The Maryport and Carlisle Railway (M&CR) was an English railway company formed in 1836 which built and operated a small but eventually highly profitable railway to connect Maryport and Carlisle in Cumberland, England. There were many small collieries in the area and efficient access to the harbour at Maryport was important.
The western end, connecting the majority of the collieries to Maryport opened in 1840 and the line was completed throughout to Carlisle in 1845. The considerable resources of coal, and later iron ore, carried by the railway made it especially profitable, and this was redoubled at the height of the iron and steel processing industries around Workington. Branch lines were opened to connect further collieries.
After 1918 the industries on which the line was dependent declined steeply, and the railway declined accordingly; the branch lines closed, but the original main line remains open and forms part of the Cumbrian Coast Line between Carlisle and Barrow in Furness.
Conception
Coal had been mined in west Cumberland since the 17th century. Most of the coalfield was south of Maryport, and enjoyed easy access to harbours at Workington and Whitehaven, through which the coal could be shipped. Useful coal deposits were known to exist east of Maryport, as far as Aspatria, but it was difficult to work them profitably, for want of practicable roads. Early in the eighteenth century new collieries started work and in 1749 Humphrey Senhouse, lord of the manor, constructed a harbour and founded the town of Maryport at the mouth of the River Ellen. His son (also Humphrey Senhouse) was involved in the 1790s in the promotion of a canal from Newcastle upon Tyne to Maryport, but the project lapsed in the financial crisis of 1797. When thoughts turned again in the 1820s to improving the links from Newcastle to Cumberland a Newcastle—Carlisle canal was rejected in favour of a railway. Speaking at an 1834 dinner marking the inauguration of gas lighting in Maryport Sir Humphrey Fleming Senhouse "alluded to the situation of Maryport as an inlet for an important district of the country, and strongly urged the importance of a railway to join that now in progress from Carlisle to Newcastle".
The suggestion was taken up, and in August 1836 George Stephenson visited Maryport, and in October 1836 reported the results of a survey carried out for him, which showed that such a railway was practicable and potentially profitable.Letter from George Stephenson dated "Alton Grange October 16, 1836" printed as Dividends of 18% were promised, and a prospectus was issued; the Maryport and Carlisle Railway obtained its authorising act of Parliament, the (7 Will. 4 & 1 Vict. c. ci), on 12 July 1837.untitled paragraph following one headed The act asserted that the line "would facilitate the communication between the Continent of Europe and Ireland and the Western Coast of England by forming in conjunction with the Newcastle-upon-Tyne and Carlisle Railway and the Brandlings Junction Railway, one complete and continuous line of communication from the German Ocean to the Irish Sea". The authorised capital was £180,000.
Construction and opening Construction was relatively easy with little requirement for heavy civil engineering works; however much of the subscribed capital was not forthcoming when the calls were made, the lack of cash severely slowed construction, many shares were forfeit, and the directors resorted to unauthorised borrowing.
Maryport to Aspatria The section from Maryport to the pits at Arkleby ( short of Aspatria) was opened for mineral traffic on 15 July 1840.M E Quick, Railway Passenger Stations in England Scotland and Wales—A Chronology, The Railway and Canal Historical Society, 2002
The line ran from the South Quay at Maryport, and the Maryport passenger station was in front of what is now Jubilee Terrace. The line was extended from Arkleby to Aspatria on 12 April 1841. Bridges on the line were built with little more than in lateral clearances between bridge and train; much less than came to be the norm in the UK, and as a consequence unwary passengers have in the past stuck their head out of a window and been killed. – for current implications see Cumbrian Coast Line#Passenger rolling stock.
The line achieved a major reduction on transport costs in the northern coalfield. It now cost Brayton Colliery 4 shillings per wagon to transport their coal to Maryport by railway, when road transport had formerly cost them 9 shillings per wagon; Gilcrux colliery were now paying half the 7 shillings per wagon road transport had cost them. At that time Whitehaven coal was being sold to the shippers at 16s 6d delivered on board. Output from the northern coalfield increased rapidly, and with it the tonnage of coal shipped from Maryport. In 1842, the general manager of Whitehaven Collieries reported:
By 1846, almost as much coal was being shipped out through Maryport as through Whitehaven.
