54 - 8.6.2013' stands in Platform 5 at Lancaster (Castle) station waiting to form the ...Tony Jenkinson 19/05/2018
A bit of autumn sunshine as a nine-car Virgin Pendolino heads north at Morecambe South Junction on 28th October 2019. The signal (PN253) controlling ...Mark Bartlett 28/10/2019
A recent transfer from Scotrail to Northern, 158867 is still in Saltire livery and was on driver training duties between Preston and Carnforth ...Mark Bartlett 30/04/2019
A light load for DRS 66428 as it makes its way from Kingmoor to Crewe with a single DBSO, 9704, seen passing Morecambe South Junction on 11th May ...Mark Bartlett 11/05/2018
37403 Isle of Mull accelerates away from the Lancaster stop and is seen approaching Morecambe South Junction with 2C47, the Preston to ...Mark Bartlett 21/09/2017
Date of change of name assumed.
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37405 powers north through Hest Bank on 8th March 2018 with the daily Preston to Barrow-in-Furness service. ...Tony Jenkinson 08/03/2018
37403 'Isle of Mull' runs north through Hest Bank with the 1004hrs Preston to Barrow-in-Furness on 31st May 2017. ...Tony Jenkinson 31/05/2017
Portrait of a veteran. DRS 37059 leads three flasks from Heysham along the Bare Lane to Hest Bank chord on 12th April 2017. The former D6759 ...Mark Bartlett 12/04/2017
DRS 37609 brings up the rear of a two flask train from Heysham to Sellafield on 5th April 2017. The train is running along the chord from Bare Lane ...Mark Bartlett 05/04/2017
47760 accelerates hard through Bolton-le-Sands with the slightly delayed ECS from Carnforth to Lancaster for a Santa Special on 9th December ...Mark Bartlett 09/12/2018
A Pendolino, heading for Glasgow, passes through open Lancashire countryside on a low embankment as it approaches the level crossing at ...Mark Bartlett 28/01/2019
Neville Hill based Pacer 144005 runs south through Bolton-le-Sands with a Leeds to Morecambe service on 28th January 2019 ...Mark Bartlett 28/01/2019
Some of the Class 144 Pacers are reported to be moving to Transport for Wales to strengthen Valley Lines services when released from Northern in 2019. ...Mark Bartlett 09/12/2018
Another TPE test run is propelled past Cinderbarrow, near Burton and Holme, by 68025 'Superb'. The train was working from Carlisle to Bletchley having ...Mark Bartlett 25/06/2019
After several months of individual running the new TPE Class 397 EMUs are now being tested in pairs. Units 003 and 004 were working in multiple when ...Mark Bartlett 25/06/2019
Very near to Burton and Holme station [See image 22857] one of the lanes from Burton passes through this tunnel under the embankment that carries the ...Mark Bartlett 14/03/2009
A northbound Voyager catches the sun as it passes through southern Cumbria, close to the former station at Burton and Holme, on 18 February 2012. [See ...John McIntyre 18/02/2012
DRS 66303, with a Daventry to Coatbridge container service, runs north between the bridges at Elmsfield on 16th June 2015. The land in the foreground ...Mark Bartlett 16/06/2015
LMS Jubilee no.45690 Leander hauls a railtour south at Elmsfield on the WCML between Oxenholme and Carnforth on 12 September 2015. ...John McIntyre 12/09/2015
A Pendolino runs through the reverse curves between Hincaster Junction and Milnthorpe, Cumbria, on 17th September 2018 with an Edinburgh to Euston ...Mark Bartlett 17/09/2018
Colas 60087, with a Carlisle to Chirk log train on 16th June 2015, powers past the bridge at Elmsfield just south of Milnthorpe. The logs can be ...Mark Bartlett 16/06/2015
On yellows, because of a late running Windermere bound Sprinter just ahead, 390107 climbs slowly past the old Hincaster Junction on the 9S55 Euston to ...Mark Bartlett 12/07/2019
Looking south at Hincaster Junction on 5th October 2018 as TPE 350410 heads for Glasgow. Prior to electrification this would have been a view of a ...Mark Bartlett 05/10/2018
An Edinburgh bound Pendolino speeds past Hincaster Junction on 5th October 2018. The buildings on the left were originally used for transferring ...Mark Bartlett 05/10/2018
Plaque at the western entrance to the Hincaster canal tunnel, disused since around 1947 although there are formative plans to reopen the section of ...Mark Bartlett 01/11/2008
A southbound Pendolino leans into the reverse curves between Low Gill and Grayrigg on a sunny July 2019 evening. The Howgill Fells form a magnificent ...Mark Bartlett 23/07/2019
A long way from the Channel Tunnel - 92037 heading South with containers past an NR acess point on 23rd May. ...Ken Strachan 23/05/2014
90019 drifts through the Lune Gorge at Dillicar with the evening mail train from Shieldmuir to Willesden on 23rd July 2019. This comprises 3x325 EPUs ...Mark Bartlett 23/07/2019
This was a sizeable junction station. The line remains open but the station is long gone, closing in 1968. Little remains of the station other than an open area.
