Armathwaite railway station

Armathwaite
General information
Location	Armathwaite, Eden England
Coordinates	54°48′34″N 2°46′20″W
Grid reference	NY504463
Owned by	Network Rail
Operated by	Northern Trains
Platforms	2
Tracks	2
Construction
Architect	John Holloway Sanders
Other information
Station code	AWT
Classification	DfT category F2
History
Original company	Midland Railway
Pre-grouping	Midland Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway British Rail (London Midland Region)
Key dates
1 May 1876	Opened
5 May 1970	Closed
14 July 1986	Reopened
Passengers
2019/20	9,510
2020/21	1,700
2021/22	6,988
2022/23	8,430
2023/24	11,432
Services
Preceding station Northern Following station Lazonby & Kirkoswald towards Leeds via Settle Settle and Carlisle Line Carlisle Terminus
Location Armathwaite Location in Eden, Cumbria Show map of the former Eden District Armathwaite Location in Cumbria, England Show map of Cumbria
Notes Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail & Road

Armathwaite is a railway station on the Settle and Carlisle Line, which runs between Carlisle and Leeds via Settle. The station, situated 9 miles 75 chains (16 km) south-east of Carlisle, serves the village of Armathwaite, Eden in Cumbria, England. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

History

The station's signal box was constructed by the Midland Railway in 1899, and restored in 1992.

The station was opened by the Midland Railway on 1 May 1876. It was designed by company architect, John Holloway Sanders.^[1] The original station building, now a private house, is a medium-sized style station built from local red sandstone.

Following the closure of Cotehill, Cumwhinton and Scotby in the 1950s, the station now serves as the final stop on the Settle & Carlisle line, prior to reaching the terminus at Carlisle.

The station was closed by British Rail on 2 May 1970, when local passenger trains ceased operating on the route.^[2] It was reopened on 14 July 1986.^[3][4] By then, the original station building on the Carlisle-bound platform had been sold for private use, so a passenger shelter was built at the northern end of the platform. A brick-built passenger waiting room exists on the Leeds-bound platform.

The station's signal box was built by the Midland Railway and placed in service on 16 July 1899. It was equipped with a 16-lever tumbler frame. The box was decommissioned on 15 January 1983. During 1992, it was restored by the Friends of the Settle to Carlisle Line.^[5][6] The refurbishment saw the signal box furnished with original Midland Railway block instruments and painted in original colours. It can be visited on Sundays by prior arrangement.^[7]

Stationmasters

• W. Mee 1876 - 1878^[8]
• J. Simpson 1878 - 1879^[8] (afterwards station master at Luffenham)
• Alfred Lee 1879^[8] - 1885^[9] (afterwards station master at Woodchester)
• Thomas Moss 1885 - 1889^[9] (formerly station master at Cotehill, afterwards station master at Appleby)
• George Fletcher 1889^[9] - 1904^[10]
• C. Taylor from 1904
• George Palmer ca. 1914 - 1921^[11] (afterwards station master of Cresswell)
• E.W. Edwards until 1939^[12] (also station master at Cotehill, afterwards station master at Gwyddelwern, Merioneth)
• Stanley C. Routledge from 1939^[13] (also station master at Cotehill)
• F. Hulse from 1940^[14]
• L. Mortimer from 1941^[15] (also station master at Cotehill)
• Jack Alker 1945 - 1950^[16] (afterwards station master at Blackrod)

Facilities

Waiting room on the Leeds-bound platform.

The station has two platforms, both of which have seating, waiting shelter (southbound only), next train audio and visual displays and an emergency help point. Platforms can be accessed from the car park (northbound) or nearby road (southbound), and do not have step-free access. There is a small car park at the station.^[17]

Services

Northern Trains Route 7
v t e
Settle & Carlisle & Bentham lines
Carlisle Armathwaite Lazonby & Kirkoswald Langwathby Appleby Kirkby Stephen Garsdale Dent Ribblehead Horton-in-Ribblesdale Settle Heysham Port Morecambe Bare Lane Lancaster Carnforth Wennington Bentham Clapham Giggleswick Long Preston Hellifield Gargrave Skipton Keighley Bingley Shipley Leeds

As at May 2023, the station is served by eight trains per day (six on Sunday) towards Carlisle. Heading towards Leeds via Settle, there are seven trains per day (six on Sunday). All services are operated by Northern Trains.^[18]

Accidents and incidents

• Services between Armathwaite and Carlisle were suspended from 9 February 2016, due to a landslip north of the station at Eden Brows. The station served as the northern terminus of the Settle & Carlisle line until 30 March 2017, when the £23 million project to repair the embankment and reinstate the track bed was completed by Network Rail.^{[19][20][21][22][23]}

References

1. "Notes by the Way". Derbyshire Times & Chesterfield Herald. British Newspaper Archive. 1 November 1884. Retrieved 12 July 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
2. Settle & Carlisle stations closed The Railway Magazine issue 830 June 1970 page 344
3. Settle & Carlisle: new local service Rail Enthusiast issue 59 August 1986 page 29
4. Settle Carlisle re-openings Modern Railways issue 456 September 1986 page 461
5. Mason, Viv (11 April 2019). "Settle-Carlisle line: Timeline of events over the decades". Craven Herald. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
6. "Armathwaite Station Signalbox". Friends of the Settle to Carlisle Line. Archived from the original on 17 June 2013. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
7. "Armathwaite Signal Box, Colourfully Obsolete". Cumbria Guide. 6 January 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
8. "1871-1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 733. 1871. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
9. "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 34. 1881. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
10. "1899-1908 Coaching; Piece 1026". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 27. 1899. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
11. "Presentation to the late Armathwaite Station Master". Penrith Observer. England. 29 November 1921. Retrieved 13 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
12. "Personal". Penrith Observer. England. 17 January 1939. Retrieved 13 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
13. "Personal". Penrith Observer. England. 25 April 1939. Retrieved 13 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
14. "Sandbach". Crewe Chronicle. England. 1 June 1940. Retrieved 13 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
15. "LMS Appointments". Bradford Observer. England. 18 September 1941. Retrieved 13 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
16. "Confidentially.". Formby Times. England. 14 January 1950. Retrieved 13 March 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
17. "Armathwaite (AWT) Station Train Tickets, Departures and Timetables". Northern Trains. Archived from the original on 16 July 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
18. Table 35 National Rail timetable, May 2023
19. "£23m landslip repair set to reopen Settle-Carlisle railway line in March 2017". Network Rail. Archived from the original on 11 July 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
20. Stephen, Paul (28 June 2016). "S&C rail services run to Armathwaite". Rail. Archived from the original on 29 June 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
21. "Settle-Carlisle line reopens after orange army repairs to major landslip". Network Rail. 31 March 2017. Archived from the original on 1 April 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
22. Milne, Andy (30 May 2017). "Business as usual on the Settle and Carlisle line". Rail Engineer. Archived from the original on 21 October 2020. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
23. "Landslip-hit Carlisle-to-Settle rail line set for March reopening". BBC News. 13 December 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2021.

Sources

• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 18. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.

External links

Media related to Armathwaite railway station at Wikimedia Commons

• Train times and station information for Armathwaite railway station from National Rail

Preceding station	National Rail			Following station
Lazonby & Kirkoswald		Northern Trains Settle & Carlisle line		Carlisle
	Historical railways
Lazonby & Kirkoswald		Midland Railway Settle & Carlisle line		Cotehill