Grange-over-Sands railway station

Grange-over-Sands railway station is a Grade II listed[1] railway station that serves the town of Grange-over-Sands in Cumbria, England. It is located on the Furness Line from Barrow-in-Furness to Lancaster. It is managed by Northern, who replaced former operator First TransPennine Express on 1 April 2016.

Grange-over-Sands
Location
Place	Grange-over-Sands
Local authority	South Lakeland
Coordinates	54.195°N 2.903°W / 54.195; -2.903
Grid reference	SD411781
Operations
Station code	GOS
Managed by	Northern
Number of platforms	2
DfT category	E
Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries
Annual rail passenger usage*
2014/15	0.154 million
2015/16	0.151 million
2016/17	0.154 million
2017/18	0.145 million
2018/19	0.135 million
History
Original company	Ulverstone and Lancaster Railway
Pre-grouping	Furness Railway
Post-grouping	London Midland and Scottish Railway
1 September 1857	Opened as Grange
June 1916	Renamed as Grange-over-Sands
2 April 1923	Renamed as Grange
October 1930	Renamed as Grange-over-Sands
Listed status
Listed feature	Grange Over Sands Railway Station
Listing grade	Grade II listed
Entry number	1269659[1]
Added to list	2 May 1975
National Rail – UK railway stations
Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Grange-over-Sands from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year.

History

The station was opened as Grange on 1 September 1857 by the Ulverstone and Lancaster Railway.[lower-alpha 1][3]

The station was renamed several times, alternating between Grange and Grange-over-Sands, the current name being settled on by the London Midland and Scottish Railway in October 1930.[3]

The station building was designed by the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley for the Furness Railway Company in about 1864.[4]

Two camping coaches were positioned here by the London Midland Region from 1954 to 1964, and four coaches from 1965 to 1970.[5]

At one time the line carried a very heavy industrial traffic to support the iron and steel industry of the Furness area, including coke from County Durham.

It was extensively restored to its former glory in the late 1990s.

Station

The station is adjacent to the Grange-Over-Sands Promenade which runs along the edge of Morecambe Bay (until the River Kent changed its course, it was alongside the promenade - it is now further out in the bay towards Arnside).

The station booking office is on the "up" (Lancaster) platform and is staffed all week; the "down" (Barrow-in-Furness) platform features a second-hand book-shop named Oversands Bookshop. There is step-free access to both platforms.[6] Digital information screens, customer help points and automatic announcements provide train running information.

There is a small car park at the station, and a bus-stop for local services. The X6 bus operated by Stagecoach also travels to Ulverston and Barrow (westbound) and Kendal (eastbound), departing every hour during the day.[7]

The station was awarded 'Heritage Station of the Year' in 2012.[8]

Services

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.

A Northern Class 158 calls with a service to Preston

It is primarily served by local services from Lancaster to Barrow-in-Furness, with some continuing to Sellafield or Carlisle via the Cumbrian Coast Line. A number of southbound services run through to Preston and Manchester Airport via Wigan North Western. There is normally one train an hour in each direction on weekdays & Saturdays (with peak extras) and an hourly service on Sundays.[9] Since the May 2018 timetable change, there is a Sunday service on the Cumbrian Coast and a handful of through trains operate (three each way - connections are available at Barrow at other times).

See also

• List of non-ecclesiastical works by E. G. Paley

References

Notes

1. There is some confusion over the actual date of opening the station, Quick (2019) reports that it is likely the formal opening was on the 26 August, special trips ran on 31 August (and possibly 27-29th) and that regular passenger trains began on 1 September.[2]

Citations

1. Historic England, "Grange Over Sands Railway Station (1269659)", National Heritage List for England, retrieved 6 January 2017
2. Quick, Michael (2019) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (PDF) (5th ed.). Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 472.
3. Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. p. 108. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
4. Brandwood, Geoff; Austin, Tim; Hughes, John; Price, James (2012), The Architecture of Sharpe, Paley and Austin, Swindon: English Heritage, p. 221, ISBN 978-1-84802-049-8
5. McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. pp. 50 & 84-85. ISBN 1-870119-48-7.
6. Grange-over-Sands Station Details Northern Station pages; Retrieved 25 November 2016
7. "Stagecoach Bus X6".
8. "Annual report for 2012" (pdf). Furness Line. December 2012. p. 5. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
9. GB eNRT December 2019 Edition, Table 82 (Network Rail)

External links

• Train times and station information for Grange-over-Sands railway station from National Rail

Preceding station		National Rail		Following station
Kents Bank		Northern Trains Furness Line		Arnside
Ulverston		Northern Trains Barrow-in-Furness - Manchester Airport		Arnside
Cark and Cartmel (limited service)
Kents Bank (limited service)