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A Trans-Pennine EMU, heading for Manchester Airport, drops down Shap bank on the evening of 23rd July 2019. The train is running through the shallow ...Mark Bartlett 23/07/2019
A Pendolino begins the climb of Shap Bank approaching the cutting at Greenholme, between Tebay and Scout Green, on the evening of 23rd July 2019. ...Mark Bartlett 23/07/2019
Pendolino 390128 speeds northwards at Tebay on 221016. The train is just passing the poignant memorial to the four railway workers killed here on 15th ...Mark Bartlett 22/10/2016
An engineers train hauled by EWS 66098 heads south at Scout Green in February 2007. ...John McIntyre 18/02/2007
Electro-diesel 88003 'Prometheus' brings up the rear of a five-flask train dropping down Shap bank on the evening of 23rd July 2019. This was an ...Mark Bartlett 23/07/2019
68003 Astute drops cautiously down Shap Bank, passing the site of Scout Green signal box, with the evening flasks from Sellafield to Crewe on ...Mark Bartlett 24/07/2019
Part way down the long descent of Shap Bank, TPE 350410 passes Scout Green on 19 September with a service from Scotland to Manchester Airport. ...Mark Bartlett 19/09/2014
A Glasgow to Euston Pendolino crosses the bridge at Shap Wells as it drops down from the Summit on a sunny July evening in 2019. ...Mark Bartlett 23/07/2019
Black 5 no 45041 takes a train north near Shap Wells in the 1960s. ...Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //
A Fairburn 2-6-4T assists a Black 5 with a train near Shap Wells around 1965 [with thanks to Bill Jamieson]. ...Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //1965
Train locomotive and banker both working hard climbing Shap in the 1960s. ...Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //
A northbound Pendolino passes the Hardendale limestone works, just to the south of Shap. The works sends a daily train of stone to Guide Bridge ...Mark Bartlett 14/09/2018
A northbound parcels train ascending Shap in the sixties behind Black 5 no 45373. ...Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //
An unidentified 'Britannia' Pacific climbing Shap with a 10-coach train unassisted in the 1960s. ...Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //
Black 5 no 45415 with banking assistance on Shap in the early 1960s. ...Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //
Euston bound 390121 speeds past the Eden Goods Loop at Clifton and Lowther on 23rd October 2015. The tracks are widening at this point because they ...Mark Bartlett 23/10/2015
The Entente Cordiale, a private charter from Carnforth to Spean Bridge, runs through Clifton and Lowther on 23rd October 2015. The train ...Mark Bartlett 23/10/2015
A Super Voyager heads north along the WCML towards Penrith. The train has just passed under the A6 road in Clifton village and is now crossing the M6 ...Mark Bartlett 04/02/2013
Clifton looking north to the former north facing junction for the Eden Valley Railway. To the south was the south facing junction. ...Ewan Crawford //
An unidentified Brush Type 4 takes a northbound west coast main line express past the site of Eamont Bridge Junction on the approach to Penrith in ...Colin Miller 25/09/1967
A northbound train speeds past Eamont Bridge Junction on the West Coast Main Line in September 1967 hauled by an EE Type 4 locomotive . ...Colin Miller 25/09/1967
A northbound Brush Type 4 passes Eamont Bridge Junction in September 1967 with an Edinburgh/Glasgow train. ...Colin Miller 25/09/1967
Black 5 no 45212 heading north with a special at Eamont Bridge Junction, just south of Penrith station, in September 1967. The photograph is taken ...Colin Miller 25/09/1967
350407 waits departure from Penrith North Lakes with a Glasgow Central to Manchester Airport service on 11th July 2019. ...Alastair McLellan 11/07/2019
A TPE 350 EMU heads south over the M6 Motorway at Penrith with a Glasgow to Manchester Airport service on 20th October 2019. ...Mark Bartlett 20/10/2019
Ex LMS black fives 44871+45407 heading south on 1z63 Winter Cumbrian Mountain Express from Carlisle to Manchester. ...Ken Browne 23/01/2016
A interesting coffee stop just off the M6, some 4 miles north of Penrith, is the station site at Plumpton. The station itself has long gone (closed ...John Furnevel 25/06/2011
Black 5 no 45297 heads south with a train on the WCML near Plumpton on the approach to Penrith in the 1960s. [See image 34843]...
Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //
BR Standard class 5 4-6-0 no 73099 with an up train passing Plumpton, north of Penrith, in the 1960s. [See image 41265] ...Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //
Black 5 no 45142 with an up freight near Plumpton, north of Penrith, in the 1960s. [See image 23599 for the view north from the bridge]. ...Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //
The 'Winter Cumbrian Coast Express' heads northwards at Southwaite on 25 March 2017 with Royal Scot class no.46115 Scots Guardsman having ...John McIntyre 25/03/2017
The RCTS Rebuilt Scot Commemorative Rail Tour southbound from Carlisle on 13 February 1965 photographed running through Wreay cutting on its ...Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) 13/02/1965
The commemorative BR ticket read... A4 Preservation Society Tour - 'The Inaugural Run of Sir Nigel Gresley'.No 4498 was photographed ...
Bruce McCartney 01/04/1967
EE Type 4 with a southbound WCML service passing through Wreay cutting, south of Carlisle, in February 1965....
Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) 13/02/1965
Black 5 4-6-0 no 44731 with a southbound freight on the WCML, thought to have been photographed just south of Wreay around 1965. The freight is ...Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) //1965
Locomotives on shed at Carlisle Upperby on 30 July 1960 include Fowler 4F 0-6-0 44490. ...K A Gray 30/07/1960
BR Standard class 4 4-6-0 75051 in the shed yard at Carlisle Upperby in the summer of 1964. ...John Robin 27/06/1964
Britannia 70050 'Firth of Clyde' passing the sidings at Carlisle Upperby with a Crewe to Perth stock train in July 1964. ...Bill Hamilton /07/1961
A Virgin Voyager heads south past a very quiet Upperby in August 2003, shortly after calling at Carlisle. ...John Furnevel 29/08/2003
Voyager meets Pendolino on the WCML just south of Carlisle station. Below are the goods lines and to the right is the route from London Road Jct into ...John Furnevel 18/04/2007
Looking east at London Road Junction in April 2006. The line from Upperby still comes in from the right just before the road bridge although the ...John Furnevel 12/04/2006
A wet Friday afternoon in July 1969 at London Road Junction, Carlisle, where the N&C and S&C lines leave the city. An eastbound freight arriving from ...John Furnevel 04/07/1969
Upperby shed's 'Jinty' 0-6-0T no 47667 at Crown Street goods depot, Carlisle. The photograph is thought to have been taken on 6 April 1963. Crown ...K A Gray 06/04/1963
Ivatt class 2MT 2-6-0 no 46455 brings a freight out of Crown Street goods depot, Carlisle, in July 1958 across a double track bridge spanning 3 sets ...Robin Barbour Collection (Courtesy Bruce McCartney) 05/07/1958
This is a major station in the north west of England. ...
More details
Carlisle station is currently almost unrecognizable, being clad in scaffolding to allow refurbishment of the glass roof. ...Ken Strachan 01/08/2017
Kingmoor Black 5 no 45279 seen here after taking over train 1S67, the Saturday down relief Thames-Clyde Express, at Carlisle platform 3 on 5 ...K A Gray 05/08/1967
The 0837 Glasgow Central - London St Pancras waiting to leave Carlisle on a grey Saturday morning in August 1965. Locomotive in charge is Black 5 ...K A Gray 14/08/1965
The 9.50am ex-Edinburgh Waverley photographed leaving Carlisle for Leeds via the S&C route in July 1965. Locomotive in charge is Neville Hill shed's ...K A Gray 24/07/1965
Books
 A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: The Lake Counties v. 14 (Regional Railway History) |  An Illustrated History of Carlisle's Railways |
