Welcome to our next In-Dev entry for West Coast Main Line: Preston – Carlisle. This one features some of the stations you can explore on the route by way of text below and a set of screenshots from each of the stations.
Preston Station: Preston station is approximately half-way between London Euston and Glasgow Central Stations. The current station in the centre of the city was built in 1880 and extended in 1903 and again in 1913, at which time it had fifteen platforms. By 1986 this had reduced to eight operational platforms but by no means did this make Preston a quieter station. In 1986, the year our route is set in, Preston featured six through platforms, with two south facing bays, which were used by trains to Ormskirk and Colne, as well as for shunting of parcels coaches. Platform Seven in this era was only used by freight trains and was a glorified goods loop with trains often stopping to change crews, but sometimes they stayed for longer periods as they waited for a path to join the busy West Coast Main Line. On the west side of Preston station is the Mail Platform which sees little activity in the middle of the day but come the night it is a hive of activity with a stream of mail trains arriving and departing in both directions. Our Class 08 shunter is kept busy during the overnight period as coaches are added and removed from trains at regular intervals, giving a totally different feel to the station. No matter what time of day you are at Preston you will find something going on, whether it’s a train heading towards the Fylde Coast, a local stopper service waiting to head out of the bay platforms for Colne or Ormskirk, an Express passenger service heading north to Scotland or South to London or even a heavy freight train. You’ll never find yourself waiting more than a couple of minutes for activity at this location.
Lancaster Station: Lancaster’s main railway station was opened on its present site on 21st September 1846. Originally built as the southern terminus of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, an extension, southwards was constructed between 1852 and 1855. These fine buildings survive in use in the era that the route is set in. This was the city’s second station as the Lancaster and Preston Junction Railway built a Terminus in 1840 on Penny Street. The city also had a third station at Green Ayre which had a direct line to Morecambe Station. You will have plenty to see at this busy station throughout the day with Stopping Express Trains and Local DMU services calling here. You will also find Express Services speeding along the through lines that are not booked to stop here and if that was not enough a variety of mail and freight services too.
Carnforth Station: Carnforth Station was opened on 22nd September 1846 by The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway. It originally had a single platform. It became a junction on 6th June 1857, when the Ulverston and Lancaster Railway arrived from the north-west. The station was enlarged during the 1870s and in 1880 it began receiving trains from the Midland Railway, following the commissioning of a south-to-east direct curve to the Furness and Midland Joint Railway, creating the triangular junction featured in the route. The Furness Railway erected a distinctive stone-built signal box to the north west of the station in 1882 which saw use through until 1903. This still survives to the present day and is Grade II listed. In May 1970 the West Coast Main Line platforms were closed following the withdrawal of local stopping passenger services between Lancaster and Carlisle two years earlier. The platform walls facing the fast lines were demolished, cut back and fenced off before the commissioning of 25kV overhead electrification took place in 1974. These actions made Carnforth a secondary line station and despite it being situated on the main line West Coast Main Line services no longer stop here, however you can still find plenty of local stopping services to drive to and from this location on the route from places such as Barrow in Furness and Leeds.
Oxenholme Station: Oxenholme Station, formerly named Kendal Junction was constructed as part of The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway in July 1847 and now forms part of the West Coast Main Line from London to Glasgow. This station has three platforms. Two for the main line north and south and the other for services two and from Windermere Station. At this station you will see a variety of Stopping Express and Non-Stop Express services pass through during the day. Freight is a common sight too as it clatters along. This station is a popular interchange with many visitors changing to services to the destination of Lake Windermere & Bowness and further afield.
Penrith Station: Penrith Station opened on 17th December 1846 is now a Grade II listed building. Although the station is now relatively quiet at one time it served as a terminus for the Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway along with the North-Eastern Railways Eden Valley Branch. In the period that our route is set in you will find a variety of high-speed services which stop or run straight through along with the various parcels and general freight services that frequent the station. With an elevated curve running through the station this makes it quite the location for photo mode fans.
Carlisle Station: Carlisle Citadel Station has a rich and vibrant history, so much so that instead of trying to cram It all in here it will be featured in great detail in a future in-dev entry, however we have included some screens shots here just to whet the appetite.
We will also be covering Morecambe Branch Stations in a future In-Dev entry. Look out for that one!
