Decline Of The Line

Since moving to the Workington district I've made a point of getting to know both its immediate environs and other areas slightly further afield. Having a lifelong interest in transport means that I have concentrated my efforts in familiarising myself with the road and rail layouts of West Cumbria. The main rail route along Cumbria's west coast utilises the station pictured above. Although outwardly the station is of neat and tidy appearance, once inside it is a different story. Rust and decay abound and this reflects the condition of the rail system as a whole. Northern Rail's passenger services are operated by combinations of single-car and two-car diesel units of Classes 153 and 156. Workington sees about 15 trains a day in each direction, reducing drastically at weekends. Sellafield is the start and finish point for the majority of "service users" on this line. Many of the smaller stations are request-stop only, being little more than bus shelters on a platform. With the closure of the majority of Corus' steel plant at Workington, freight traffic is something of a rarity, with the occasional train running into Workington docks. Most freight trains consist of rakes of nuclear flasks heading for BNFL Sellafield, ordinarily under cover of darkness. Further pictures of the Cumbrian Coast line can be seen here