107-680: The Furness Railway (Furness) was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England . In the early 1840s, the owners of iron ore mines in the Furness district of Lancashire became interested in a waggonway from their mines to Barrow; the project was adopted and expanded by the Duke of Buccleuch and the Earl of Burlington . Advertisements in 1843 announced
214-451: A distance of ten miles! The slowest train being an hour and thirty-five minutes. These are the advertised times, but the trains are not infrequently late, consequently a good walker might almost accomplish the journey on foot in the time. The company chairman (the Duke of Devonshire) subsequently conceded that several of the stations "... until lately, were in a condition of which the public had
321-531: A full amalgamation taking effect on 1 July 1866, being authorised by an act of Parliament of 1866. The secretary-manager of the W&;FJR became secretary of the Furness Railway, whose general manager was promoted to the board of the company, retaining his salary but now being styled 'resident director'. The Furness Railway now extended to Whitehaven, with running powers to Workington, and to the iron works on
428-566: A loss of 3s 6d per ton: England was the 'dumping ground' for German iron being sold at below its production cost. Vickers had taken over the Barrow Shipbuilding Company in 1897, and its construction of naval warships at Barrow (both as part of the Anglo-German naval arms race and for foreign navies) became an important prop of the prosperity of Barrow. Even with this prop, and the development of tourist traffic,
535-681: A major part of the local economy, but today only the Burlington Slate Quarries at Kirkby remain of note. The A590 is the main road into the region from the M6 Motorway . The A595 is the main route up the western coast of Furness, and the A593/A5084 run north-south from Low Furness to High Furness. The Furness Line provides railway connections to the West Coast Mainline through the south of Furness, and
642-480: A month. Around this time the Coniston mines were the largest copper mines in the north of England. Before the railway was built, materials had to be transported in horse-drawn carts to Coniston Water , by barge on the lake, and then again by cart to Broughton-in-Furness. The public had to travel on a horse-drawn omnibus . In 1848, hoping for an increase in tourism, J. G. Marshall demolished his inn at
749-450: A number of occasions until (1853) the Furness Railway bought the pier. The Kirkby branch was extended to Broughton, passing inspection for passenger traffic at the end of February 1848; when a Broughton to Barrow train was derailed by mis-set points in July 1849, it was noted that "nearly all the gates and points on the Furness line are attended by women" and that a woman had the management of
856-426: A regular service the following June. Gondola was 84 feet (26 m) long and was registered to carry 200 passengers. In 1900 alterations were made at a cost of £35 (£4,800 in 2023), removing the smoking room and providing more accommodation for second-class passengers. The boat was taken out of service in 1936. Its engine was removed and sold in 1944, the boat itself was used as a houseboat , and then sunk in
963-527: A right to complain ... On the Whitehaven section especially some of the stations were of the most inferior description, and such as the Board of Trade would not have allowed them to continue; they were mere temporary structure, scarcely more than wooden hovels." In 1881, revenue for the second half of the year was about £300,000 and the dividend 7% a year; second-half revenue declined to £216,000 in 1885 (with
1070-587: A rising. After a fight at Hawcoat the resistance was quashed, and the Parliament ships left for Liverpool. After collecting the king's rents, the Royalists left for Cartmel. After the Restoration of the monarchy, one Furness landowner, Colonel Sawry, attempted a rising. Iron had been mined in Furness since prehistory, and by the late 18th century ore was being exported from Barrow. The Furness Railway
1177-484: A scheme, supported by their Lordships, for a Furness Railway to link Ulverston 'the capital of the district', iron ore mines (at Dalton-in-Furness ) and slate mines (at Kirkby-in-Furness ) with the coast at Barrow harbour and at Piel pier . Traffic on the line would be horse-drawn, but the line was to be laid out to allow easy conversion to the use of steam power. A survey had already been carried out by James Walker . "The primary object of this undertaking" explained
