Harrington (Church Road Halt) railway station

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.[5][6][7]

Harrington
LocationHarrington, Cumbria, Allerdale
England
Coordinates54.6154°N 3.5573°W / 54.6154; -3.5573
Grid referenceNX995255
Platforms1[1]
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyCleator and Workington Junction Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
November 1913Opened[2]
31 May 1926Advertised passenger service ended[3]
1 April 1929Workmen's service ended, halt closed[4]
A 1914 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing the complex network which existed in the Workington area

Official, authoritative and regional sources variously refer to the halt as Harrington (Church Road Halt), Harrington Church Road, Church Road Halt and simply Church Road.

Sources agree when the halt closed, but differ on when it opened. One authoritative source gives the opening as November 1913,[4] whilst a key source with local knowledge gives both 1918[2] and November 1913 as the date the halt first appeared on the timetable.[8] A later writer says the halt was in use by September 1913.[9]

Gradients

The route, and especially the Lowca Light Railway, was very steeply graded. There was a stretch southwards up Copperas Hill at 1 in 17 - the steepest adhesion-worked gradient in Britain over which regular passenger trains ran.[10]

History

The two companies had co-operated to provide unadvertised workmen's services along the route from 15 April 1912.[11] From 2 June 1913 at least some of these trains - known locally as "The Rattler" - became publicly advertised with at least one 3rd Class coach[3] for 'ordinary' passengers.[12] Most trains plied between Lowca and Workington Central, though two continued to Seaton (Cumbria), the first stop up the C&WJR's "Northern extension". The Seaton trains were cut back to Workington from February 1922.[13]

Trains

Passenger trains consisted of antiquated Furness stock hauled largely by elderly Furness engines[14] referred to as "rolling ruins" by one author after a footplate ride in 1949.[15] Freight trains on the Lowca Light Railway through Harrington Junction to the Moss Bay and Derwent branches were usually hauled by industrial locomotives.[16][17][10]

Services

The line's primary objective was transporting minerals and the products and biproducts of coking plants. Photographs of trains in later years typically consist of a mix of mineral wagons and tar tanker wagons.[18] The prime purpose of the passenger service was to enable workers to get from Workington to Lowca Colliery (also known as Harrington No. 10 Pit) which was situated on a remote cliff top overlooking the Irish Sea.[19] Workers from Whitehaven were able to use workmen's trains which shuttled between Whitehaven and Parton Halt at the western end of the Gilgarran Branch near Parton.

The July 1922 public timetable shows three 3rd Class Only Up trains from Lowca, Monday to Friday, calling at Micklam, Rosehill (Archer Street Halt), Harrington (Church Road Halt) and Workington Central, with an extra on Saturdays. All were balanced by Down workings.[20] There never was a public Sunday service on the route. Note that Copperas Hill is not shown, though a standard work gives its closing date as 1926.[21] It was shown in the 1920 Working Time Table[22] and last appeared in public timetables in 1921.[8]

In 1923 the LMS replaced conventional trains with "Bus Trains" staffed by a travelling ticket inspector. This allowed stations to be de-staffed,[23] but the service still could not compete with emerging road transport.[24] The publicly advertised service ended on 31 May 1926. Unadvertised workmen's trains continued until 1 April 1929, after which the accoutrements of a passenger railway, such as extensive and costly signalling, were removed, enabling the line to return to its industrial origins.

The route continued in freight use from Lowca through the site of the halt to Moss Bay until 1973 when Solway Colliery, Workington closed, depriving the line of purpose. By then it had outlived the C&WJR's main line by nine years.[3]

The tracks were lifted in 1973.[25]

Special trains

Two brakevan special trains aimed at railway enthusiasts travelled through the site of the halt in its later years. "The Furnessman" ran on 24 May 1969,[16] with a Border Railway Society farewell tour on 26 May 1973 being the last train for ever.[26]

Afterlife

By 2013 the trackbed through the halt was readily visible on satellite imagery.

Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Workington Central
Line and station closed		   Cleator and Workington Junction Railway   Rosehill (Archer Street Halt)
Line and station closed

See also

References
  1. McGowan Gradon 2004, p. 63.
  2. McGowan Gradon 2004, p. 28.
  3. McGowan Gradon 2004, p. 59.
  4. Butt 1995, p. 114.
  5. Smith & Turner 2012, Map 26.
  6. Anderson 2002, p. 309 (as a Church Road.
  7. Jowett 1989, Map 36.
  8. McGowan Gradon 2004, p. 68.
  9. Andrews 2001, p. 23.
  10. Robinson 2002, p. 27.
  11. McGowan Gradon 2004, p. 30.
  12. Suggitt 2008, pp. 74-6.
  13. Marshall 1981, p. 121.
  14. McGowan Gradon 2004, p. 29.
  15. McGowan Gradon 2004, p. 51.
  16. Anderson 2002, p. 316.
  17. McGowan Gradon 2004, pp. 18, 27 & 30.
  18. McGowan Gradon 2004, pp. 27 & 53.
  19. Anderson 2002, p. 317.
  20. Bradshaw 1985, p. 595.
  21. Butt 1995, p. 68.
  22. Haynes 1920, "Lowca Branch".
  23. Andrews 2001, p. 24.
  24. Suggitt 2008, p. 76.
  25. McGowan Gradon 2004, p. 62.
  26. McGowan Gradon 2004, pp. 30 & 59.

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). ISSN 0961-8244.
  • Andrews, Dr. Michael (May 2001). Peascod, Michael (ed.). "The Harrington & Lowca Light Railway". Cumbrian Railways. Pinner: Cumbrian Railways Association. 7 (2). ISSN 1466-6812.
  • Bradshaw, George (1985) [July 1922]. Bradshaw's General Railway and Steam Navigation guide for Great Britain and Ireland: A reprint of the July 1922 issue. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-8708-5. OCLC 12500436.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Haynes, Jas. A. (April 1920). Cleator & Workington Junction Railway Working Time Table. Central Station, Workington: Cleator and Workington Junction Railway.
  • 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 978-0-9540232-2-5.
  • Marshall, John (1981). Forgotten Railways: North West England. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-8003-1.
  • Robinson, Peter W. (2002). Cumbria's Lost Railways. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84033-205-6.
  • Smith, Paul; Turner, Keith (2012). Railway Atlas Then and Now. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7110-3695-6.
  • Suggitt, Gordon (2008). Lost Railways of Cumbria (Railway Series). Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-107-4.

Further reading
  • Conolly, W Philip (1998). British railways pre-grouping atlas and gazetteer (9th impression; 5th ed.). Shepperton: Ian Allan. ISBN 978-0-7110-0320-0. OCLC 221481275.
  • Atterbury, Paul (2009). Along Lost Lines. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-2706-7.
  • Bairstow, Martin (1995). Railways In The Lake District. Leeds: Martin Bairstow. ISBN 978-1-871944-11-2.
  • Bowtell, Harold D. (1989). Rails through Lakeland: An Illustrated Journey of the Workington-Cockermouth-Keswick-Penrith Railway 1847–1972. Wyre: Silverling Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-947971-26-7.
  • Croughton, Godfrey; Kidner, R. W.; Young, Alan (1982). Private and Untimetabled Railway Stations, Halts and Stopping Places. The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-281-0. OCLC 10507501.
  • Joy, David (1983). Lake Counties (Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 978-0-946537-02-0.
  • 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). ISSN 0033-8923.
  • 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). ISSN 0033-8923.
  • Western, Robert (2001). The Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway. Usk: Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-564-4. OL113.
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