Bootle railway station

Bootle National Rail
Location
Place Bootle
Local authority Copeland
Coordinates 54°17′24″N 3°23′42″W / 54.290°N 3.395°W / 54.290; -3.395Coordinates: 54°17′24″N 3°23′42″W / 54.290°N 3.395°W / 54.290; -3.395
Grid reference SD093892
Operations
Station code BOC
Managed by Northern
Number of platforms 2
DfT category F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections
from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2012/13 Increase 13,312
2013/14 Decrease 11,496
2014/15 Increase 13,862
2015/16 Decrease 12,172
2016/17 Decrease 11,850
History
Original company Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway
Pre-grouping Furness Railway
Post-grouping London, Midland and Scottish Railway
8 July 1850 (1850-07-08) Station opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Bootle from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Bootle railway station, situated in the hamlet of Hycemoor, serves the village of Bootle and the neighbouring hamlet of Eskmeals in Cumbria, England. The railway station is a request stop on the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line 24 miles (39 km) north of Barrow-in-Furness. It is operated by Northern who provide all passenger train services.

History

The Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway was authorised in 1847 for a line which would link the town of Whitehaven with the Furness Railway at Broughton-in-Furness.[1] It was opened in stages, and the section between Ravenglass and Bootle opened on 8 July 1850.[2][3] The last section between Bootle and Broughton-in-Furness was opened for passenger services 1 November 1850:[4] trains carrying Lord Lonsdale and invited guests had travelled over the section on at least two occasions in October.

The station buildings in 1998

Facilities

It has retained its main buildings, being the stationmaster’s house waiting rooms and restrooms but these are now two private residences and the station is unstaffed.The station clock is original and still works.

The buildings are built from red granite and sandstone. Originally the design was used on many of the stations on the Cumbrian Coast Line but today only three exist. This one, Drigg and Ravenglass.

There are no ticket facilities, so these must be bought prior to travel or from the conductor on the train.

Shelters are present on both platforms, with the wooden one on the northbound side being the more substantial of the two.

A level crossing with hand-operated gates (and supervising signal box) links the platforms, which both have step-free access from the road.

The listed signal box

The signal box c. 1874 is a Furness Railway Type 1 design and retains a London Midland Region lever frame of 15 levers installed in 1977. and was listed in November 2013 under the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) Act 1990 as amended for its special architectural or historic interest.

Train running information can be obtained by telephone or from timetable posters.[5]

Services

Monday to Saturdays there is generally an hourly (with some longer gaps in the early morning and afternoon) request service southbound to Barrow and northbound towards Whitehaven and Carlisle. Some services continue beyond Barrow via the Furness Line to Lancaster & Preston.[6] The timetable now operates later into the evening than before since the summer 2018 timetable came into effect.

A Sunday service (broadly hourly each way from late morning until 19:00) now operates - this was introduced at the May 2018 timetable change

Explosion on 22 March 1945

At about 22:17 on 22 March 1945 a wagon containing depth charges in a southbound freight train caught fire on approaching Bootle. The train crew, driver H. Goodall and fireman H.N. Stubbs, on becoming aware of the fire, stopped the train south of Bootle station. Despite the fierce fire, the crew isolated the burning wagon by uncoupling the rear portion of the train, then drawing it forward to before uncoupling the burning wagon. With the wagon isolated, the fireman went forward to protect the northbound line while the driver went back in a possible attempt to fight the fire. At this point the depth charges violently exploded, killing the driver and creating a crater 105 feet long to a depth of 50 feet. The line was closed for three days whilst the crater was filled in and the track relaid.

View southward, towards Barrow-in-Furness and Carnforth in 1966

References

  1. ↑ Rush, Robert W. (1973). The Furness Railway 1843-1923. The Oakwood Library of Railway History. Lingfield: Oakwood Press. pp. 33–34. OL35.
  2. ↑ Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 39. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.
  3. ↑ "Opening of the Railway to Bootle". Cumberland Pacquet, and Ware's Whitehaven Advertiser. 9 July 1850. p. 3.
  4. ↑ "Local Intelligence". Carlisle Patriot. 2 November 1850. p. 2.
  5. ↑ Bootle (Cumbria) station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 2 December 2016
  6. ↑ Table 100 National Rail timetable, May 2018
  • Train times and station information for Bootle railway station from National Rail
  • "Report on the Explosion that occurred at Bootle on 22nd March 1945" (PDF). Retrieved 5 September 2010.
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Northern
Cumbrian Coast Line
Mondays-Saturdays only
Historical railways
Line open, station closed
Furness Railway
Line and station open
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