Micklam railway station

Micklam railway station served the fireclay mine and brickworks at Micklam, a short distance north of Lowca in the former county of Cumberland, England, which is now part of Cumbria. A public passenger service called at the station between 2 June 1913 and May 1926, though unadvertised workmen's trains had started in April 1912 and continued until April 1929, after which all forms of passenger service ceased. By 1922 the service had settled down to three trains each way between Lowca and Workington Central, calling at Micklam. There was an extra on Saturdays, but it passed through Micklam without stopping.. There never was a public Sunday service. The station was on the Harrington and Lowca Light Railway which connected with the Cleator & Workington Junction Railway (CWJR) at Rosehill Junction south of Harrington Village. Workmen's services to and from Micklam variously ran from Moss Bay Cart Siding, Maryport (during the First World War), Workington Central and Seaton (Cumbria). Public passenger trains ran to these last two only.

1. Freight services

The railway through Micklam was first and foremost a mineral railway, with the short-lived workmen's and passenger services an afterthought. Lines first reached the site at the end of the Nineteenth Century, eventually running northwards towards Workington and southeastwards to meet the Gilgarran Branch at Bain's Siding. The driving forces were coal at Lowca, fireclay and bricks (primarily aimed at lining furnaces at Workington's steelworks), coke and coking bi-products. Centrepiece for over fifty years was Harrington No. 10 Colliery which, confusingly, was not in Harrington, but in Lowca. A seldom-photographed 2 feet 6 inches (760 mm) railway emerged from the fireclay drift mine then ran parallel to the Lowca Light railway along the clifftop to Micklam brickworks. Between them these industrial concerns sustained the railway through Micklam until final closure to all traffic in May 1973.

1. See also

Gilgarran Branch Cleator and Workington Junction Railway

1. References


1. Sources


1. Further reading

Anderson, Paul (April 2002). Hawkins, Chris (ed.). "Dog in the Manger? The Track of the Ironmasters". British Railways Illustrated. 11 (7). Clophill: Irwell Press Ltd. Jackson, Stanley; Sisson, Norman; Haywood, T.R. (October 1982b). Peascod, Michael (ed.). "The Cleator and Workington Junction Railway". Cumbrian Railways. 2 (12). Pinner: Cumbrian Railways Association. ISSN 1466-6812. News, Notes and (August 1973). Slater, J.N. (ed.). "Lowca Light Railway Closes". The Railway Magazine. 119 (868). London: Tothill Press Limited. {{cite journal}}: |last= has generic name (help) Webb, David R. (October 1964b). Cooke, B.W.C. (ed.). "Between the Solway and Sellafield: Part Two". The Railway Magazine. 110 (762). London: Tothill Press Limited.

1. Bibliography

Bairstow, Martin (1995). Railways In The Lake District. Martin Bairstow. ISBN 1-871944-11-2. British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas And Gazetteer. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. 1997 [1958]. ISBN 0-7110-0320-3. Croughton, Godfrey; Kidner, Roger W.; Young, Alan (1982). Private and Untimetabled Railway Stations, Halts and Stopping Places X 43. Headington, Oxford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-281-1. Haynes, James Allen (April 1920). Cleator & Workington Junction Railway Working Time Table. Central Station, Workington: Cleator and Workington Junction Railway. 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. Joy, David (1983). Lake Counties (Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 094653702X. Marshall, John (1981). Forgotten Railways: North West England. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-8003-6. McGowan Gradon, W. (2004) [1952]. The Track of the Ironmasters: A History of the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway. Grange-over-Sands: Cumbrian Railways Association. ISBN 0-9540232-2-6. Quayle, Howard (2007). Whitehaven: The Railways and Waggonways of a Unique Cumberland Port. Pinner: Cumbrian Railways Association. ISBN 978-0-9540232-5-6. Quick, Michael (September 2009). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain - a Chronology. Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. Robinson, Peter W. (2002). Cumbria's Lost Railways. Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 1-84033-205-0. Robinson, Peter W. (1985). Railways of Cumbria. Clapham, via Lancaster: Dalesman Books. ISBN 0-85206-815-8. Smith, Paul; Turner, Keith (2012). Railway Atlas Then and Now. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7110-3695-6. Suggitt, Gordon (2008). Lost Railways of Cumbria (Railway Series). Newbury: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-107-4.

