Rowrah railway station

Rowrah railway station was built by the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway. It served the village of Rowrah, Cumbria, England.[5][6]

Rowrah
LocationRowrah, Copeland
England
Coordinates54.5536°N 3.4554°W / 54.5536; -3.4554
Grid referenceNY059185
Platforms2[1][2]
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyWhitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway
Pre-groupingLNWR & FR Joint Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
12 February 1864Opened
13 April 1931Closed to passengers
11 March 1940Reopened to workmen's trains[3]
8 April 1940Closed to passengers[4]
1967Closed completely
1904 railway junctions around Cleator Moor, Parton, Rowrah & Whitehaven

Local lines

Rowrah was connected by three separate railway companies:

Neither of the latter two ran directly through the station, but all were connected[7][8] and complex interworking took place.

Services

The Rowrah and Kelton Fell Railway was a mineral railway pure and simple. It never carried passengers or general goods.

Baird's Line was also a mineral line, though workmen's trains ran from Rowrah's "other" station at Arlecdon, which was on the north western edge of the village.

Rowrah Station's owning Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont company was taken over by the LNWR and Furness Railway in 1879 as a Joint Line, whereafter the northern section through the station was usually worked by the LNWR.[9] Passenger traffic northwards consisted of three trains a day in each direction, with an extra on Whitehaven market day and none on Sundays. Those few trains were supplemented southwards to Moor Row and Whitehaven, with a further four starting at Rowrah.[10]

From opening, northbound passenger trains terminated at Marron Junction station where passengers changed for destinations beyond. In 1897 Marron Junction station closed, with trains running west through to Workington Main thereafter, a much better arrangement for most passengers. Passengers who would otherwise have changed at Marron Junction to head east to Brigham or beyond simply changed at the first stop after Marron Junction - Camerton.

In April 1910 six trains a day ran from Whitehaven to Rowrah via Moor Row, some continuing to Workington Main via Bridgefoot.[11]

No Sunday passenger service ever ran over the line.

Goods traffic usually consisted of two daily turns Up and Down.[11]

Mineral traffic was the dominant flow, typically six loaded and six empty through to Workington, though this was subject to considerable fluctuation with trade cycles. Stations and signalling along the line north of Rowrah were changed during the Joint regime to conform to LNWR standards.[12]

Rundown and closure

The Rowrah and Kelton Fell Railway closed in stages between 1920 and 1926. Its tracks were lifted in 1934. The Gilgarron Branch which ran westwards from Ullock Junction closed east of Distington with the ironworks there in the late 1920s.[13] Baird's Line closed on 8 August 1938,[14] with its limestone traffic to Workington being switched to the Rowrah to Marron Junction line. By 1954 this had been re-routed again, this time to run via Moor Row, rendering the line to Marron Junction redundant. This limestone traffic continued until 1978, long outlasting all other services to, from or through Rowrah.[15]

The station closed on 13 April 1931 when normal passenger traffic ended along the line, though workmen's trains were reinstated in March 1940, only to be withdrawn a month later. Goods trains continued to call until 1954, but mineral traffic was down to the one limestone flow.[16] An enthusiasts' special called on 5 September 1954.[1][17] After scant occasional use the line northwards from Rowrah was abandoned in 1960 and subsequently lifted.[18]

Such was the goods, ad hoc passenger traffic and special services that Rowrah continued to have a staffed station until 1967, 36 years after passenger services officially ceased.[19]

Identified railway staff from Rowrah include:-

  • George Stoddart was the last station master at Rowrah serving from 1947 to May 1967, leaving into retirement.[19]
  • Samuel Hastings, railway clerk, married Miss Mary Ann Yates both of Rowrah - 18th MARCH 1882[20]

Afterlife

In 2009 Rowrah Station was a private residence.[21]

Preceding station   Disused railways   Following station
Lamplugh
Line and station closed		   Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway   Winder
Line and station closed

See also

References
  1. Suggitt 2008, p. 59.
  2. Webb 1964a, p. 789.
  3. Croughton, Kidner & Young 1982, p. 120.
  4. Butt 1995, p. 200.
  5. Smith & Turner 2012, Map 26.
  6. Jowett 1989, Map 36.
  7. McGowan Gradon 2004, pp. 22 & 63.
  8. Quayle 2007, p. 41.
  9. McGowan Gradon 2004, p. 12.
  10. Bradshaw 1985, p. 510.
  11. Bairstow 1995, p. 32.
  12. W McGowan Gradon's 1942 Furness Railway study, via cumberlandarchives.co.uk
  13. Anderson 2002, p. 316.
  14. McGowan Gradon 2004, p. 59.
  15. Broughton & Harris 1985, Carlisle-Barrow chapter.
  16. Marshall 1981, p. 163.
  17. Welbourn 2010, p. 112.
  18. Atterbury 2009, p. 208.
  19. "FORGET THE CONSULTANTS, COUNCIL, AND ASK US WHAT OUR TOWN CENTRE NEEDS". Archived from the original on 1 April 2012.
  20. "CUMBERLAND & WESTMORLAND BIRTHS ~ MARRIAGES ~ DEATHS". Retrieved 25 October 2010.
  21. Welbourn 2010, p. 113.

Sources

Further reading

  • Bowtell, Harold D. (1989). Rails through Lakeland: An Illustrated Journey of the Workington-Cockermouth-Keswick-Penrith Railway 1847-1972. Wyre: Silverlink Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-947971-26-7.
  • 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.
  • Joy, David (1983). Lake Counties (Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain). Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-946537-02-0.
  • Webb, David R. (September 1964b). 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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