Historic Events of the Month
A fairly random selection of events of which the anniversary is in the month denoted below. If you have any historic happenings associated with the railways of Cumbria or nearby which you would like to see here, please contact the Archivist.
May
Private Special Train – Carlisle to Dornock
On Friday 18th May 1917, the Royal Train was scheduled to arrive at platform no. 1, Carlisle (Citadel) Station at 9.43am in accordance with the Royal Train notice issued four days previously by the Maryport & Carlisle Railway.
The two Scottish railway companies involved in working the train forward from Carlisle to Dornock (the Caledonian and Glasgow & South Western Railways), both stated in their own special traffic notices, to what they referred to as a “Private Special Train”, an arrival time at Carlisle of 9.38am, followed by a departure one minute later at 9.39am for Dornock (G&SW).
The difference of 5 minutes on the arrival time at Carlisle would, on paper, indicate a lack of co-ordination between the M&CR, and the two Scottish companies. Was there sufficient hidden recovery time in the M&CR Royal Train notice to arrive at Carlisle at 9.38am? Recovery time or not, surely with two Crewe-built Crested Goods leading, 5 minutes could easily be taken out of the timetable between Brayton and Carlisle.
Their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary were coming to the end of a five day visit to Cheshire, Lancashire and Cumberland. After an overnight stay at Brayton Junction on the M&CR, the Royal Train departed at 9.15am behind L&NWR Crested Goods 0-6-0s nos. 930 and 347, with no. 672 running 15 minutes in advance, as the Royal Train pilot engine.
All three engines performed as expected, with the result that the 12 car Royal (or Private Special) Train was able to leave Carlisle exactly on time at 9.39am, arriving in Dornock at 10.00am as planned.
PGW (with help from Godfrey Yeomans’ article in the CRA Journal of Sept. 1996)
April
April 1922 – the Annual Coupling Contest
The Annual Coupling Contest for Guards, Shunters & Porters was held on Good Friday in Barrow Yard, and in spite of the poor weather, there was a good attendance to watch competitors from Barrow, Carnforth and Moor Row.
The Furness Railway’s Chief Engineer, Mr D L Rutherford, had given the event further interest, by producing a handsome new silver challenge cup for competition amongst teams of three men, in addition to the other trophies available.
Moor Row produced a good entry, but the surprise team of the day were the men from Carnforth. Of the latter team, J.E. Berry not only took first place in the guard’s event, but also won in a record time, which won him the cup donated by the FR Chairman, Mr F.J. Ramsden, for the fastest time set by FR and Joint Stock men.
Inspired by his success, he went on to win the Speakman Cup, Captain Nigel Kennedy’s silver teapot, and a cash prize for being the winner of the open event, thus ensuring a day he would not forget in a hurry!
As you would expect, the events consisted of coupling and uncoupling a series of wagons, usually either 12 or 16 (but only 8 for competitors over 50). The fastest time for 12 wagons, set by Mr Berry, was just over 44 seconds.
PGW (edited report from the FR Magazine July 1922)
March
March 1890 – Accident at Carlisle Station
On 4th March 1890, G P Neele (LNWR Line Superintendent) was to have attended the Forth Bridge opening ceremony. Instead he found himself being called to Carlisle to deal with a serious accident. In this extract from his Reminiscences, he recounts the story as follows:
“The train was the 8pm express from Euston. It appeared that there had been some trouble with the brake, both at first starting from Euston, the Gourock van requiring to have the brake thawed, and then again at Tring, where that vehicle had to be detached. The train was twenty-seven minutes late on reaching Shap Summit; it left there thirty-three minutes late, and the driver appeared to have lost control of the train after descending Shap incline. The train, with its thirteen vehicles all fitted with Automatic Brake, ran through Carlisle Station at about thirty miles an hour, struck a Caledonian engine standing on the line in readiness for the Limited Mail, and drove it by the force of the collision a quarter of a mile onward. Four passengers were killed on the spot by the crushing up of the leading carriages, and eleven injured, besides the drivers and firemen of the engines.”
Both an official enquiry and an inquest took place, the former headed by Colonel Rich, who ensured that the driver and his guards underwent very close questioning. Two causes were suggested – ice in the cylinders of the brake pipes, or possibly the driver mistakenly switching the breaking lever to simple vacuum rather than Automatic (thus preventing the guards from properly engaging the Automatic Brake in the carriages).
Colonel Rich thought the latter, but after hearing from several expert witnesses, the Coroner's jury blamed the ice!
PGW 03/12
February
February 1881 – Viaduct Disaster!
February marks the 79th anniversary of the final closure in 1933 of the old Solway Junction Railway (SJR) system, which had been taken over by the Caledonian Railway in 1895. This month is also of particular note due to the severe damage suffered in 1881 by the route’s main attraction, namely the Solway Viaduct, which carried the line from Bowness-on-Solway to Annan in Scotland. The story was told by John B. Howes in his article on the SJR Railway in the 1950s.
