The last rolling bridge in Cumbria and the Glaxo branch

[kevsmiththai]

Many years ago I travelled the Cumbrian coast and Furness lines in Northwest England sat in the front of a diesel railcar photographing the stations and signalboxes along the way. One of the boxes was Plumpton junction. Quite a big box with a large lever frame seemingly sat in the middle of nowhere. It transpires it was a major junction where the 'Lakside line' (Now the Lakeside and Haverthwaite) and the former line to Bardsey and the large Ulverston ironworks left the main line

 

This was in June 1988.

 

 

In 1996 when I was a member of the Cumbrian railways association we had a chance to visit the box which is an imposing structure close up

 

 

the large lever frame

 

The box had still got control of the branchline which served the Glaxo chemicals site situated on the former steelworks site. At this time rail traffic into Glaxo had been discontnued for a couple of years but the token for the branch was still there. The line was worked 'one engine in steam'

 

 

more soon

[kevsmiththai]

a while later I took the opportunity to walk the length of the Glaxo line which was in the process of being lifted

 

 

The demolition train!

 

nature was already taking over

 

 

when I reached the Ulverston canal I found the low bridge over the canal. Now at the time iit didn't register with me what it was. I just took some general pictures

 

 

You couls still se the sidngs inside Glaxo's gate

 

 

and the deck of the bridge

 

 

[kevsmiththai]

Fast forward to last weekend.

 

Brooklyn and I decided to walk the canal from its start at the estuary up to the bridge where I made the discovery about what it really is

 

 

It is the last rolling bridge of this type in England and probably the last one in Europe and now has a preservation order slapped on it. There is no boat traffic on the canal anymore so it is never going to need to open

 

 

Now they have thoughtfully erected this display that shows how it worked

 

 

In the closed position

 

and with our Brooklyn demonstrating the operation. Turning the wheels operates the moving portion and the boat can be slid through

 

 

it was operated by hydraulic rams powered by an accumulator tower that still stands

 

 

He would have played with this all day!

[kevsmiththai]

Back at Plumpton it is almost unrecognisable now

 

1996

 

The line in the foreground is the branch with the main line on the right. The wtower on the hill is the Sir John Barrow monument better known as the 'Hoad'

 

Now

 

a pair of our 68s heading to Crewe light engine on a sunny Saturday morning

 

 

and 67 027 on a charter train

 

 

everthing else, the signalbox, semaphore signals and all trace of the junction swept away

 

Kev