Braystones railway station

Braystones railway station serves the villages of Braystones and Beckermet in Cumbria, as well as caravan sites and beach bungalows in the vicinity.

Braystones
View north-west, towards Nethertown
Location
Place	Beckermet
Local authority	Copeland
Coordinates	54.440°N 3.543°W / 54.440; -3.543
Grid reference	NY000060
Operations
Station code	BYS
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	1
DfT category	F2
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	892
2015/16	1,028
2016/17	956
2017/18	992
2018/19	1,036
History
Original company	Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway
Pre-grouping	Furness Railway
Post-grouping	London, Midland and Scottish Railway
21 July 1849	Station opened
National Rail – UK railway stations
* Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Braystones from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

The station is an unstaffed request stop on the scenic Cumbrian Coast Line. It is situated directly on the coast in a remote location. Pearson's 1992 railway guide is moved to comment, "The tiny halts at Braystones and Nethertown are as remote as anything British Rail has to offer....".[1]

History

A 1903 Railway Clearing House Junction Diagram showing (right) railways in the vicinity of Braystones

View NW, towards Whitehaven in 1961

The Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway was authorised in 1847 for a line which would link the town of Whitehaven with the Furness Railway at Broughton-in-Furness.[2] It was opened in stages, and the first section, that between Whitehaven and Ravenglass opened either on 1 June 1849[3] or on 21 July 1849.[4] The station was host to four LMS caravans from 1937 to 1939.[5]

The station buildings are still extant however are in private ownership. A bus-stop style shelter is provided on the single platform.

Service

Northern Trains Route 6: Cumbrian Coast & Windermere Lines
Carlisle Dalston Wigton Aspatria Maryport Flimby Workington Harrington Parton Whitehaven Corkickle St. Bees Nethertown Braystones Sellafield Seascale Drigg Ravenglass for Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway Bootle Silecroft Millom Green Road Foxfield Kirkby-in-Furness Askam Barrow-in-Furness Roose Dalton Ulverston Cark and Cartmel Windermere Kents Bank Staveley Grange-over-Sands Burneside Arnside Kendal Silverdale Oxenholme Lake District Carnforth Lancaster Preston Wigan North Western Manchester Oxford Road Manchester Piccadilly Manchester Airport
Bootle, Braystones, Drigg, Flimby, Green Road, Kirkby-in-Furness, Nethertown, Parton and Silecroft are request stops.

As of the 30 June 2019 timetable, six trains call in each direction (on request) from Monday to Friday, with seven northbound and five southbound trains on Saturdays. There is no late evening service, but a limited Sunday service of four trains in each direction (on request) was introduced at the May 2018 timetable change;[6] the first to run over this section since 1976.

References

1. Pearson's Railway Rides, The Cumbrian Coast. J M Pearson & Son, Staffs, 1992.
2. Rush, Robert W. (1973). The Furness Railway 1843-1923. The Oakwood Library of Railway History. Lingfield: Oakwood Press. pp. 33–34. OL35.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
3. Rush 1973, p. 34
4. Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Yeovil: Patrick Stephens Ltd. pp. 42, 195, 248. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. R508.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
5. McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. p. 22. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
6. Table 100 National Rail timetable, May 2018

External links

• Train times and station information for Braystones railway station from National Rail

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Nethertown		Northern Cumbrian Coast Line		Sellafield