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#17327720027241284-473: A separate business, although it was closely associated with the Furness Railway, having the same chairman (the Duke of Devonshire) and general manager ( James Ramsden ). A company was established with a capital of £45,000 (equivalent to £5,420,000 in 2023). Tenders were invited and the contract for building the line was awarded to Child & Pickles. Work on building the line started in January 1858, but
1391-453: A single locomotive. The line was passed for passenger use early in August 1846; by the end of the month, passenger trains were running from Dalton to Piel pier, connecting with a steamer to Fleetwood . At a celebratory excursion and dinner for the directors and friends held at the end of October 1846, it was remarked that the mineral traffic was limited by a shortage of wagons (which prevented
1498-470: A single track line. In 1847, differences between the railway company and the owner of Piel pier saw the Fleetwood steamer running to Barrow; it returned to Piel pier in 1848; subsequently, steamers also ran between Piel pier and Poulton-le-Sands , connecting with the "Little" North Western Railway . Periodic disagreements and reconciliations saw the steamer service terminal switch between Piel and Barrow on
1605-458: A small village to a large town during the 19th century, is characterized by a grid pattern of streets of terraced houses , surrounded by more contemporary suburbs. Though the Port of Barrow still contains much industry, there has also been significant redevelopment of former dock areas into retail parks, office blocks and spaces of light industry. The other major town in the area is Ulverston , at
1712-510: A subsequent advertisement "is to improve the present very dilatory provision for the transport of the valuable Mineral products of Furness and adjoining Districts to the Coast" but it was noted from the start that much of the line would form part of any coastal route north from Lancaster. The subscription to the company was largely taken up by the duke and the earl, and their associates; although there were some local subscribers – Henry Schneider
1819-450: A sufficiently remunerative price for their pig iron in the market. Pure hematite iron, as such, was generally disliked in the trade on account of a certain amount of red shortness which it was known to give to all kinds of puddled iron produced from it; besides the red hematite was thought difficult to smelt by itself". It had been reported that in 1856, 464,823 tons of iron ore were raised in Furness "of which 445,013 tons were carried over
1926-426: Is an example, and 2-2-2 well tanks built by Sharp Brothers and Company . In the 1870s and 1880s the passenger trains were hauled by 2-4-0 locomotives built by Sharp, Stewart and Company , which were later replaced by 4-4-0 locomotives, which were later converted into 2-4-2T locomotives. For the purpose of economy, the railway developed a " steam rail motor car " which ran between 1905 and 1915. Meanwhile,
2033-789: Is flat country and Esthwaite Water . West of Coniston Water is the highest range, the Coniston Fells, with the Coniston Old Man (803 m) as its highest point (and historically the highest point in Lancashire). A lesser range extends from Torver to just north of Dalton, but south of that the landscape is flat; this area is also called Plain Furness. The low rolling hills of Low Furness are formed of glacial deposits, mainly boulder clay, above Triassic sandstone and Carboniferous limestone. There are large deposits of iron ore here, of very pure quality. The human geography of
2140-412: Is frequently so crammed that many people cannot get to the counter. Added to this inconvenience, travellers who have to wait here are oppressed with a sense of the general dirtiness of the station. The trains also run at inconvenient times, and the waiting for them at Carnforth involves great loss of valuable time. There is no train that takes passengers from Lancaster to Silverdale under forty-five minutes,
2247-566: The Barrow and Furness parliamentary constituency, while eastern High Furness is in Westmorland and Lonsdale . 54°16′12″N 3°05′19″W / 54.27004°N 3.08853°W / 54.27004; -3.08853 Coniston Railway The Coniston Railway was a railway in Cumbria , England, linking Coniston and Broughton-in-Furness , which ran for over 100 years between
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#17327720027242354-532: The Cumbria Coast Line is a slow rural branch line with services running north to Copeland and Carlisle . The Windermere Ferry in the east of Furness is England's only vehicular lake ferry. Furness seems to have been scantly populated in ancient times. A handful of Brittonic placenames survive around Barrow, suggesting this part was settled earliest. Anglo-Saxons arrived in Low Furness in
