Eden Valley Railway

The Eden Valley Railway (EVR) was a railway in Cumbria, England. It ran between Clifton Junction near Penrith and Kirkby Stephen via Appleby-in-Westmorland.

Passenger traffic ended in 1962 and the line was reduced to the track between the junction at Appleby station with the Settle-Carlisle Line and Kirkby Stephen which served a quarry. By 1976, all that was left was Template:Convert of track between Appleby in Westmorland and Flitholme. It was used by infrequent British Army services to Warcop Training Area until 1989.

In 1995, the Eden Valley Railway Society was formed with the aim of reinstating services and restoring the line. Heritage railway services resumed operations in 2006 between Warcop and Sandford, with an extension of Template:Convert being opened in 2013, giving a current running line of almost Template:Convert.

History

Background

Before the construction of the Eden Valley Railway, in the 1840s, several schemes had been proposed which would have run to the Eden Valley; one was the York & Carlisle Junction Railway,<ref name="t468">The North Eastern Railway; its rise and development, William Weaver Tomlinson, pp. 468–469</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> backed by the Great North of England Railway, which would have run from Northallerton to Barnard Castle then across the Pennines to Kirkby Stephen, after which two branches would have been formed to connect with the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway; one to Tebay and the other to Clifton.<ref name="ner98">The North Eastern Railway, Cecil J. Allen, p. 98</ref> Another similar scheme was the Northumberland & Lancashire Union which would have run from Gateshead near Newcastle upon Tyne to Barnard Castle, and then as the York & Carlisle line across the Pennines via Kirkby Stephen to Tebay.<ref name="t468"/> Additionally the Yorkshire and Glasgow Union Railway was planned to run west from Thirsk through Wensleydale to Hawes, then north through the Mallerstang Valley to Kirkby Stephen, and then through the Eden Valley to Clifton via Appleby-in-Westmorland.<ref name="t468"/><ref name="ner98"/> Both the Yorkshire & Glasgow Union and part of the York & Carlisle Junction to Tebay were empowered by acts of Parliament in 1845<ref>The North Eastern Railway; its rise and development, William Weaver Tomlinson, p. 480</ref> but the end of the Railway bubble of the 1840s meant that they were not built.

It was not until the late 1850s that a line through the Eden Valley was proposed again. Firstly a new trans-Pennine railway line was proposed, reviving the earlier schemes; the South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway (SD&LUR) was to run from the Stockton and Darlington Railway<ref group="note">There were two connections, one from Barnard Castle (connected by the Darlington and Barnard Castle Railway), the other at Spring Garden Junction near St Helens on the Haggerleases Branch line.</ref> to Kirkby Stephen and then to Tebay. A second line, the Eden Valley Railway would branch from the first at Kirkby Stephen and then go to Clifton via the upper Eden Valley. The main purpose of these lines was freight, not passengers; bringing higher grade iron ore from Cumberland and Lancashire to the blast furnaces of the North East, and coal and coke from the mines of Durham to the northwest of England.<ref name="reg">A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Vol.4, pp. 133–136</ref> The route was shorter than the alternative, the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway.<ref>The North Eastern Railway, Cecil J. Allen, pp. 119–121</ref>

Template:Infobox UK legislation The act of Parliament authorising South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway, the South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway Act 1857 (20 & 21 Vict. c. xl) was passed on 13 July 1857,<ref>The North Eastern Railway; its rise and development, William Weaver Tomlinson, p. 561</ref> and that for the Eden Valley Railway, the Template:Visible anchor (21 & 22 Vict. c. xiv) came soon after on 21 May 1858.

The act allowed the raising of a capital of £180,000. The appointed directors of the company include important figures from Westmorland and Cumberland<ref name="ed">Once a year, tales and legends of Westmorland, Issue 1, John Close, 1862, "The Eden Valley Railway", pp. 106–7, google books</ref> including William Brougham, Sir Richard Tufton Isaac Wilson as well as Henry Pease.<ref>The North Eastern Railway; its rise and development, William Weaver Tomlinson, p. 568</ref>

Construction and route

Construction of the Template:Convert line was contracted to Messrs. Lawton Brothers of Newcastle, the turning of the sod ceremony took place on 4 August 1858 with Lord Brougham.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Most of the stone for the railway's stations was quarried near Cliburn.<ref name="ed"/> Construction of the line was straightforward with only three minor rivers to cross and no tunnels in low-lying land; the maximum incline was 1 in 80, the average 1 in 150.<ref name="dic1">The Eden Valley Railway, Alan Dick, Part 1</ref> The cost of construction had been £204,803 0s 8d<ref name="reg"/> (Template:Inflation).

