Copperas Hill railway station

Copperas Hill railway station served the small clifftop community of Copperas Hill, south of Harrington 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 September 1921, 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, though, surprisingly in that age, trains had stopped calling at Copperas Hill in September 1921. 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 a short distance north of Copperas Hill and south of Harrington Village. Workmen's services to and from Copperas Hill 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 Copperas Hill was first and foremost a mineral railway, with the short-lived workmen's and passenger services an afterthought. A waggonway had reached a chemical works at the station site in the first half of the nineteenth century, connecting Harrington harbour with John Pit and Hodgson Pit. Later developments, eventually ran northwards towards Workington and northeastwards 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. Between them these industrial concerns sustained the railway through Copperas Hill until final closure to all traffic in May 1973. Although closed in 1921 the station was still in good shape in 1969.

1. A British record

Copperas Hill station was short-lived, but the track immediately north of the station has its place in the railway record books. Its southbound uphill gradient of 1 in 17 was the steepest adhesion-worked British incline carrying a regular, timetabled passenger service.

1. Afterlife

The track through the station site was lifted by the end of 1973. The trackbed now forms part of the Cumbrian Way.

1. See also

Gilgarran Branch Cleator and Workington Junction Railway

1. References


1. Sources


1. Further reading


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

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504 m

Rose Hill Platform railway station

Rose Hill Platform served workmen in the Rose Hill area of Harrington in the former county of Cumberland, England, which is now part of Cumbria. The halt was on the Harrington and Lowca Light Railway where it connected with the Cleator & Workington Junction Railway (CWJR) a short distance north of Copperas Hill and south of Harrington Village. Workmen's services to and from Lowca 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. There is no evidence that any advertised public service ever called at the halt. The public passenger service through its site, plying between Lowca and Workington Central called at Rosehill (Archer Street Halt) which was some 250 yards to the north. A workmen's service ran north from Lowca from April 1912. It appears to have called at Rose Hill Platform, but there is considerable doubt if there was even a physical platform in place. Details of the workmen's service are sketchy. A letter from Workington Iron and Steel Company's parliamentary agent to the Board of Trade on 2 December 1912 stated "..the line is being used [...] for the purpose of conveying workmen between Harrington and the works of the Promoters..." A photograph taken of the first public train on 2 June 1913 shows it at the workmen's platform at Lowca, the public platform yet not being ready. Standard works, notably Quick and Butt, make no mention of services at Lowca before 2 June 1913, nor at Micklam or Copperas Hill. They also give Rosehill (Archer Street Halt) as opening on 2 June 1913. This suggests that the workmen's service called at Moss Bay Cart Siding/Workington Central, Rose Hill Platform and Lowca Workmen's Platform. The mention of "...conveying workmen between Harrington and the works..." and entries in Croughton and Quick give tentative support to the Rose Hill Platform (a.k.a. Junction) call. Ex-employees writing later state "Miners' trains went up the private railway from Rosehill Box, where Pat McGuire, the "singing signalman" operated." Some later authors appear to conflate Rosehill Platform (a.k.a. Rose Hill Platform) and Archer St Halt. A public passenger service passed the halt between 2 June 1913 and May 1926. This was in essence an "upgraded" workmen's train, composed of the ancient workmen's coaches with a "public" coach tacked on. No source records this stopping between Archer Street and Copperas Hill. It is possible that when the public service ended in May 1926, the unadvertised workmen's trains which carried on until 1929 could have resorted to calling at Rose Hill Platform instead of or as well as Archer Street. Further research is needed.

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Rosehill (Archer Street Halt) railway station

Rosehill (Archer Street Halt) railway station was opened by the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway (C&WJR) on the company's Harrington Branch which connected with the Lowca Light Railway (LLR) at Rosehill to provide a through route from Lowca to Workington Central and beyond. Official, authoritative and regional sources variously refer to the halt as Rosehill (Archer Street Halt), Rosehill, Rose Hill and simply Archer Street. Sources also refer inconsistently to this halt and the nearby unadvertised platform at the top of Rosehill (Rose Hill) as Rose Hill, Rosehill, Rose Hill Platform and Rose Hill Junction. Some sources imply that there was only ever one halt at Rose Hill, that being at Archer Street. Sources agree that the halt opened when the line was opened to advertised trains on 2 June 1913, though they remain silent whether unadvertised workmen's trains ran before then. All agree that the halt closed to advertised passenger trains on 31 May 1926 and to closed completely when unadvertised workmen's trains were withdrawn on 1 April 1929.

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Harrington, Cumbria

Harrington is a suburban village on the southern outskirts of Workington, in the Cumberland district of Cumbria, England. It was formerly a separate village and parish; it has been administered as part of Workington since 1934, and is now classed as part of the Workington built up area. It lies on the coast and has a small harbour. Harrington railway station is on the Cumbrian Coast Line. In the late 18th century, the old village of Harrington, which stood a little way inland from the coast, was expanded into a planned town around a new harbour built to serve the local coal mines. Through the 19th century and into the 20th century, industries in Harrington included iron works, shipbuilding and chemical works. The major heavy industries had closed by the mid 20th century. Much of the 18th century planned town was demolished in slum clearance schemes in the 1960s, and the site is now public open space south of the harbour. Harrington today is in two main parts: the main part lies on the inland side of the coastal railway, and High Harrington is further inland to the east. The old parish of Harrington also included a rural area to the south, which became the separate parish of Lowca in 1934 when the rest of Harrington was absorbed into Workington. Harrington today gives its name to an electoral ward, which covers a different area to the old parish. The ward additionally includes Salterbeck and Winscales, which were historically part of Workington parish.

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Harrington railway station

Harrington railway station is a railway station serving the village of Harrington in Cumbria, England. It is on the Cumbrian Coast Line, which runs between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

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