“A painful unforgettable year in the history of the Railway was that when the Viaduct was severely damaged by ice-floes; the edges of the Solway were frozen, as also were the rivers Esk and Eden. The high tides of the estuary lifted the ice and jammed it into the mouths of the rivers which began to flood as the thaw came, so forcing the packed ice out to sea; ice-bergs 6 to 10 feet and as much as 27 yards square crashed into the stanchions of the Viaduct. The keeper of the bridge, Mr John Welch, together with three stalwarts, remained in the cabin of the Viaduct, whilst the supports creaked and groaned on that fateful night. They stuck to their posts until 3.0am when disaster seemed imminent, whereupon John Welch gave the order “Every man for himself – I’m for Bowness.” Forty five pillars were smashed and 37 girders plunged into the Firth, but fortunately there was no loss of life.”
The resulting damage was estimated at £30,000, and the re-building took more than three years to accomplish. The structure, although re-built, continued to cause problems. By 1910 there were only three return crossings per day and a 20 mph speed limit was in force. In 1914 the railway was restricted to carrying freight only. On September 1st 1921 the viaduct was closed entirely. After it closed, the viaduct had a guard’s hut and gates installed to prevent its use on Sundays by pedestrians crossing from Scotland into England, where the alcohol licensing laws were less strict. Finally in 1934-35 it was demolished, although its remains can still be seen today.
PGW 02/12
January
January 1913 – Snowed Up under Black Combe
About half the kingdom was swept by a snowstorm of great severity reported The Guardian on January 18th 1913, with the result that the Furness express from Whitehaven to London was snowed up under Black Combe, and the passengers were in the train all night.
The train left Whitehaven on Saturday at 2.20pm, made up of mostly large LNWR coaches with through carriages for London, Liverpool and Manchester. After leaving Bootle, it ran into a very deep bank of snow near the village of Whitbeck, which reached up to the smoke-box. The engine came to a standstill, and although the driver uncoupled the engine and tried to fight through, he could do nothing, and so returned to couple up to the train in order to pass the steam heating to the coaches. The snow continued falling and soon the whole train was able to move neither forwards nor backwards, and was fixed fast.
The passengers numbered fifty, and amongst them was Lady Morpeth, returning from Muncaster Castle to London. According to one passenger account, "she was naturally in a blue funk at the conditions"!
The possibility of leaving the train and seeking shelter across the country was discussed, but in the blizzard it was hard to see far, and not many passengers were familiar with the locality. The guard and officials did what they could as darkness began to fall, and intense cold set in. "They got some refreshments to us from Bootle at about 1.30am on Sunday: it consisted of two "doorsteps, a piece of cheese, and a cup of cold tea", reported one passenger.
Hundreds of workmen were put to work clearing the snow, some 15 feet deep in places. Late on Sunday morning the line was cleared, and the express eventually reached Barrow at noon. None of the passengers alighted there, and the train proceeded on to its destination. By this time, many railwaymen had been on duty for close on 48 hours.
For further information on the Furness Railway and its history, see the section on Railways of Cumbria – A History.
PGW (with help from The Guardian).
December
December 1910 – Collision near Hawes Junction
At 5-19 in the morning of December 24th a very serious collision occurred a little way north of Hawes Junction, now known as Garsdale, on the Settle & Carlisle line of the Midland Railway.
Two 4-4-0 engines, nos. 448 and 548, had assisted southbound expresses up the climb through the Eden Valley from Carlisle and after being detached from their trains at Ais Gill summit, had proceeded to Hawes Junction to turn on the turntable there. They were then standing on the main line awaiting the signals to clear for their return to Carlisle. Meanwhile the 12-00pm sleeping car express from St Pancras to Glasgow was approaching from the south headed by 2-4-0 no. 48 and 4-4-0 no. 549. Pulling off the signals for the express, the signalman at Hawes Junction forgot he had two engines waiting on the main line, and their drivers started off.
Unaware in the dark of the danger ahead, and with any possible view obscured by Moorcock Tunnel, within minutes the express overhauled and collided with the two light engines just north of the footbridge near Lunds viaduct. In the resulting collision and fire, which destroyed almost all the wooden, gas-lit coaches, twelve passengers died and nine more suffered injury.
Many of the casualties are commemorated and buried in the churchyard at Hawes.
PWR 09/11
November
November 1854 – "A Veritable Laughing Stock"
The Kendal & Windermere Railway, opened in 1847, was indeed a local railway, but the way it kept coming up in news reports at the time indicate that it was seen by the locals (and particularly businesses) as the veritable laughing stock of the town of Kendal.
One report from 4th November 1854 illustrates this perfectly:
"A Railway Passengers Timetable for the Kendal and Windermere Railway Co.
