# Hincaster branch line

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Closed railway line in Cumbria, England

Hincaster branch line Bela Viaduct about 1930 Overview Locale Cumbria, England History Opened 1876 (1876) Closed 1966 (1966) Technical Track gauge 4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge

v t e Hincaster branch Legend Arnside Furness line Sandside Bela Viaduct Heversham Oxenholme West Coast Main Line

Junction at Hincaster

The **Hincaster branch** was a single-track railway [branch line](/source/Branch_line) of the [Furness Railway](/source/Furness_Railway) which ran from [Arnside](/source/Arnside_railway_station) on the Furness main line to a junction with the [Lancaster and Carlisle Railway](/source/Lancaster_and_Carlisle_Railway) (later the [London and North Western Railway](/source/London_and_North_Western_Railway)) at [Hincaster](/source/Hincaster).[1] Intermediate stations were provided at [Sandside](/source/Sandside_railway_station) and [Heversham](/source/Heversham), with the main engineering work being a substantial [26-arch viaduct](/source/Bela_Viaduct) over the [River Bela](/source/River_Bela) near Sandside.[2]

## Traffic

The 5.25-mile (8.45 km) line was built primarily for use by mineral trains carrying [coke](/source/Coke_(fuel)) and [iron ore](/source/Iron_ore) from [County Durham](/source/County_Durham) to various [ironworks](/source/Ironworks) in and around [Barrow-in-Furness](/source/Barrow-in-Furness) which had previously had to travel (and reverse) via the busy junction at [Carnforth](/source/Carnforth_railway_station).[3][4] The branch was opened to goods traffic on 3 June 1876[5] and also carried a passenger service between [Grange-over-Sands](/source/Grange-over-Sands_railway_station) and [Kendal](/source/Kendal_railway_station) known locally as the *Kendal Tommy*.[6] Both the Furness Railway, and the Midland Railway, considered building a line from Hincaster Junction to [Garsdale](/source/Garsdale_railway_station) (Hawes Junction) on the [Settle–Carlisle line](/source/Settle%E2%80%93Carlisle_line) to connect with the [Wensleydale Railway](/source/Wensleydale_Railway), in an effort to shorten the route for coke trains, and to prevent the traffic having to use the main line section between [Tebay](/source/Tebay_railway_station) and [Oxenholme](/source/Oxenholme_railway_station). It was noted that this line would a challenge as "considerable tunnelling" would be required.[7][8]

Due to the railway rising from Sandside where it was at sea level to 200 feet (61 m) in under 2 miles (3.2 km) (a constant gradient of 1-in-50), the coke traffic still travelled for reversals at Carnforth. Heavier traffic at Carnforth during the First World War prompted the railway company to employ adequate motive power for the trains to use the Hincaster branch.[9]

## Closure

The passenger service ended on 4 May 1942 and the track between Sandside and Hincaster Junction was lifted in 1966 (through traffic having ceased three years earlier).[10][9] A short stub from Arnside to Sandside lasted until 1972 to serve local quarries.[11]

Sections of the old trackbed survive and are used as a footpath and cycleway, though the viaduct and both intermediate stations have been demolished.

## Notes

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Conolly, 1997, p.24

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Bela Viaduct"](https://www.lakesguides.co.uk/html/lgaz/lk00733.htm) *Old Cumbria Gazetteer*; Retrieved 26 June 2017

1. **[^](#cite_ref-3)** Broughton, John; Harris, Nigel (1985). *British railways past and present No. 1; Cumbria*. Peterborough: Past and present. p. 81. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9479-7104-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9479-7104-1).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** Marshall, p.104

1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** ["Hincaster Railway"](https://www.hincastertrailway.co.uk/?Welcome:The_story_so_far).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** [Heversham - A Website history by R.K Bingham](http://www.heversham.org/heversham_history_bingham_3.html) www.heversham.org; Retrieved 2009-06-24

1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** "North country news - Midland Railway extension". *Northern Echo*. No. 4283. 6 November 1883. p. 3. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [6685296](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/6685296).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** "Railway developments in Furness and Westmorland". *The Glasgow Herald*. No. 265. 5 November 1894. p. 4. [OCLC](/source/OCLC_(identifier)) [10888009](https://search.worldcat.org/oclc/10888009). The scheme which is now under consideration is for the construction of a line from Hincaster, a few miles south of Kendal, a station on the Furness Line [*[sic](/source/Sic)*], to Hawes, and so obtain a direct connection with Darlington. The undertaking would be a somewhat expensive one, as considerable tunnelling would be required. At present, all the coke for Barrow, Askham, Ulverston, and Millom, has to be brought via Tebay and Carnforth.

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-MB_9-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-MB_9-1) Bairstow, Martin (1995). *Railways in the Lake District*. Halifax: Bairstow. p. 87. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1871944112](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1871944112).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Robinson, Peter (2002). *Cumbria's lost railways*. Catrine: Stenlake. p. 9. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1840332050](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1840332050).

1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Broughton, John; Harris, Nigel (1985). *British railways past and present No. 1; Cumbria*. Peterborough: Past and present. p. 81. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-9479-7104-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-9479-7104-1).

## References

- Conolly, W.P. [1958](1997) *British Railways Pre-Grouping Atlas and Gazetteer*, 5th Ed., Shepperton: Ian Allan, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7110-0320-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7110-0320-3).

- Marshall, J (1981) *Forgotten Railways - North-West England*, David & Charles (Publishers) Ltd, Newton Abbott, [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0-7153-8003-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0-7153-8003-6).

## External links

- [Railscot - Hincaster Branch](http://www.railscot.co.uk/Hincaster_Branch/frame.htm)

- [photo of train on Bela Viaduct about 1949](https://twitter.com/grizleymire/status/1195264608623366149/photo/1)

- [photo of Bela Viaduct from Haverbrack Hill](https://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC17CFW_dallam-delights-3-rail-river-sea?guid=900843b8-9586-40d1-b786-bfa677df5079)

Preceded by London and North Western Railway Lancaster and Carlisle Railway Succeeded by London, Midland and Scottish Railway

v t e Railway lines in the North West Primary to London West Coast Main Line Other Inter-regional Buxton line Calder Valley line Chester–Warrington line Crewe–Derby line Glossop line Hope Valley Line Huddersfield line Leeds–Morecambe line Mid-Cheshire line Morecambe branch line Ribble Valley line Stafford–Manchester line Tyne Valley Line Weaver Junction–Liverpool line Intra-regional Blackpool branch lines Borderlands line Chester–Birkenhead line Crewe–Manchester line Cumbrian Coast Line East Lancashire line Furness line Hooton–Helsby line Kirkby branch line Liverpool–Manchester lines Liverpool–Wigan line Manchester–Preston line Manchester–Southport line Northern line Ormskirk branch line Settle–Carlisle line Stockport–Stalybridge line Styal line Windermere branch line Wirral line Heritage East Lancashire Railway Eden Valley Railway Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway Ribble Steam Railway Disused Bardsea branch Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway Hincaster branch line Ingleton branch line Rowrah and Kelton Fell Railway

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Hincaster branch line](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hincaster_branch_line) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hincaster_branch_line?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.