2461-561: The Duddon estuary much lower down it than the existing crossing at Foxfield, thus usefully shortening the rail distance between Whitehaven (and points north) and Barrow (and Carnforth). The parliamentary committee had decided in favour of the W&FJR, and the scheme was inherited by the FR. However, in 1868 the FR decided to abandon the project: there was a trade recession (the FR's dividend being consequently reduced to 8% from its accustomed 10%) and
2568-476: The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway . Most of the land was sold to farmers along the route. Part of the track bed was used for a new water main constructed in 1974. Other parts of the track bed were converted into footpaths . Most of the bridges were demolished. The station buildings at Torver, Woodland and Broughton, and two of the crossing cottages, were sold to be used as private houses. Coniston station
2675-734: The Stainmore line and exported most of its ore to districts better served by the LNWR, but withdrew its objection on being offered the same powers as the Midland over the FR. The F&MJR opened for passenger traffic 6 June 1867; it was worked by the Midland. In 1867, the FR secured an act of Parliament for the construction of the Hincaster Branch from Arnside to the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway at Hincaster . This single-track line
2782-659: The historic county of Lancashire, which bordered Cumberland to the northwest and Westmorland to the northeast (the point where the three counties met is marked by the Three Shire Stone at the head of the Duddon). North Lonsdale is also called "Lancashire North of the Sands". In 1974, North Lonsdale – along with Cumberland, Westmorland, and part of the West Riding of Yorkshire (around Sedbergh ) – became part of
2889-574: The 2-4-2T locomotives were being helped out by 0-6-2T locomotives. In 1915 a 4-4-2T locomotive designed by Pettigrew was introduced. From 1934 motor trains were introduced, powered by L&YR Class 5 2-4-2T locomotives designed by Aspinall . From 1935 Fowler 2-6-2T locomotives were used on the line. During the Second World War the Aspinall tanks were replaced by Webb 2-4-2T tanks . The final locomotives regularly used on
2996-499: The 7th century, but do not seem to have spread to High Furness, which remained almost empty until it was populated by incoming Scandinavians in the 10th century. It has been suggested that they had a small mountain kingdom there, centred on Coniston (which means "king's town"). The prevalence of names with the element "thwaite" in High Furness (from Norse thveit , "clearing"), and the absence thereof in Low Furness, suggests that
3103-558: The Dalton branch handling more than 2,000 tons of iron ore a day) and of locomotives (which meant that the Kirkby branch was not yet being worked), and that 10,000 of the 12,000 passengers carried so far were excursionists from Fleetwood or Blackpool. Passenger services ceased after about two months, and the line between Dalton and Rampside Junction was doubled to remove the difficulties experienced in working both mineral and passenger traffic on
3210-509: The FR dividend for the last twenty-five years of its existence (up to Grouping in 1923) averaged only marginally above 2% a year. The FR had been closely associated with the Midland Railway for many years; it was strategically important to the Midland as giving it access to an Irish Sea port and hence to Irish traffic. The Midland had repeatedly attempted to purchase the company, but these offers had come during periods of prosperity for
3317-472: The FR had recently made major capital outlays on the Furness and Midland line (£100,000) and the construction of wet docks at Barrow (£200,000): an Act sanctioning the abandonment was obtained in 1869, but the FR had henceforth to charge on the basis of the mileages if the crossing had been built. After the discovery of a large hematite deposit in the Holborn Hill area, the line between Millom and Barrow
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3424-524: The FR, but the Duke of Devonshire (as the Earl of Burlington had become in 1858) was its chairman; the FR took shares in it, and worked it. It opened for passenger traffic 19 July 1859, although its opening for goods and mineral traffic was deferred for some months as the provision was still incomplete. The Furness Railway obtained powers to amalgamate the Coniston Railway with it in 1862. A branch
