Furness Abbey is a former railway station in the Barrow-in-Furness area of the Furness Peninsula, England.

v t e Furness line
Legend
Cumbrian Coast line Barrow-in-Furness Furness Railway to Barrow Docks Power Station Roose Furness Abbey Dalton Lindal Ulverston to Conishead Priory to Lakeside River Leven Cark and Cartmel Wraysholme Halt Kents Bank Grange-over-Sands River Kent Arnside Hincaster branch line Silverdale West Coast Main Line Leeds–Morecambe line Carnforth Bolton-le-Sands Hest Bank Morecambe branch line Lancaster West Coast Main Line

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Context

Furness Abbey Station was situated to the north of Furness Abbey. As well as being the gateway for visitors to the romantic ruins of the Abbey and to the south lakes, the station - one of the company's finest - was closely linked to the Furness Abbey Hotel , owned by the Furness Railway Company. It also served Abbotswood, the home of Sir James Ramsden, Managing Director of the railway company, and other large houses at the semi-rural north end of Barrow-in-Furness.

History

The Furness Railway was authorised in 1844 to build a line which would link Kirkby-in-Furness with Dalton-in-Furness. The railway was extended in places and subsequently took over the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway and the Ulverston and Lancaster Railway. The original station at Furness Abbey was opened in 1846 and was substantially enlarged by 1862 to receive passengers from further afield - when the London and North Western Railway was directly linked. Passengers had already begun to travel from West Cumbria from 1850 (though the Furness company did not formally lease the coast line from Whitehaven until 1865).

Services

Services stopped at Furness Abbey to allow passengers to visit the Abbey and to use the Furness Abbey Hotel, owned by the railway company. All services north of Barrow initially had to travel to Furness Abbey and then reverse back towards Dalton before continuing on to Askam. This practice eventually ceased in 1882, when the loop line to the new central Barrow station on Abbey Road was completed and trains could continue from there northwards to Askam without reversing.

Having been damaged by bombing in May 1941 (when the Furness Abbey Hotel was also hit), the station was closed by British Railways shortly after nationalisation, and was subsequently demolished in the early 1950s, as was the hotel. Apart from some old track-bed and demolition debris associated with Sir James Ramsden's private siding, the only surviving part of the station is the former ticket office/refreshment room, which is now the Abbey Tavern.<ref> See YouTube/the Yellow Factory 'The Story of the Furness Abbey Hotel and Station'.

References

Bibliography

• Bradshaw, George (1985) [1922]. July 1922 Railway Guide. Newton Abbott: David & Charles.
• Broughton, John R (1996). Past and Present Special: The Furness Railway. Wadenhoe, Peterborough: Past and Present Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1 85895 126 7.
• 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. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Rush, Robert W. (1973). The Furness Railway 1843-1923. The Oakwood Library of Railway History. Lingfield: Oakwood Press. OL35.

External links

• Site of Former Furness Abbey Station