Nethertown is a railway station on the Cumbrian Coast line, which runs between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness. The station, situated 39 miles (63 km) north-west of Barrow-in-Furness, serves the village of Nethertown in Cumbria. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Nethertown  | |||||
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| General information | |||||
| Location | Nethertown, Copeland England | ||||
| Coordinates | 54°27′22″N 3°33′56″W / 54.4561682°N 3.5655406°W | ||||
| Grid reference | NX985079 | ||||
| Owned by | Network Rail | ||||
| Managed by | Northern Trains | ||||
| Platforms | 1 | ||||
| Tracks | 1 | ||||
| Other information | |||||
| Station code | NRT | ||||
| Classification | DfT category F2 | ||||
| History | |||||
| Original company | Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway | ||||
| Pre-grouping | Furness Railway | ||||
| Post-grouping | London, Midland and Scottish Railway British Rail (London Midland Region) | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 18 July 1849 | Opened | ||||
| Passengers | |||||
| 2018/19 |  516 | ||||
| 2019/20 |  730 | ||||
| 2020/21 | 254 | ||||
| 2021/22 | 1,412 | ||||
| 2022/23 | 960 | ||||
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Nethertown was the least-used station in Cumbria in 2020-21, with an estimated 254 passenger journeys made.
History
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The station was opened on 19 July 1849 by the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway when it opened the line between Whitehaven and Ravenglass.[1]
In 1914, the passing loop was expanded to cater for the increased length of trains due to World War I. In May 1916, the shunting neck was extended and an additional 90 yards (82 m) of sidings were provided.[citation needed]
The station was host to six LMS caravans from 1937 to 1939.[2] The station was particularly busy with passenger traffic in the 1940s–50s when it served the Nethertown military camp, which was training anti-aircraft gunners. After the war, it was reused for construction workers building the Sellafield Nuclear plant.
During the 1970s, the passing loop was removed due to a decrease in traffic and train frequency.
As of August 2019, the only facility at the station is a passenger shelter on the single platform, but up until the early 1970s, the station had more substantial buildings as well as a signal box.[3]
Location
editThe station is directly on the coast in a spectacular and remote position overlooking the Irish Sea from a small cliff. Pearson's 1992 railway guide is moved to comment, "The tiny halts at Braystones and Nethertown are as remote as anything British Rail has to offer....Nethertown station seems suspended between the cliff face and the sands".[4] There is a vehicle track from the public highway and a footpath shortcut to the village.
Since 30 March 2021, the station has been on England's Coast Path with the opening of the St Bees to Silecroft section of the long-distance path.[5]
On the seaward side, the remains of the sea-filled swimming pool built by the contractors from the camp can be seen.[citation needed]
A foot level crossing connects the platform to the station approach track, and though this offers step-free access, the platform is too low to allow level access from platform to the train. A Harrington hump has been installed to allow easier access on and off the train, the steps which were previously mounted on the platform have been removed.[6] Timetable posters are available and there are electric lights during operating hours.
Services
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As of the 15 December 2019 timetable, five trains call in each direction (on request) from Monday to Friday, with one additional departure each way on Saturdays. The timetable stated briefly in 2019 that some Saturday services do not treat the station as a request stop, this reverted to all services being request in December 2019 and may have been a printing error as all local timetables had all trains as request only. There is no late evening service, but a limited Sunday service was introduced at the May 2018 timetable change;[7] the first to run over this section since 1976. Currently the Sunday service consists of 4 trains in each direction.
References
edit- ^ Quick, Michael (2022) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF). version 5.04. Railway & Canal Historical Society. p. 329. Archived from the original (PDF) on 25 November 2022.
- ^ McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. p. 22. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
- ^ Danby Wiske (18 April 2010), Nethertown station c 1970, retrieved 17 January 2023
- ^ Pearson's Railway Rides, The Cumbrian Coast. J M Pearson & Son, Staffs, 1992.
- ^ "England Coast Path: Whitehaven to Silecroft". gov.uk. 31 August 2021. Archived from the original on 17 January 2023. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
- ^ "National Rail Enquiries - Station facilities for Nethertown". www.nationalrail.co.uk. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
- ^ Table 100 National Rail timetable, May 2019
Sources
edit- 100 Years of St Bees, Douglas Sim, 1995. ISBN 0-9526990-0-1
External links
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Media related to Nethertown railway station at Wikimedia Commons- Train times and station information for Nethertown railway station from National Rail
| Preceding station |  National Rail
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Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Bees | Northern Trains Cumbrian Coast line |
Braystones | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| St Bees | Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway | Braystones | ||