1. External links

The closed station on an inter-war OS map National Library of Scotland The station Rail Map Online Latterday steam at Lowca flickr Latterday steam at Lowca flickr Industrial relics at Lowca flickr The line railwaycodes The Harrington collieries Haig Pit Mining Museum

Nearby Places View Menu

Lowca

Lowca is a village and civil parish in the English county of Cumbria, just to the north of the village of Moresby. It had a population of 773 in 2001, increasing to 888 at the 2011 Census. It was formerly a mining area but is now noted for its wind farm. Lowca looks out over the Solway Firth to the west. The village used to stand next to a huge black slag heap called Pit Bank until the slag heap was redeveloped in the 1980s, along with a new road leading directly through Lowca from the A595. Lowca has its own community school, previously known as Lowca Primary School, and rugby team.

Neighbourhood Rugby

Raid on Lowca and Parton

The Raid on Lowca and Parton during the First World War on 16 August 1915 was an attack by the Imperial German Navy submarine U-24 on the Harrington Coke toluene factory located near the villages of Lowca and Parton in Cumbria on the British coast. U-24 fired 55 shells and then left without British interference, causing minimal damage to the facility and the death of a local dog. The incident was one of only a few naval operations in the Irish Sea during World War One, and probably the first time Britain was bombarded by a submarine. The event played a significant part in the espionage affair of Hildegare Burnyeat, the German-born wife of British Parliament MP William Burnyeat, who was accused, convicted, and finally pardoned on charges of spying for the German Empire.

Historic Site Industrial

Lowca railway station

Lowca had two railway stations that served the village of Lowca in the former county of Cumberland, England, which is now part of Cumbria. The line was originally a waggonway that conveyed coal from a drift mine at Lowca to Harrington Harbour and later to Harrington Iron Works. As the demand for greater quantities of coal to feed the ironworks was most important new mines with vertical shafts were sunk. These were named after the parent ironworks and took the name of Harrington with a shaft number to identify them, such as Harrington No.4 and Harrington No.9. A public passenger service ran from the 1st station between 2 June 1913 and when the 2nd Lowca Station was completed in August 1913 public services ran until they ceased in May 1926. Unadvertised workmen's trains had started in April 1912 and ran between Moss Bay Cart Siding and the colliery station in the pit yard. After the Light Railway order ended the private workmen's service continued until April 1929, after which the workmen's trains ceased. By 1922 the service had settled down to three trains each way between Lowca and Workington Central, with an extra on Saturdays. There never was a public Sunday service. The first station at Lowca was built by Bain & Co. who owned the colliery and Harrington Ironworks. It was situated in the colliery yard and was closed to public passenger use when the second station at Lowca was opened in August 1913. The second station was on the Harrington and Lowca Light Railway which connected with the Cleator & Workington Junction Railway (CWJR) at Rosehill Junction south of Harrington Village. At different times workmen's services to Lowca ran from four places: Maryport (during the First World War), Moss Bay Cart Siding, Workington Central and Seaton (Cumbria). Public passenger trains ran from these last two only. For many years there has been confusion regarding the stations at Lowca, with the two stations in the village being treated as one. The first official passenger service terminated in the colliery yard as shown in the photo. The 1st station continued in use until 1929 for workmen's trains but for passenger use the 2nd Lowca Station was the terminus.

Landmark Train

Lowca Beck

Lowca Beck is a beck in the county of Cumbria, England. The beck rises (as Distington Beck) in the vicinity of Gilgarran and flows by Distington and the remains of Hayes Castle before flowing between Lowca and Howgate, emptying into the Solway Firth at Parton Bay.

Landmark