Carlisle to Wigton With the line operating from Maryport to Aspatria, attention turned to construction at the Carlisle end (as was required by the Maryport and Carlisle Railway Act 1837). The section from Carlisle to Wigton was opened on 3 May 1843:
In the course of the forenoon three trains of carriages arrived from Carlisle, drawn by the Star, the new patent engine of Messrs. Hawthorne and Co. of Newcastle... the Ballantine and the Nelson engines belonging to the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, and which had been lent for the occasion... Soon after one o'clock, the different trains were filled with passengers, amongst whom were many of the fair sex, who appeared not the least interested of the vast concourse in the proceedings... at twenty-three minutes past one o'clock, the eldritch scream of the steam whistle warned all that everything was in readiness, and off the first train started, amidst the hearty cheers of the assembled thousands. The other trains started at intervals sufficiently "respectable" to ensure safety from all chance of collision.
The location of the Carlisle station was described as ... nearly on the site of the ancient hospital of Saint Nicholas. The line here runs parallel, and on the same level, with the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, and the trains passing on to that line were carried forward to the Station of that company at London Road—the ancient Gallows Hill.
The connection was with an extension of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, running to the Port Carlisle Canal basin at Caldewgate; this ran to the west of the subsequent line of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, and the M&CR station was to the west of the junction "near where Currock Pool formerly stood" in an area known as Bogfield.
Closing the gap This left a gap between Aspatria and Wigton; a wagonette conveyed passengers over the central section by road. The gap was closed in two stages; sections at each end, from Aspatria to Low Row and from Wigton to Brookfield, were opened on 2 December 1844. The gap was finally closed in January 1845 for goods traffic, through passenger services commencing on 10 February 1845. Brookfield closed immediately; Low Row was replaced by a new station at Leegate in 1848. There were initially three through passenger trains each way daily (one 'mixed' and two 'quick'); passengers for Whitehaven could avail themselves of a connecting coach service, which left Whitehaven for Maryport two and a quarter hours before the 'quick trains' left Maryport for Carlisle, and left Maryport for Whitehaven one and a half hours after quick trains left Carlisle. There was no advertised Sunday service,advertisement, but in May 1846 a second mixed train was added to the weekday service and two Sunday trains were introduced.advertisement:
Early mismanagement The M&CR gained an unenviable reputation in its early years.
"Considerable dissatisfaction on the part of the public" The Carlisle Journal repeatedly criticised the management of the M&CR and frequently published letters airing the grievances of the travelling public; "almost daily public complaints of want of accommodation, of irregularity, of notorious incivility somewhere, as well as mismanagement everywhere" according to one correspondent. Reporting on the first train to run from Carlisle to Workington, the Carlisle Journal remarked that those used to travelling on the Maryport line would not be surprised to hear that the train set off a quarter of an hour late; relating further mishaps it talked of "the cause of all the bungling on this line – the want of system" Even shareholders were disenchanted; their half-yearly meeting in August 1846 heard allegations of open drunkenness of on-duty railway employees going unchecked. Hence the following advertisement: To The Public
Maryport And Carlisle Railway
Considerable dissatisfaction on the part of the Public having existed for some time past, relative to the management of the Maryport and Carlisle Railway. And it being the unanimous wish of the Directors that every possible attention shall be paid to the convenience and comfort of every Passenger who may travel on this Line, and also that every facility should be given for the regular transit and due delivery of Goods, Parcels, &c., compatible with the existing state of this Railway
Notice is Hereby Given,
That prompt attention will be paid to every complaint respecting the irregularity in the arrival and departure of any of the Trains, as well as to any inattention or want of civility to any Passenger, by any officer or servant of the company, arising from intoxication or any other cause, on application to either of the Undersigned, who have recently been appointed Directors, to superintend the affairs of the Railway at the Eastern Terminus... Carlisle, 21 August 1846advertisement:
'Revolution on the Maryport and Carlisle' The directors set up a subcommittee to look into allegations of mismanagement, but before it could report the financial management of the company was attacked at the half-yearly shareholders' meeting. It emerged that there was no list of shareholders meeting the requirements of Parliament, nor was there any independent audit of accounts (they were looked over by a company director, who also acted as a solicitor for the company, although not officially the company solicitor). Two representatives of Newcastle shareholders attended, complaining that shares had been sold in Newcastle by the company at a premium on the assurance of its representative (the solicitor-cum-director) that a dividend of 8% was to be expected; a dividend of 4% had then been declared and this was partly funded by the premium on the shares sold. The company secretary was not an efficient officer – "the time was come when some one ought to be at the head of the Company who is competent to manage its affairs". The chairman of the sub-committee whilst refusing to go into detail ahead of the submission of their report confirmed that they were satisfied that "it was most essential and important that there should be a thorough change in everything connected with the Company" The Railway Chronicle editorialised that "the conduct of the board ... was a specimen of everything that a business-like management could avoid";quoted in the company secretary (who had also been acting as its engineer) was dismissed and a committee of five directors set up to more closely supervise the operation of the railway.