From Kirkby Stephen East station on the SD&LUR the line to Cumbria curves northwest to the junction at which the Eden Valley railway separates from the Tebay line and begins to travel roughly north. Template:Convert after the junction a bridge over Scandal Beck is reached which was crossed by an iron bridge,<ref name="ed"/> less than Template:Convert further north the River Eden was crossed by Musgrave viaduct<ref group="map">Musgrave Viaduct looking west 23.9.1978 Possibly later dating bridge over the Eden, since removed Template:Coord, via www.flickr.com</ref> of three Template:Convert lattice girder iron spans.<ref name="brt">The North Eastern Railway; its rise and development, William Weaver Tomlinson, p. 607</ref>

Next was the minor Musgrave station to the west of the village of Great Musgrave. The line then curved to the northwest towards Warcop and after Template:Convert reached Warcop station. From Warcop the line continued northwest along the Eden valley north of the Eden crossing Coupland Beck after Template:Convert by a viaduct,<ref group="map">Coupland Beck Viaduct Template:Webarchive viewed from the north, Template:Coord, via www.visitcumbria.com</ref> and then continued to Appleby about Template:Convert after Warcop station.

Template:Convert running northwest from Appleby the railway reached Kirkby Thore station, then just over Template:Convert west-northwest to Temple Sowerby station south of the village of the same name. The river Eden was crossed once more at Skygarth viaduct which had four lattice girders each of Template:Convert,<ref name="brt"/><ref>The North Eastern Railway, Cecil J. Allen, p. 122</ref> whence the line ran roughly west to Cliburn railway station Template:Convert north of the village of Cliburn. The line then continued west, and curved south on a chord connecting it to a north facing junction near Clifton, Cumbria connecting the line to Clifton and Lowther station on the Lancaster & Carlisle Railway.

The line was built as a single track line and was worked by the Stockton and Darlington Railway from its inception, it opened for mineral trains on 8 April 1862, and for passengers on 9 June the same year.<ref name="reg"/>

1862 to 1923: NER

File:Penrith, Clifton & Tebay Appleby RJD 058.jpg

1914 Railway Clearing House diagram showing junctions at Clifton and Appleby

Soon after opening the amalgamation of the railway into the Stockton and Darlington Railway along with the South Durham and Lancashire Union Railway and Frosterley and Stanhope Railway was sanctioned by an Act of Parliament on 30 June 1862.<ref>The North Eastern Railway; its rise and development, William Weaver Tomlinson, p. 605</ref> The following year the Stockton and Darlington merged into the North Eastern Railway,<ref>The North Eastern Railway; its rise and development, William Weaver Tomlinson, Appendix E "Railway and Dock Companies merged into the North Eastern Railway", pp. 778–9</ref> and the Eden Valley line too became part of that larger system.

During the construction of the railway, in 1861, an act of Parliament was passed that would increase the importance of the Eden Valley Line. This was the act permitting the construction of the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway, which by 1865 had been opened. It connected to the Cockermouth and Workington Railway, and hence the ports and industrialised iron-rich regions of the west Cumbrian coast (Workington, Whitehaven) were linked to the Lancaster and Carlisle line (operated by the London and North Western Railway) near Penrith close to the Eden Valley's own junction. This made the Eden Valley line a route of choice for transport of materials between the north east and north west of England.<ref name="brt"/> Permission to build a connection allowing trains from the north to run directly onto the Eden Valley line was obtained in 1862, and the new section opened in 1863, along with a new station for Clifton (renamed Clifton Moor in 1927) on the chord. Eden Valley passenger trains now ran via this northern track, and had running powers on the L&CR line, now going to Penrith. After 1874 the southern chord was abandoned.<ref>"A Forgotten Junction in Westmorland", M.D. Greville, G.O. Holt, The Railway Magazine, reproduced at The Eden Valley and Stainmore Railway – Clifton & Lowther Station, via www.cumbria-railways.co.uk</ref>

During the 1870s the Settle and Carlisle Railway was being constructed, which also ran through the upper Eden Valley. West of the station in Appleby in Westmorland a junction with the Eden Valley railway was built allowing trains travelling north to cross onto the westbound Eden Valley line. Further west the Settle line crossed over the Eden Valley line.<ref>The Eden Valley Railway, "Warcop and Appleby", Alan Dick, Part 3</ref>

