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The main station building at Carlisle is approached from
an easterly direction, through Court House Square. As originally designed
the building, begun in 1846 and mainly complete in 1850 (the clock was not
ordered until 1853!), occupied the whole of one end of the Square, however,
railway stations attract station hotels and Carlisle was no exception. The
County Hotel (now named the Cumbrian Hotel) was built on the South side of
the square, shielding some of the station frontage. In the above picture the
County hotel is the light coloured building to the left of the station front.
The main entrance is made up of arches which are in line with road lane marked
'STATION' There are various admin offices to the right of the arches, including
the Parcels Office. It can be seen where the roof gables end. The roof gables
were cut back to this point in the 1956 alterations. The original full roof
covered the whole length of the buildings, plus the screen walls which are
at each end of the station. The West side of the station was simply a single,
straight screen wall.
As built, Tite had places on the station forecourt buildings
for four coats of arms for the four companies using the Citadel in 1851. Those
which were actually installed were, from left to right Lancaster and Carlisle
Rly, the English royal coat of arms and finally the Caledonian Rly, the fourth
place remains blank to this day. Presumably the Maryport and Carlisle Rly
and the Glasgow and South - Western Rly were not prepared to pay for their
coats of arms to adorn the frontage!
THE NORTH END OF THE STATION
From the very end of platforms 4,7 & 8, when looking
across the rails, there was Denton Holme Goods warehouse. This originally
served the Glasgow and South Western Railway goods traffic. On this side
of the warehouse were the Goods Avoiding Lines. These were closed to the
North following a disastrous crash which happened on the early morning
of 1 May 1984. A goods train divided coming down from Shap, and the rear
portion, instead of coming to a halt under fail safe conditions, continued
to freewheel the twenty odd miles to Carlisle. An alert signaller, routed
the front of the train away from the goods avoiding line, the other part
was routed through the Goods Avoiding Line. It came to grief at the bridge
over the River Caldew, almost adjacent to the Dentonholme goods warehouse.
The bridge was badly damaged and severed the through goods route. British
Rail, in its wisdom, expecting no increase in rail traffic, decided to
abandon the goods avoiding line to the North of the Citadel. In this picture
the goods warehouse can be seen, as can lorries servicing the depot. For
a time the premises were leased to a road transport operation! To the
right of the picture is Dixon's chimney, a Carlisle landmark. In its glory
days it stood at just over 300 ft high, complete with a Top Hat!
Effectively the Citadel station ends at the overbridge at the North end. There
is a short platform extension beyond the bridge which is rarely used nowadays.
The overbridge is Victoria Viaduct, but just prior to the main station rebuilding
of 1880, before the viaduct was built, road traffic heading to the West from
the city centre used an underbridge. To the right of the picture are the tracks
of Platforms 7 and 8, formerly Nos 3 and 4 Bays. The building behind the Viaduct
was the Little and Ballantyne building, This firm was seedsmen and nurserymen
and carried the By Royal Appointment motif. The building dominates many a railways
photograph of this part of the station. The structure at the extreme left of
the photograph is a ramp leading from the station to Victoria Viaduct. For many
years this was a back entrance to the station for passengers from the West of
the city. It had a single ticket collection point and its own platform ticket
machine of the Edmondson variety. The ramp was also used by Post Office vehicles
as the most northerly part of the station building on the island platforms was
dedicated for Post Office use as a collecting and despatch point for incoming
and outgoing mailbags.
This view from the end of Platform 3 shows the two main tracks.
To the right the track from Pl 7 and 8 quickly unite than are joined to the
up and down lines. On the left the tracks from Pl 1 and its sidings can be
see converging on the main tracks. Note the signals controlling Pl 7 &
8 are three aspect. The main through signalling is four aspect.
