Cumberland and Westmorland Convalescent Institution railway station

Cumberland and Westmorland Convalescent Institution railway station was a terminus off the short Blitterlees Branch off the Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway, within Silloth itself.[6] The larger railway ran from Carlisle, England. The station does not appear on standard railway maps,[7] but it can be discerned with a magnifying glass on at least two published maps[8] and clearest of all on the 1914 25" OS map.[9]

Cumberland and Westmorland Convalescent Institution
The station with a typical train, around the beginning of the 20th century
General information
LocationSilloth, Cumberland
England
Coordinates54°51′54″N 3°23′48″W / 54.8651°N 3.3967°W / 54.8651; -3.3967
Grid referenceNY104531
Platforms1[1][2]
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyCarlisle & Silloth Bay Railway & Dock Company
Pre-groupingNorth British Railway
Post-groupingLondon and North Eastern Railway
Key dates
1862Opened
Unclear,[3] either about 1928[4] or after 1937[5]Closed
Location
Cumberland and Westmorland Convalescent Institution is located in the former Allerdale Borough
Cumberland and Westmorland Convalescent Institution
Cumberland and Westmorland Convalescent Institution
Location in present-day Allerdale, Cumbria
Cumberland and Westmorland Convalescent Institution is located in Cumbria
Cumberland and Westmorland Convalescent Institution
Cumberland and Westmorland Convalescent Institution
Location in present-day Cumbria, England

The station's sole purpose was to serve the convalescent home of the same name. Although this was the home's formal title, it was widely referred to as "Silloth Convalescent Home", as was the station. The station never appeared in public timetables.[10]

"Invalid Trains" to the station were run on an ad hoc basis, though for many years they commonly ran on Thursdays around 15:00, preceded by a shunter or a guard on foot, as the line to the station was a siding without signals or fencing.[5][11]

The unstaffed station was minimalist, consisting of a single wooden platform next to the single track.

The home and station opened in 1862. One source states that the station is believed to have closed around 1928, whilst another, with local knowledge, refers to it as both mentioned in the 1937 Sectional Appendix and "open during the Second World War".[5] In 2015 the home was still operating.[12]

See also

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References

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Sources

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  • Biddle, Gordon (1981). Railway Stations in the North West. Clapham, North Yorkshire: Dalesman Books. ISBN 978-0-85206-644-7.
  • Croughton, Godfrey; Kidner, R. W.; Young, Alan (1982). Private and Untimetabled Railway Stations, Halts and Stopping Places. The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-281-0. OCLC 10507501.
  • 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.
  • Liddell, H. M. (March 1984). Slater, John (ed.). "Shot at Silloth". The Railway Magazine. 130 (995). London: Tothill Press Limited. ISSN 0033-8923.
  • Puxley, Chris (2009). The Port of Silloth 1858–2009: A Pictorial History Through 150 Years of a Solway Port. Portishead: Bernard McCall. ISBN 978-1-902953-42-7.
  • Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & 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: Countryside Books. ISBN 978-1-84674-107-4.
  • Thomlinson, G. (February 1985). Peascod, Michael (ed.). "Rails on the Solway – 2". Cumbrian Railways. 3 (5). Pinner: Cumbrian Railways Association. ISSN 1466-6812.

Further reading

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