On and after Thursday 2nd November, the trains may run as under:
The train usually advertised to leave Kendal at noon will, on Thursdays, wait until the Friends' meeting breaks up, in order to accommodate the Friends who live in Birthwaite. The train advertised to leave Kendal at 3.30 will wait till the goods wagons can be arranged, and may not start until 4 or 4.15.
The train advertised to leave Kendal at 5.15 will, if the rails are slippery, not leave until 6 or 6.15, and in future will stop at Staveley, and reach Windermere, instead of 5.50, at 6.45. As an additional comfort to the passengers, LEAKY LAMPS will for the present be provided in the carriages of this train, and the windows will not be able to be closed, especially as the winter is coming on. The train leaving Windermere at 9.30, advertised to reach Kendal at 9.54, may not arrive until 10.6 to 10.10.
The public are respectively informed of the above important changes, and in future anticipate that they will not be varied from, unless circumstances quite unlooked for arrive."
For further information on the Kendal & Windermere Railway and its history, see the section on Railways of Cumbria – A History.
PGW (with thanks to the Westmoreland Gazette & CRA Journal Volume 4 No.14).
October
October 1984 – The Great Demonstration of Saturday 27th October 1984
On 27th October 1984 some 23,000 people arrived in Barrow to express their opposition to the horrors of nuclear war in general and to the building of the Trident submarines at Barrow in particular. In spite of the dilemma faced by those dependent upon the Vickers Works for employment (in effect the entire population of Barrow), the day passed without any unpleasantness and with the running by British Railways of six charter trains.
IZ26: Commenced at Swansea and was diesel hauled throughout, running via Shrewsbury, Crewe and Preston, arriving at 10.50, and returning at 16.25.
IZ19: Originated at Banbury, and followed an interesting route initially running away from Barrow towards Oxford using the GWR up main-line towards Paddington. It then turned north again, with the diesel locomotive exchanged at Willesden for an electric for the run to Carnforth.
IT05: This was a Diesel Multiple Unit from Wilmslow and stations around Manchester, on to Preston, and then non-stop to Barrow.
IZ43: The longest haul from Lewes in Sussex, and thence to Clapham Junction and on to Willesden, where again an electric took over from a diesel locomotive. The return journey started at 18.05, reaching Clapham Junction at 22.42 (of which more later).
IZ11 & IZ12: Two trains were chartered from South Yorkshire, starting from Sheffield. For reasons which cannot be explained, both trains ran into Carnforth station on the outward and return journeys, necessitating the running round of the locomotive.
Postscript: Displayed later at Barrow station was a letter from the CND Group Secretary, South London branch which, whilst thanking the Barrow staff for their unstinting help on the day, also related that after changing at Clapham Junction, their local commuter train failed to stop as booked at their local station and stranded them further down the line without public transport. The letter suggested that Barrow rail staff could teach their Southern Rail colleagues something about train operating and "customer primacy"!
PGW (with help from the CRA Journal of February 1985)
September
September 1892 – Engine falls into hole
On September 22nd, at about 8.16am, a remarkable accident occurred on the Furness Railway at Lindal. The 0-6-0 tender engine no, 115 (a 16-inch "Sharpie") was shunting some iron ore wagons into a siding in the yard when the ground suddenly caved in under the locomotive. The engine crew, (Driver Postlethwaite and Fireman Robinson) jumped off the foot-plate and got away. Slowly but surely the engine sank into the cavity and by 2.15pm she had disappeared from view. Only the tender was saved.
The area around Lindal was honey-combed with iron ore workings and it was this which was responsible for the subsidence. It is estimated that the engine lies some 200 feet below the ground today.
The cavity was filled up in due course and the line became quite safe for traffic. While this was going on, goods for the area were worked round by Penrith, Keswick and Workington. For passengers, trains were worked up and from each side of the subsidence.
PWR 9/11 (edited version of report from The Furness Railway 1846-1923 by W. McGowan Gradon)
August
August 1895 – Railway Race to Aberdeen
Excited crowds gathered in the early hours at Carlisle Citadel station, growing in size night by night to witness the spectacle of changing engines on the 8pm Euston-Aberdeen overnight "Tourist" express. The race between the East and West coast routes that summer generated immense public interest as the two partnerships vied to beat the other to the Granite City.
The culmination was reached on the night of 21st/22nd August when the West Coast train arrived from the south behind LNWR 2-4-0 No 790 Hardwicke (now preserved in the National Railway Museum) at 12-35½am, nearly 25 minutes before the already much accelerated scheduled timings. Driver Robinson received a reception like a hero! In only two and a half minutes Hardwicke was detached from the short train and Caledonian Railway 4-4-0 no. 90 had been coupled up, with Driver Crooks being cheered away towards the Scottish border.
After a further engine change at Perth, the train arrived in Aberdeen at 4-32am, having run 540 miles in only 512 minutes at an average speed, including stops for engine changing, of 63.3 miles per hour, a record for this journey which was to stand until the 1960s.
PWR 09/11
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