1923 to 1948: LNER

In 1923, the Eden Valley Railway was grouped into the London and North Eastern Railway in accordance with the Railways Act 1921.<ref name="Western2014">Template:Cite book</ref> On September 1, 1927, then Clifton station was given its current name, Clifton Moor station. This was to differentiate itself from Clifton and Lowther station, a part of the London Midland and Scottish Railway.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1936, the route going through Redhills to Penrith was removed, thereby limiting all future freight to transporting local goods.<ref name="Western2014" /><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During the interwar years, the Eden Valley line saw a gradual decline in passenger numbers, reflecting broader reductions in rural rail usage across northern England.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The LNER maintained limited passenger services between Kirkby Stephen and Penrith,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> primarily to connect local communities with mainline services on the West Coast Main Line.<ref name="cumbria-railways.co.uk">Template:Cite web</ref> Freight traffic mostly agricultural produce, coal, and limestone continued to provide modest revenue . During the Second World War, sections of the route were used to transport military supplies and personnel to nearby training ground<ref name="cumbria-railways.co.uk"/> s. However, by the mid-1940s, the line required significant maintenance investment, and following nationalisation in 1948, it was incorporated into the newly formed British Railways Eastern Region.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

1948 to 1989: British Railways

File:Rusty rails - geograph.org.uk - 224671.jpg

Ministry of Defence sidings at Warcop in 1989

In 1948 the railways of Britain were nationalised and the line became part of British Railways. In the following decade several stations closed: Musgrave station in 1952, Kirkby Thore in 1953, Temple Sowerby closed to passengers in 1953, and Cliburn station in 1956.<ref name="chis">The Eden Valley and Stainmore Railway – History www.cumbria-railways.co.uk</ref>

In 1958 a two car diesel multiple unit service was introduced.<ref name="dic1"/><ref name="chis"/> However between 1962 and 1963 the entire line closed to passengers. At the same time the Stainmore railway also closed completely apart from a short section of track eastwards from Kirkby Stephen East railway station to Merrygill Viaduct for the quarry nearby. From then on only freight trains used the line.<ref name="dishis">Appleby East, Section "A Brief History of the Darlington to Tebay line (Stainmore) & Kirkby Stephen to Clifton line (Eden Valley)", www.disused-stations.org.uk</ref>

The line from Clifton to Appleby was also closed, and, from 1963 points east of Appleby could only be reached via the junction with the Settle and Carlisle railway at Appleby. Freight trains still ran from Appleby to Kirkby Stephen and then to Hartley Quarry (Template:Coord). In 1974 that service ended and the track was removed except for about Template:Convert between Appleby and Warcop. Trains for the Warcop Training Area north of Warcop village ran until 1989.<ref name="dishis"/>

The line today

The section of line between Appleby and Warcop has been restored by the Eden Valley Railway Trust, originally known as the Eden Valley Railway Society. At the southern end of the route, the Stainmore Railway Company has reinstated a short stretch of track near Kirkby Stephen East station.

Other than in the restored sections, none of the track remains in situ. Most of the trackbed remains as a feature on the landscape and as field boundaries. To the south east of Kirkby Thore the A66 road crosses the trackbed close to where Kirkby Thore station once stood, and the station was demolished when the road was remodelled in 1974.<ref>Kirkby Thore www.disused-stations.org.uk</ref> Clifton Moor,<ref>Clifton Moor www.disused-stations.org.uk</ref> Cliburn,<ref name="clib">Cliburn www.disused-stations.org.uk</ref> Temple Sowerby<ref>Temple Sowerby www.disused-railways.org.uk</ref> and Warcop<ref name="warc">Warcop www.disused-stations.org.uk</ref> and Musgrave railway stations<ref>Musgrave www.disused-stations.org.uk</ref> are now private residences. Other features including the signal boxes at Cliburn<ref name="clib"/> and Warcop<ref name="warc"/> have survived. The bridges at Musgrave and Skygarth have been removed. The former junction west of Kirkby Stephen with the line to Tebay is now a nature reserve.

Notes

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References

Sources

• The North Eastern Railway, Cecil J. Allen, 1974
• A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain, Volume 4: The North East, K. Hoole, 3rd Edition, 1986
• The North Eastern Railway; its rise and development, William Weaver Tomlinson, 1915, online version via www.archive.org
• The Eden Valley Railway, Robert Western, 1997, online version via www.archive.org
• The Eden Valley Railway, Alan Dick, 1992, article, images track diagrams, via www.cumbria-railways.co.uk
• Cumbria Railways – The Eden Valley Railway, description, images and maps, www.cumbria-railways.co.uk

Map coordinates and images

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