Grayrigg railway station

Grayrigg railway station in Lambrigg parish, was situated on the course of the original Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (L&CR) (the West Coast Main Line) between Lancaster and Penrith. It served the village and rural district of Grayrigg, Cumbria, England. The new station opened in November 1861, and closed on 1 February 1954[1] replacing the L&CR station that was located two miles (3.2 km) west of the station and closed in 1861.[1]

Lancaster and Carlisle Railway
Caledonian Main Line Carlisle Citadel Maryport & Carlisle Rly Tyne Valley Line and Settle–Carlisle line Brisco Wreay Southwaite Calthwaite Plumpton Penrith Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway Clifton Moor Eden Valley Railway Clifton and Lowther Shap Shap Summit 914 ft 278.6 m South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway Tebay Low Gill (2nd) Ingleton branch line Low Gill (1st) Grayrigg (1st) Grayrigg (2nd) Kendal & Windermere Railway Oxenholme Hincaster branch line Milnthorpe Burton and Holme Furness & Midland Jnt Rly Ulverstone & Lancaster Railway Carnforth Bolton-le-Sands Hest Bank Morecambe branch line "Little" North Western Rly Glasson Dock branch line Lancaster Castle Lancaster (Greaves) Lancaster & Preston Junction Railway

Grayrigg railway station
Location	Grayrigg, South Lakeland England
Coordinates	54.3585°N 2.6191°W
Grid reference	SD598960
Platforms	2
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
1849	first station opened
November 1861	resited
1 February 1954	Closed to passengers

The station

The station had two platforms, a signal box to the north and a station master's house. The goods yard had a weighing machine and a coal yard.[2] The much modified station house survives, the platforms have however been demolished and the line has been electrified. An electricity supply sub-station is located here and the railway becomes triple track here for a distance running north.

The old Ingleton Branch Line's Low Gill Viaduct lay nearby. This line was completed in 1861 and served the towns of Ingleton, Kirkby Lonsdale and Sedbergh. It closed to passengers in 1954 and was dismantled in 1967.[3]

The Grayrigg derailment

The scene at the Grayrigg derailment.

A fatal railway accident occurred on 23 February 2007, just to the south of Grayrigg that killed one passenger and 28 seriously injured. The derailment to a London (Euston) to Glasgow Virgin Pendolino express was caused by a faulty set of points controlled from the nearby Lambrigg ground frame. The points which caused the derailment, and points on the opposite line, were removed from the track following the derailment. The track is now welded continuously for 2.2 miles here, including the section over the Docker Viaduct. The overhead electrical line equipment had to be replaced, double-line catenary from a single stand being used.

Stations on the line

The next station on the line towards Carlisle was Low Gill and the preceding station was Oxenholme.

References

Notes

1. Butt 1995, p. 108
2. Old Maps Archived 2012-04-30 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved : 2012-09-15
3. Butt, Page 207

Sources

• 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 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.

External links

• Old Cumbria Gazetteer
• Time Capsules - station photograph