| Hest Bank | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Hest Bank, Lancashire |
| Area | Lancaster |
| Operations | |
| Original company | Lancaster and Carlisle Railway |
| Pre-grouping | London and North Western Railway |
| Post-grouping | London Midland and Scottish Railway |
| Platforms | 3 |
| History | |
| 22 September 1846 | station opened |
| 3 February 1969 | station closed[1] |
| Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom | |
| Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z |
|
Hest Bank railway station was a former railway station opened by the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (L&CR) a short distance north of Lancaster. The line was authorised in 1844 and a station was proposed for Hest Bank the following year. It opened in 1846 along with the line. It was on the only part of the present-day West Coast Main Line (WCML) which is within sight of the coast.
Meanwhile, the "little" North Western Railway had been formed to link Skipton to Lancaster and with the Morecambe Harbour and Railway planned to make a junction with the L&CR at Hest Bank. Regrettably this never materialised. Hoping to develop an export trade in coke and other minerals, the L&CR applied on its own account to build the branch to Morecambe, receiving permission in 1859. At this point the line was leased by the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) and it was the latter that built the branch as a double track opening in 1864. In time however the branch was singled, but with an increase in holiday trade a south facing curve was added to the junction during 1888. Later a part of the branch from Bare Lane was redoubled and is still open as the Morecambe Branch Line.
Hest Bank station itself was of rugged stone construction, a two-storey station house with a booking hall below on the up (southbound) platform. It was next to a level crossing over a minor road linking the A589 with houses, a water treatment works and a caravan park further along the foreshore. A small cottage for the crossing keeper was provided on the down (coastal-facing) side along with a footbridge to connect the platforms. The down side also had two sidings, one providing a bay platform. [2]
At grouping in 1923 it became part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway.
During the 'thirties the station became remarkable as the only one between Preston and Carlisle with electric lighting, thanks to the ingenuity of a member of staff. The goods yard closed on 2 December 1963, but the tracks were used for camping coaches until 1969 when the station closed to passengers.
All trace of the platforms and buildings have disappeared apart from the crossing keeper's cottage as the incoming Morecambe branch was extended along the length of one of the former platforms (as part of the layout changes associated with the 1973 WCML electrification scheme). The nearby signal box remains in use, although only to supervise the level crossings here and at nearby Bolton-le-Sands. NR has however recently published proposals to close the box here at the end of 2012 (along with neighbouring Bare Lane) and convert the crossings to CCTV operation from Preston PSB[3]