Moving further into the station we are on Pl 4, with a DVT
led train being propelled in from the North. The awning on Pl 2 shows where
the water crane was located in steam days. In the 1880 train shed this crane
was under cover, whereas that on Pl 1 was out in the open, beyond the end
of train shed screen. The set of points in the foreground represent the
beginning of the two centre roads, much used in steam days for holding engines
to be used to take over from incoming expresses, and also as escape roads
for engines heading back to their respective sheds to the North and South
of the Citadel.
This Pl 1 looking North. The overbridge is Victoria Viaduct,
the ramp is to the right and, as can be seen the various sidings are joining
to meet the main down line in the throat
At the bottom of the ramp at the North end of the station
is an area of tarmac (originally stone setts) and beyond this was the GPO
room to deal with the mail. As can be seen in this picture , vehicles -
in this case it looks like a trailer, backed up to the building to facilitate
loading.
We are now in the heart of the station. The main entrance is
on the right, beyond the arching overbridge On Pl 3, on the extreme left is
the main station buffet / bar. In earlier day, on both platforms, John Menzies
the Scottish based newsagent had paper stalls under the arched passenger bridge.
The North side of the bridge has steps and the South side has ramps. There
was a lift system and a tunnel under the tracks but this was 'Staff Only'.
In steam days there would be a pair of scissor crossings in the foreground
linking the platform road with its adjacent centre track. Originally the train
shed roof spanned all the tracks in the station. However in the 1956 alterations
Pl 1 was given an awning and the main East / West span now ends on the buildings
between Pl 1 & 3 as can just be made out.
It must be realised that Carlisle is a cathedral city. The
cathedral has sections which date back to Norman times, although most is
of a more decorated style. When you look at the architecture of the entrance
and of this buffet on pPl 3, it is clear that William Tite's 1846 design
tried to reflect the architecture of the Cathedral. With the stone being
a particularly pleasing colour (sandstone, I think) the buildings of the
station are both characteristic and attractive.
The view is the South end of the station, approaching Pl 3. The
platform slope on the right is Pl 4 the main 'Up' platform and Pl 5, used
mainly for local trains on the N&C and the Settle - Carlisle. The screen
wall on the right was originally the support for the over all roof. Behind
it were Colliers Lane sidings, which were mainly used as carriage sidings.
In later years it was cut back to two tracks and was the Carlisle Motorail
terminal. On Pl 4, just outside the screen, the higher awning shows where
the water crane stood in steam days.
A panoramic view of the South end of the station taken from
platform 4. On the extreme left is platform 2, with a class 153 (?) for
the M & C route. The overhead gantry signals control Platfom 3, the
two centre roads and platform 4 respectively. To the right of the gantry
support are platform 5 & 6, used for the Newcastle and the ex Midland
routes.
A view of platform 2, the former M&C Bay. The picture
is dated about 1980. It shows a Derby lightweight DMU extensively used
in the Carlisle area. Careful inspection of the train door near the lad's
head shows the safety bars to avoid decapitation of passengers when going
through the Bransty tunnel at Whitehaven and elsewhere. Limited clearances
existed at Dalston & Aspatria stations & Bullgill bridge
A view of platform 3 looking South. The raised area of the
canopy shows where the water crane stood in steam days.
Two pictures of the former M & C Warehouse, viewed from
the end of Platfom 1, the picture were taken over 20 years apart. The
M & C coal depot was beyond the warehouse. The warehouse was probably
closed at the time of the opening of the Kingmoor goods traffic hanling
complex, bringing to an end much of the trip working between the various
goods depots. This really was a case of gross industrial inertia as the
rationale for the multiplicity of such goods warehouse ended in 1923 with
the Groupings!
The South end of Platform 1. In the centre is the Carlisle
Power Box, built for the 197x electrification. The box controls the WCML
from just North of Carnforth to Kirtlebridge, just inside Scotland. To the
North Motherwell box takes over and to the South it is the Preston Box.
In the photograph the building 'Carlisle Car Centre' was the former Maryport
and Carlisle Railway Goods depot. Out of sight and just to right of Bog
Goods the M&CR hads its coal depot.