3531-691: The Furness Railway and shipped at Barrow, 16,290 on the Ulverston canal, and 3,550 consumed at the Charcoal Iron Furnaces and at the Low Furness Iron and Steel Works. Of the ore carried over the Furness line 200,000 tons are sent to Wales, and the remainder to the Staffordshire, Cleveland and West Riding Iron districts." A very small village at Barrow grew into one of about 2,000 serving the ore-export facility there, with
3638-496: The Furness Railway as one "which, though a comparatively small line, is noted for its enterprise and go-ahead management."; by the second half of 1899 the dividend had recovered to 4% per annum, "entirely due to the ability an exertions of their excellent general manager" according to the company chairman. The dividend, however, fell back to 0.5% in 1904 because of a renewed depression in iron and steel; Mr Aslett having previously reported that pig iron could only be produced in Furness at
3745-416: The Furness Railway effectively responsible for the settlement. The FR took over Barrow Harbour from its commissioners in 1863 to allow the construction of wet docks at Barrow; in 1864 it obtained powers to supply Barrow and the surrounding district with gas and water. Barrow grew rapidly in the 1860s, as The Engineer noted: "A town of about 20,000 inhabitants, grown up from a village of scarcely one-tenth
3852-447: The Furness and Midland Joint Bill reported that in 1862 over 535,000 tons of iron ore had been raised in Furness (in 1873 the market price of haematite ore was 24-30 shillings per ton) and over 90,000 tons of pig iron produced in local blast furnaces. In 1860, there were four blast furnaces in operation at Barrow, with the number increasing to seven in 1862, ten in 1866, and eleven in 1867. The Barrow Hematite Steel Company operating what
3959-423: The Furness iron industry flourished in the 19th century, is the region's largest settlement, with a population of over 91,000. The remainder of Furness is predominantly rural, with Ulverston the only other settlement with more than 10,000 people. Much of High Furness consists of moorland, mountain or woodland environments. The name, which is first recorded in 1150 as Fuththernessa , is interpreted as "headland by
4066-461: The Furness went to law, the matter being resolved by the Midland buying out the FR's interest for £45,000, entering a traffic-sharing agreement for Belfast traffic and undertaking to continue the services from Barrow for seven years. The first locomotive superintendent, recruited from Bury, Curtis and Kennedy in 1846, was later to be knighted as Sir James Ramsden , a leading civic figure and first Mayor of Barrow. No locomotives were actually built in
4173-449: The Furness, whose directors had rebuffed the Midland's terms as insufficiently generous. The Midland's announcement of a planned extension of its Morecambe line to a new deep-water port at Heysham gave rise to concern about the future of steamer services from Barrow and the reliability of the Midland as a partner. Negotiations with the Midland led to a further offer to purchase the FR (with a guaranteed 3% dividend to FR shareholders) which
4280-643: The Midland and the FR; a service to Douglas was also run in the summer months, but both services ran from Piel pier transferring to Barrow docks in 1881. In 1872, the FR obtained powers to build a third dock (the Ramsden); the spoil from the excavation of this was used to enclose an area of water intended for the construction of a fourth (the Cavendish). The original main line did not run through Barrow, though its headquarters and engineering works were adjacent to St. George's Square . Through trains had to run into
4387-728: The North side of the Derwent there. The FR also inherited the W&FJR's involvement in the Cleator and Furness Railway , a joint line with the Whitehaven Cleator and Egremont Railway linking the WC&;ER at Egremont with the W&FJR at Sellafield to simplify the movement of ore southwards; this line opened on 1 August 1869. In 1865, before the lease and amalgamation, the W&FJR and the FR had put forward rival Bills for crossing
Furness Railway - Misplaced Pages Continue
4494-607: The River Duddon up to Wrynose Pass , and then the Brathay until it flows into Windermere . The mere forms most of the eastern boundary, with the rest being made up of the Leven , from its source at Windermere's southern tip to its mouth at Morecambe Bay. In total Furness has an area of about 250 square miles (650 square kilometres). The Furness Fells are formed of Ordovician volcanic rocks, and Silurian shales and slates to
