On part of the Cumbrian Coast

A new part of the country for me as I start a day on part of the Cumbrian Coast line at Flimby. Here class 153 bubblecar 153360 forms 2C33 0637 from Whitehaven to Carlisle.

This freight working almost caught me out as 60025 heads south through Flimby station with a rake of 20 loaded steel slab wagons bound for the Workington steel mill from Lackenby. The headcode details are not known.

More freight and here the location is Workington yard and in the lovely morning sun, 66013 runs round its train, 6C17 0620 Carlisle Yard to Workington Docks.

Class 156 sprinter 156441 departs Workington with 2C37 0650 Barrow in Furness to Carlisle class 2 service. In the station is 66013 waiting for the road to go to the docks.

Bubblecar 153360 returns from Carlisle, 0750 off 2C44 to Whitehaven passing the down home gantry.

66013 gets away from Workington station to head back towards Carlisle. It will reverse onto the docks branch with its train.

Moving to St Bees now and the station sees 153358 with 156441 run in with an up working, 2C34 0945 Carlisle to Barrow In Furness. Much of the line south of Whitehaven is single track.

With the up train in the station, a down working runs in with 156466 forming 2C31 0858 from Lancaster to Carlisle. The grass area to the side of 156466 is part of the platform meaning the station was once used to longer trains.

The down train cleared the station first and after a few minutes more, the up working departed the station loop. Both platforms are heavily grassed at their south ends,

Sellafield now and what a gem of a station. The station restoration was paid for by the nearby BNFL plant. It retains its water cranes and tower, semaphore signalling and of course signalbox all which are visible in this shot. 153360 runs in for its stop with 2C30 1021 Carlisle to Barrow in Furness.

Turning round on the footbridge for the going away shot of 153360. On the left is the running shed and sidings for the Sellafield plant. Rail services are operated by DRS and a class 37 is just visible.

Moving down the line to Seascales and here the line is double track. In the mid day sun 153324 and 156420 head north with 2C91 1012 off Preston to Carlisle.

The only DRS working I saw this day was this light engine working from Sellafield to possibly Crewe. 20315 leads 37218 with 20313 runs south and all three were working.

Amongst the modern buildings to the left, Whitehaven retains its former Furness Railway signalbox and semaphore signalling. 153330 has departed from the bay platform on the left with 2C35 1405 off to Carlisle. The line to the right continues south down the coast.

156427 in First Group livery gets away from Whitehaven heading northwith 2C37 1354 Barrow in Furness to Carlisle. The train is approaching Redness Point and there is a great deal of industrial archeology in this area.

Turning round for the going away shot and the set passes by the remains of Lonsdale Iron Works opened in the 1870's and closed in 1904. The two cylindrical pillars are 7 feet in diameter and 30 feet high. They are made from blocks of sandstone and some of it has fallen away and there are some visible cracks, raising the concern of possible collapse. Due to their poor structural condition and the uneconomical cost of repair, they were knocked down in 2016/17.

156420 and 153324 come by Redness Point heading for Lancaster with 2C42 1420 off Carlisle. A short tunnel still passes below the railway from the building on the left to the path below the cliff. The pillars were part of a structure that carried a waggonway aloft spanning the cliff-edge railway line. The wagons carried slag from the blast furnaces and dumped it unceremoniously onto the shore. The high ground on which I was standing is made up of dumped slag from the former iron works.

Moving north back towards Carlisle and 156427 reappears at Ellanhall working 2C48 1635 from Carlisle to Barrow in Furness.

Still at Ellanhall and 66077 runs south light engine, 0C95 1643 from Carlisle Yard to the Corus rail rolling mills at Workington. There is no load to take down but it will return later with a train.

And here is 66077 at Wigton making its return journey with a payload of newly rolled rails. This train is 6C99 1833 from Workington Corus to Carlisle Yard departmental.

In glorious evening sunshine 156482 draws to a stand in Wigton station with 2C40 1838 off Carlisle to Whitehaven. The remains of a windmill stands in the background to the right.