Askam railway station

Askam Railway Station serves the villages of Askam-in-Furness and Ireleth in Cumbria, England. The railway station is a stop on the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line. Some through trains to the Furness Line stop here. It is operated by Northern Rail who provide all passenger train services. Originally, the station was built here to transport the iron ore being mined in Askam out of the village.

History

The line

The railway along the Cumbrian coast was completed over many years by numerous small firms, who often would refuse to work together. However, eventually 'Grouping' forced the companies to work together on the railway, instead of constantly competing. Further problems were encountered when the people building the railway ran out of money, and so the proposed Duddon Viaduct, from Askam to Millom, was abandoned. Instead, a different route, going by way of Foxfield, was planned. This saved £37,000.^[1]

The plans were drawn up in 1843, and shortly afterwards, sections of the Furness Railway were built. The original section through Askam, coming from Millwood Junction, and going on to Kirkby Slate Warf was part of the original railway line. This was officially opened on June 3, 1846. A passenger service then began operating on August 24 of that same year.^[2]

The station

Originally, there was a simple stop in Askam. This was abolished in 1859; the later growth of Askam meant that it soon deserved a full sized station. The station that was built was actually originally designed for Millom, by Paley and Austin. The chalet-style station was opened on April 1, 1868.^[3]

Along with the station, sliding sheds were built next to the station. These were to store a banking locomotive, to aid trains with more than 16 wagons with the difficult climb to Lindal summit.^[2]

As well as carrying ore, there were dozens of smaller lines to practically every mine, furnace and factory in the area. For example, the Askam brick works had a 2 ft gauge line to transport clay. This line was operational until 1968.^[4]

Operational

Opened by the Furness Railway, it became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The station then passed to the London Midland Region of British Railways on nationalisation in 1948.

When Sectorisation was introduced in the 1980s, the station was served by Regional Railways until the Privatisation of British Railways.

Services

Askam is one of the few mandatory stops on this section of the line (along with St Bees, Sellafield, Ravenglass & Millom) and as a result all trains call here. The current 2008-09 timetable has fourteen trains per weekday in each direction, ten of which run all the way through to Carlisle northbound (the remainder terminating at either Millom or Sellafield). Some southbound trains continue beyond Barrow to Lancaster.

There is no Sunday service.

Gallery

Sources

1. ^ Rails Around the Cumbrian Coast. Dalesman Books. 1988. p. 3. 
2. ^ ^{a b} A Short History of Ireleth and Askam-in-Furness, by Mark Maclean.
3. ^ Rails Around the Cumbrian Coast. Dalesman Books. 1988. p. 49. 
4. ^ Rails Around the Cumbrian Coast. Dalesman Books. 1988. p. 53. 

References

• 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 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199. 
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 0-9068-9999-0. OCLC 228266687. 

External links

• Train times and station information for Askam railway station from National Rail
• Askam station on navigable 1946 O. S. map