4601-718: The Royal Navy's first submarines built there. During the wars this allowed Furness to escape many of the economic problems that other areas suffered, due to the constant work provided by the military. After World War II demand for ships and submarines remained high, while the development of the Lake District National Park further fostered tourism. Attractions such as the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway , steamers on Windermere and Coniston Water, and fell walking, caused parts of Furness to become dependent on
4708-630: The U&;LR, modifications were made to the junctions at Foxfield (with the W&FJR) and at Millwood (where the Broughton and Ulverston branches met) to allow through running of Whitehaven-Carnforth traffic without reversing. From its opening, the U&LR was worked by the Furness Railway, which purchased it (with effect from July 1861) in 1862, taking over the Ulverston Canal Company in the same year. The line from Barrow to Ulverston
4815-625: The WC&ER became a joint line of the Furness and the LNWR. The FR also bought shares in the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway, and worked the main line of the C&;WJR. The Furness Railway's prosperity came originally from the export of haematite ore, but the growth of heavy industry at Barrow became a significant contributor. In 1867, The Engineer explained why the demand for Furness haematite had formerly been limited: "The ironstone mines there had been worked for some considerable time, and
4922-403: The Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway to Foxfield where lines led in one direction towards the west coast of Cumberland (as it then was) and in the other direction via the Furness Railway to Barrow-in-Furness . There were stations at Coniston and Broughton-in-Furness, with intermediate stations at Torver and Woodland . An extension from Coniston to Copper House (for the copper mines)
5029-493: The abbots of Furness to defend the market town of Dalton and the port of Barrow respectively. The area had been raided by Scots in 1316 and again in 1322, though in the latter year the abbot paid Robert the Bruce a ransom to stop his men harrying Low Furness. The pretender Lambert Simnel landed with his army at Piel Island in 1487. A few locals joined him, including Sir Thomas Broughton of Broughton Tower, who would be killed at
5136-495: The area is dominated by the town of Barrow-in-Furness . Barrow is located on the tip of the peninsula and Walney Island , and the Borough of Barrow-in-Furness , which includes the small town of Dalton-in-Furness and the town of Millom (the latter of which, although statistically in "Furness" for this purpose, is not actually part of the defined geographic area known as Furness) has a population of 69,100. Barrow, which grew from
5243-500: The border of Low and High Furness, and the population of Ulverston and its surrounding villages is 17,307. The corridor along the main A590 road between Ulverston and Barrow is relatively densely populated and urban. Despite decline, industry remains a bigger employer in this part of Furness than most of the UK, with BAE Systems , Kimberly-Clark (both Barrow) and GlaxoSmithKline (Ulverston)
5350-417: The company's chairman, recommending that the line should be of standard gauge. However no further action was taken at that time. Interest in the line revived in 1856, and the route was surveyed by George Sanders to plans drawn up by McClean and his assistant, Frank Stileman. The Coniston Railway Act 1857 ( 20 & 21 Vict. c. cx) received royal assent on 10 August. The line was initially run as
5457-530: The contractors became bankrupt in August of that year. The Furness Railway took over responsibility for completing the line. The line was inspected on 25 May 1859 and again on 14 June by Colonel Yolland , the inspecting officer from the Railway Department of the Board of Trade . He identified a number of improvements to be made before he could sanction the opening of the line. The line
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#17327720027245564-524: The disastrous Battle of Stoke Field . The abbey was closed in 1536 after the monks lent their support to the Pilgrimage of Grace , and the abbot's lands were seized by the crown, becoming part of the royal duchy of Lancaster . Later they were granted to the dukes of Buccleuch and Devonshire . In May 1643, Furness was occupied and plundered by a large Royalist force commanded by Richard Viscount Molyneux . Later that year they prepared to march to
5671-452: The dividend being cut to 2%), but recovered to £275,000 in 1889, allowing a dividend of 5% a year. In 1892, there was no dividend for the first year-half (because of a prolonged strike in the Durham coalfield) this triggered a renewal of previous complaints from shareholders that the company had sunk between two and three million pounds into docks at Barrow, but refused to give any indication of