What might have been - Autumn 1982. The APT snakes its
way through platform 1 on its way to Glasgow (presumably). The formation
had been standing in the centre roads at Preston as we left, heading
for Carlisle. It followed us and passed straight through Carlisle on
its way North. A month or so later a friend was due to travel from Preston
to Euston and there was the APT again. This time she was invited to
travel by APT on a 'shadow' service for the train she had intended to
take. The journey was swift, non stop and trouble free. However she
did not find the tilting to her liking and she felt unsteady and a little
'sick' when the journey was over! Is this a foretaste of things (eventually)
to come a la Pendolino?
ADDENDA
When you walk the street immediately to the East of the
Citadel station, you realise that the lines to the North are acually on
a viaduct (and crossed by another viaduct - Victoria Viaduct. The situation
is less clear nowadays compared to the time when the Viaduct Yard (CR)
was operational. The jacket cover on Treacy's Routes North shows a steam
tour being hauled by preserved Sir Nigel Gresley, on the viaduct taken
from the slope that led down to the Viaduct Yard (CR). This view is no
more for when the Viaduct Yard was closed it was filled in to bring it
level to the lower reaches of Victoria Viaduct and used for car parking,
being reasonably close to the centre of town. The following three photographs
show Borough Street and English Damside, the roads that runs alongside
and below the Eastern wall which forms the other side of the viaduct for
the WCML North of the Station.
The photograph below is of the Northern end of the station
buildings in Court Square. The doorway on the right of the buildings
was the Parcels Office. Borough Street is the road which slopes steeply
away from the station forecourt.
Next is a view of the North end of the station. The
station building on the left is beyond the Parcels Off ice (see above).
The rolling stock is occupying Pl 7 / 8 and the overbridge is Victoria
Viaduct. Note how steeply the road has sloped away from the station
buildings - the station forecourt is less than fifty yards away fronm
the left hand side of the photograph.This is Borough Street which
begins in the previous photograph.. The station screen wall is clearly
seen and the end of the wall represented the end of the covered part
of the station before the over all roof was cut back in 1956.
Below we see how Borough Street continues. The bridge
is still Victoria Viaduct and note the headroom! The building to
the right of the bridge is the Little and Ballantyne building which
appears to be adjacent to platforms 7 and 8 - but in fact it is
separated from the station by English Damside, the name applied
to the same thoroughfare as it passes below Victoria Viaduct. I
do not know the height of the building as measured from the Damside,
but the car in the picture does give a reference height for the
height of the railway viaduct, Victoria Viaduct and the Little and
Ballantyne building. Shortly beyond where the Damside ends, the
railways runs directly below West Walls. This was the defensive
wall of the city of Carlisle built along the bank of the Caldew
which had cut out for itself a significant valley and flood plain.
Over the years when the railways were being built the Caldew was
channelled between two high sandstone walls and land reclaimed,
filled in and track laid for the approaches to Viaduct and Dentonhome
yards, as well as the goods avoiding line North / South route. The
wall on the right of the photograph are the remains of the security
wall of Carlisle Gaol, a traditional Victorian style panopticon
prison (rather like Slade Prison in the comedy 'Porridge'!}. It
was closed before WW 2 and some of the buildings were demolished
and others converted for industrial use. The road from Victoria
Viaduct to Borough St / English Damside was made of stone setts
and was very steep, including a 180 degree bend then a ninety degree
sweeping turn as it made its way down. The junction with the Damside
can be see just below the Little and Ballantyne building and its
steepness can just about be made out.
ADDENDA - South End Approaches
This is approaching Carlisle Citadel along the WCML.
The centre of the picture is Crown St Goods depot - formerly LNWR.
By the time this photograph was taken it was no longer in use
and soon to be demolished. The track had already been lifted and
the premises had a different user. Almost all the goods depots
in Carlsiel were closed following the opening of the Kingtmoor
New Yard and the concentration on Wagon load freight rather
| THIRD EDITION |
EDITED May 2002 |
