Foxfield railway station

Foxfield National Rail
Foxfield signal box and railway station in 2008
Location
Place Foxfield
Local authority South Lakeland
Grid reference SD208854
Operations
Station code FOX
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 Decrease 27,064
2013/14 Increase 27,088
2014/15 Decrease 26,698
2015/16 Decrease 23,416
2016/17 Increase 24,604
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Foxfield from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.
UK Railways portal

Foxfield railway station serves the village of Foxfield and the nearby small town of Broughton-in-Furness in Cumbria, England. The railway station is a request stop on the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line. Some through trains to the Furness Line stop here. It is operated by Northern who provide all passenger train services.

History

The station dates from 1848, when the Furness Railway extended its line from Barrow-in-Furness to Kirkby-in-Furness to nearby Broughton-in-Furness with the intention of serving local copper mines. It was opened on 1 August 1848 and consisted of an island platform.

Two years later, the Whitehaven & Furness Junction Railway completed its line down the coast from Whitehaven to join the FR line from Barrow, making Foxfield a junction of some importance in the process. The line from Broughton was extended further northwards to Coniston by the Coniston Railway Company on 18 June 1859,[1] although it wasn't long before the Furness took it over (along with the W&FJR – both companies having been absorbed by the FR by 1865).[2]

In 1879 an enlarged station was built, designed by the Lancaster architects Paley and Austin and built by the Barrow contractor William Ormandy. The island platform was widened to 29 feet (9 m), and a new canopy for passengers was provided.[3]

For much of its life the Coniston line was well-used by locals and visitors alike, with the branch passenger service connecting with main line trains at one end of the route and with steamer services on Coniston Water at the other. However it fell victim to road competition in the late 1950s, passenger services being withdrawn from 6 October 1958,[4] and the line closing completely in 1962. The coast line remains in operation though, with the passenger trains supplemented by a number of freight services[5] running to and from the nuclear reprocessing plant at Sellafield, operated by Direct Rail Services.

Foxfield station, 1951

Though the platform buildings have mostly been demolished, the timber signal box and attached waiting shelter is still in use. The old water tower and main building on the opposite side of the southbound line also still stand.[6]

Facilities

The station is unstaffed and has no ticket facilities, so these must be purchased in advance or on the train from the conductor. Train running details are available by telephone and timetable posters; the National Rail website also states that public wi-fi access is available there. Step-free access to the platform is via a foot level crossing by the signal box.[7]

Services

There is an approximately hourly service in each direction (on request) from the station on Monday to Saturdays – southwards to Barrow-in-Furness and northwards to Millom. Most northbound ones run through to and from Whitehaven and Carlisle though one runs as far as Sellafield. A few trains continue beyond Barrow-in-Furness to Lancaster or to Preston.

A Sunday service was introduced at the May 2018 timetable change - the first for more than forty years.[8]

References

Notes
  1. ↑ Marshall 1981, p. 111.
  2. ↑ "The Furness Railway" Archived 15 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine. The Furness Railway Trust website article; Retrieved 18 February 2010
  3. ↑ Andrews and Holme 2005, p. 14.
  4. ↑ Marshall 1981, p. 112.
  5. ↑ Railscot – Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway www.railbrit.co.uk; Retrieved 18 February 2010
  6. ↑ Foxfield railway station Thompson, Nigel geograph.org; Retrieved 1 December 2016
  7. ↑ Foxfield station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 1 December 2016
  8. ↑ GB National Rail Timetable May 2018, Table 100
Bibliography

  • Andrews, Michael; Holme, Geoff (2005), The Coniston Railway, Pinner: Cumbrian Railways Association, ISBN 0-9540232-3-4
  • Marshall, J. (1981), Forgotten Railways: North-West England, Newton Abbott: David & Charles, ISBN 0-7153-8003-6
Preceding station   National Rail   Following station
Northern
Cumbrian Coast Line
Mondays-Saturdays only
Disused railways
Kirkby-in-Furness
Line and station open		   Furness Railway
Coniston Railway		   Broughton-in-Furness
Line and station closed

Coordinates: 54°15′32″N 3°12′58″W / 54.259°N 3.216°W / 54.259; -3.216

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