Silloth Battery Extension railway station

Silloth Battery Extension railway station was the terminus of the Blitterlees Branch, which turned southwards off the Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway's Silloth Branch a short distance east of Silloth station.[3] The larger railway ran from Carlisle, England. The Bitterlees Branch does not appear on standard railway maps,[4] but it is clear on OS maps, though the station is not identifiable as such.[5]

Silloth Battery Extension
Location	Silloth, Allerdale England
Coordinates	54.8576°N 3.4013°W
Grid reference	NY101523
Platforms	1[1]
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	Carlisle & Silloth Bay Railway & Dock Company
Pre-grouping	North British Railway
Post-grouping	London and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
1886	Opened
About 1928	Closed[2]
Location
Silloth Battery Extension Location in present-day Allerdale, Cumbria Silloth Battery Extension Location in present-day Cumbria, England

Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway
Overview Locale Cumbria Dates of operation 1854–1964 Predecessor Carlisle & Silloth Bay Railway Successor NBR Technical Track gauge 1,435 mm (4 ft 8 ^1⁄2 in)
Silloth Battery Extension Silloth Convalescent Home Silloth Docks and Pier Silloth Causewayhead Blackdyke Halt Abbey Town Solway Junction Railway southbound Abbey Junction Sleightholme Solway Junction Railway northbound Kirkbride New Dykes Brow Port Carlisle Glasson Drumburgh Burgh-by-Sands Kirkandrews Waverley Line northbound Port Carlisle Junction Carlisle Canal Carlisle West Coast Main Line southbound│northbound

The station's sole purpose was to serve the naval gun testing battery, built by Armstrong Whitworth.[6] Most trains to the site consisted of military supplies, the passenger station was built to carry battery personnel and visitors, including royalty on at least one occasion. In 1895 the Shalzada of Afghanistan and Suite observed naval firing, but was said to be especially impressed with the Maxim machine gun.[7][3]

Trains to the station were run on an ad hoc basis, the station never appeared on public timetables.

The station opened in 1886 and closed in 1928 when the battery closed, its operations being moved south to Eskmeals, near Drigg.

See also

• List of closed railway stations in Britain

References

1. The station, via Cumbrian Railways Association
2. Quick 2009, p. 353.
3. Suggitt 2008, p. 103.
4. Jowett 1989, Map 36.
5. Puxley 2009, p. 32.
6. Images of the battery, plus local talk, via BBC and others
7. Thomlinson 1983, p. 12.

Sources

• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
• Puxley, Chris (2009). The Port of Silloth 1858 - 2009: A Pictorial History Through 150 Years of a Solway Port. Portishead, Somerset: Bernard McCall. ISBN 978-1-902953-42-7.
• Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway and Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
• Robinson, Peter W. (2002). Cumbria's Lost Railways. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84033-205-6.
• Suggitt, Gordon (2008). Lost Railways of Cumbria (Railway Series). Newbury, Berkshire: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-107-4.
• Thomlinson, G. (May 1983). Peascod, Michael (ed.). "Rails on the Solway". Cumbrian Railways. Pinner: Cumbrian Railways Association. 2 (14). ISSN 1466-6812.

Further reading

• Bradshaw, George (1985) [July 1922]. Bradshaw's General Railway and Steam Navigation guide for Great Britain and Ireland: A reprint of the July 1922 issue. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-8708-5. OCLC 12500436.
• Edgar, Stuart; Sinton, John H. (1990). The Solway Junction Railway. Catrine: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-395-4. LP176.
• Liddell, H. M. (March 1984). Slater, John (ed.). "Shot at Silloth". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 130 no. 995. London: Tothill Press Limited. ISSN 0033-8923.
• Marsh, John; Garbutt, John (1999). Cumbrian Railways. Alan Sutton Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7509-2043-8.
• Mullay, Alexander J. (2006). Rails Across the Border. Stroud: Tempus. ISBN 978-0-7524-3666-1.
• Robinson, Peter W. (August 1995). Peascod, Michael (ed.). "Maryport & Carlisle 150". Cumbrian Railways. Pinner: Cumbrian Railways Association. 5 (12). ISSN 1466-6812.
• Robinson, Peter W. (1985). Railways of Cumbria. Clapham, North Yorkshire: Dalesman Books. ISBN 978-0-85206-815-1.
• Webb, David R. (September 1964). Cooke, B.W.C. (ed.). "Between the Solway and Sellafield: Part One". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 110 no. 761. London: Tothill Press Limited. ISSN 0033-8923.
• White, Stephen (1984). Solway Steam: The Story of the Sillath and Port Carlisle Railways, 1854-1964. Carlisle, Cumbria: Carel Press Limited. ISBN 978-0-9509096-1-5.

External links

• The station on a navigable Edwardian OS map National Library of Scotland
• The station on the branch, with mileages Railway Codes
• The line with period photographs Holme St Cuthbert History Group
• The line and station Cumbrian Railways Association
• The convalescent home Its own website
• The station Rail Map Online

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Black Dyke Halt Line and station closed		North British Railway Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway		Terminus