Kirkby Stephen is a railway station in Eden in Cumbria, England, on the Settle and Carlisle Line, which runs between Carlisle and Leeds via Settle. The station is situated 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-west of the market town of Kirkby Stephen, just within the civil parish of Wharton, and also serves the nearby villages of Newbiggin-on-Lune and Ravenstonedale. It lies 41 miles 35 chains (66.7 km) south of Carlisle, and is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.
Kirkby Stephen  | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | |||||||||||
| General information | |||||||||||
| Location | Kirkby Stephen, Eden England | ||||||||||
| Coordinates | 54°27′18″N 2°22′07″W / 54.4549076°N 2.3687030°W | ||||||||||
| Grid reference | NY762066 | ||||||||||
| Owned by | Network Rail | ||||||||||
| Managed by | Northern Trains | ||||||||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||||||||
| Tracks | 2 | ||||||||||
| Other information | |||||||||||
| Station code | KSW | ||||||||||
| 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 as Kirkby Stephen | ||||||||||
| 1 October 1900 | Renamed Kirkby Stephen and Ravenstonedale | ||||||||||
| 8 June 1953 | Renamed Kirkby Stephen West | ||||||||||
| 6 May 1968 | Renamed Kirkby Stephen | ||||||||||
| 4 May 1970 | Closed | ||||||||||
| 14 July 1986 | Reopened | ||||||||||
| Passengers | |||||||||||
| 2018/19 |  27,654 | ||||||||||
| 2019/20 |  30,912 | ||||||||||
| 2020/21 | 5,572 | ||||||||||
| 2021/22 | 25,758 | ||||||||||
| 2022/23 | 29,888 | ||||||||||
| Services | |||||||||||
| |||||||||||
| Location | |||||||||||
| Notes | |||||||||||
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road | |||||||||||
History edit
The station was designed by the Midland Railway company architect John Holloway Sanders,[1] and opened to traffic in May 1876.[2]
The station is more than 1+1⁄4 miles (2 km) from the town (and over 150 feet (46 m) above it) at Midland Hill, just within the civil parish of Wharton. It was opened as Kirkby Stephen, but it was renamed Kirkby Stephen and Ravenstonedale in 1900, and then Kirkby Stephen West in 1953, to avoid confusion with the older Kirkby Stephen, later known as Kirkby Stephen East, station in the town, on the North Eastern Railway's Stainmore and Eden Valley lines. Its remote location was necessitated by the Midland Railway's desire to keep gradients on the line to no greater than 1 in 100 for fast running.[3] Had it been any closer to the town, the climb up to the summit of the line at Ais Gill would have exceeded this limit considerably. The West station reverted to the name Kirkby Stephen in 1968, but was closed (along with all other stations on the line except Settle and Appleby) in May 1970. It was reopened by British Rail in July 1986.
The station is leased by the Settle and Carlisle Railway Trust, which comprehensively restored it in 2009.[4] The main buildings on platform 1 now incorporate a caretaker's flat, offices, holiday accommodation and the Midland Room, opened in July 2011,[5] which includes a cafe and exhibition of items related to the Settle and Carlisle railway. Platform 2 (northbound) has a stone shelter. The old goods shed to the south is now in private commercial use, goods facilities having been withdrawn here in 1964.
Step-free access to both platforms is available (ramps to platform 2 from the road below), along with a footbridge (erected in the mid-1990s after becoming redundant at its original location at Guiseley).[6] No ticket machine is present, so passengers must buy in advance or from the conductor on the train (though operator Northern is in the process of installing one and also digital information screens as part of a rolling station upgrade programme on the route).[7] Buses to and from the town call close to the station entrance on the A685 road to Kendal.[3]
Stationmasters edit
- Robinson Bell 1876[8] - 1882[9]
- William Tunn 1882 - 1888[9] (afterwards station master at Fiskerton)
- William George Nuttall 1888 - 1892[9] (formerly station master at Plumtree, afterwards station master at Appleby)
- Thomas Moss 1892[9] - 1919 (formerly station master at Appleby)[10]
- E. Proctor 1919 - 1924[11] (afterwards station master at Bamford)
Services edit
Northern Trains Route 7 |
|---|
Bentham Line and
Settle and Carlisle Line |
The station is served by eight trains in each direction on weekdays and Saturdays: northbound to Carlisle and southbound to Leeds.[12] A new early morning Monday to Friday service southbound began in May 2011. The first weekday northbound service now runs through from Leeds, rather than arriving from Carlisle and returning there after a reversal as before.
There are six departures each way on Sundays throughout the year, including a through train to and from Nottingham. DalesRail services between Blackpool North/Preston and Carlisle used call at the station on summer Sundays, but this service is not running in 2023.
References edit
- ^ "Notes by the Way". Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald. British Newspaper Archive. 1 November 1884. Retrieved 12 July 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Quick, Michael (2020). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain; a Chronology (PDF) (5 ed.). Market Drayton: The railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 252. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- ^ a b Kirkby Stephen station bridge Craven, S Geograph.org Retrieved 24 November 2016
- ^ S&C Trust website. Archived 27 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Johnston, Howard (10 August 2011). "Regional News". Rail. Peterborough. p. 24.
- ^ Kirkby Stephen station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 5 December 2016
- ^ "Better stations are coming to Northern"[permanent dead link]Northern news article; Retrieved 23 November 2019
- ^ "1871-1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 743. 1871. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ^ a b c d "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 48. 1881. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
- ^ "Death of Mr Thomas Moss, Long Marton". Penrith Observer. England. 15 April 1924. Retrieved 5 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ "Death of Mr E. Proctor". Penrith Observer. England. 9 September 1924. Retrieved 5 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
- ^ Table 35 National Rail timetable, May 2023
External links edit
Media related to Kirkby Stephen railway station at Wikimedia Commons- Train times and station information for Kirkby Stephen railway station from National Rail
| Preceding station |  National Rail
|
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garsdale | Northern Trains Settle and Carlisle Line |
Appleby | ||
| Historical railways | ||||
| Garsdale | Midland Railway Settle and Carlisle Line |
Crosby Garrett | ||