Lowca Light Railway - History

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Lowca Light Railway - History

  • Harrington Harbour Waggonway dates from the improvement of the harbour in 1760.
  • Whitehaven Junction Railway act of 1844 to build a bridge for the waggonway over main line at Harrington.
  • Cleator Moor & Workington railway opened in 1879 its Harrington branch connected with the Harrington Harbour Tramway at Bains Tramway Junction to be later known as Rosehill Junction.
  • In 1909 the Harrington Harbour Tramway became the property of Workington Iron & Steel Company Ltd.
  • In 1911 Coke ovens were introduced at Lowca.
  • Because of limited accomodation at Lowca and houses being readily available in Workington the Koppers Coke Oven Company requested th C&WJR to provide workmans trains between Workington and Lowca.
  • In 16th May 1913 the Harrington & Lowca Light Railway sanctioned equipping the line for passengers.
  • Passenger services began on 2nd June 1913
  • Archer Street, Copperas Hill, Micklam and Lowca Stations opened 2nd June 1913.
  • 1st November 1913 Church Road Halt (Harrington) opened.
  • In September 1915 a workmans train was introduced during the war.
  • In 1919 the Workington Iron & Steel Company became part of the United Steel Company
  • Copperas Hill disappeared from timetable in June 1921.
  • The General Strike on 3rd May 1926 brought rail services to a standstill.
  • Church Road, Archer Street, Micklam and Lowca Stations closed for passengers 31st May 1926 (Church Road Micklam and Lowca remained open for workmen until 1st April 1929).
  • Harrington and Lowca Light Railway formally closed on 31st May 1926 for passenger services.
  • Lowca Light Railway still had many years of freight services from 1926 serving Micklam brickworks and Harrington No 10 Pit at Lowca.
  • Closure of token cabin at Rosehill Junction
  • Harrington No 10 Pit closes in 1968.
  • Line still used to bring Coal from Solway Colliery at Workington to coking plant at Lowca.
  • Closure of Solway Colliery in 1973 led to Lowca Light Railway being closed on 23rd May 1973.
  • Special Brake Van Train was run on Saturday 26th May 1973 and by the end of that year the track had been lifted.
Joseph Holmes Travelling Station Master

Both Church Road Halt and Rosehill Archer Street Halt were both under the supervision of the High Harrington Station Master (John Rae from 1913 to 1931). Joseph Holmes (Pictured) was the travelling Station Master who rode the trains between Lowca and Church Road Harrington and retired in 1924. From 1924 to 1926 Joseph Holmes's assistant John Irving a retired Cumberland & Westmoreland Police inspector known as "Long John" was the ticket collector on the afternoon and evening trains. J. Stuart was the booking clerk at Church Road and Archer Street in (1913-14). The signalmen at Lowca were W.Corris (1913, Patrick Dalton (1916-28) and J.R.Hill (1913-28).

Route Today - Except for an isolated overbridge there is no trace of the alignment for first three quarters of a mile south of Harrington Junction with one overbridge before Church Road. The trackbed is a footpath from the south side of Church Road and there are two over bridges and a wonderful under bridge at what was Archer Street Halt the path soon becomes a wide track which ran alongside the line at Rosehill Junction (forming part of Cumbria Way) as it passes the remains of Copperas Hill station and climbs gradually to the summit of the line (NX985230) close to Cunning Point.

A left fork is taken alongside a wind farm and the trackbed can be followed without difficulty as it continues to the sites of Micklam and Lowca stations. A steep incline connects to the extension which curves away from the coast and passes through a sports ground to reach Lowca village. Having crossed the main road the alignment can be followed east until it reaches the point where it joined the Gilgarron Branch at the site of Lowca Colliery (NX993218).

Relics of the line today - Harrington Church Road Halt demolished no trace; Rosehill Archer Street wall which may have been part of platform; Copperas Hill (closed 1921) platform and part of brick-built station building; no trace of Micklam or Lowca stations.

The original miners trains were old wooden six wheelers with wooden seats and were painted in Furness Railway colours of "Crimson Lake" which is the colour at the top of this webpage.

Lowca Light Railway Timetables

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