5778-402: The furnaces at short distances, and we get an average of only 1s. a ton, Therefore it is not the docks which have reduced our dividends, but the introduction of Spanish ore and the altered circumstances of the trade." In 1894, it was reported that only 33 of the 75 blast furnaces in Furness and West Cumberland were working. In May 1895, Sir James Ramsden, by now 73, resigned due to ill health. He
5885-604: The head of the lake and replaced it with a "handsome hotel". The Furness Railway had opened their line from Barrow-in-Furness to Kirkby-in-Furness in June 1846 and its extension to Broughton in February 1848. The Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway opened its line from Whitehaven in 1849 and this reached Broughton in October 1850. Also in 1849 the Furness Railway paid £550 (equivalent to £70,000 in 2023), to improve
5992-541: The iron trade in the mid-1870s; capital expenditure on other projects was minimised, and the dividend was cut from 10% to 6.5%. This triggered complaints from shareholders that the directors were pursuing the development of Barrow at the expense of the profitability of the FR, and from passengers at the service provided – with the possible exception of fast trains serving Barrow (which did not stop at most stations) FR passenger trains were infrequent, inconvenient, unpunctual, uncomfortable, and slow. The Directors rely too much on
6099-502: The largest employers. In Barrow and up the west coast of Furness, the Sellafield Nuclear site is also a significant employer. The rest of Furness is rural, with the mountainous, wooded and lacustrine environments. To the west, the main settlements of Kirkby-in-Furness and Broughton-in-Furness are dominated by farming and commuting. The Lake District National Park covers most of High Furness, with Coniston and Hawkshead
6206-574: The latter had already been deforested by the time the Scandinavians arrived. Scandinavians probably formed the majority of the Furness population, and Old Norse remained a living language in the region until at least the late 12th century. Before the Conquest, Furness, assessed to contain 82 ploughlands , was part of the Manor of Hougun , held by Tostig, Earl of Northumbria . By 1086, Furness
6313-531: The line were Ivatt 2-6-2T locomotives. Trains on the Blackpool to Coniston service were usually hauled by a Stanier Class 5 locomotive, although on one occasion in July 1957, it was hauled by Jubilee 45678 De Robeck . In August 1954 an experimental three-car diesel train was introduced but this was unsuccessful. In 1957 there were eight trains each day and a survey showed that an average of only 18 passengers were carried on each of these trips. It
6420-742: The local works itself: they were generally standard designs, purchased from other manufacturers. By 1921, fifteen different works were represented. However, W. F. Pettigrew , who had taken over operations in 1896, was to introduce some measure of standardisation. There were also carriage and wagon-building shops, and repairs and maintenance was carried out on the equipment of Barrow Docks. Details given are those shown for 1912: Barrow-Fleetwood service - four paddle steamers; lake steamers - two on Coniston Water ; six on Windermere ; three Barrow steam tugs Capacity 780 passengers. Diesel engine fitted in 1958. Scrapped in 1998. The Furness Railway operated as an independent company until December 1922, when it
6527-572: The main centres for tourism, while major tourist attractions include Grizedale Forest , the Aquarium of the Lakes , South Lakes Safari Zoo and the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway . The northern and eastern communities of Furness share more in common with the Lake District towns of Ambleside and Bowness , outside of the region, than with the more urban areas of Low Furness. Mining was once
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#17327720027246634-474: The middle of the 19th to the middle of the 20th century. It was originally designed for the transport of slate and copper ore from the mines near Coniston to the coast and later developed into a line for tourists to the Lake District . The line opened in 1859 and closed in 1962. The Romans were mining copper ore in the Coniston area 2000 years ago, and there is evidence that copper
6741-439: The mineral traffic and ignore the cultivation of the passenger traffic. A glance at the timetables shows that it is almost impossible to reach some of the most beautiful places on Morecambe Bay in anything like reasonable time, and the accommodation at Carnforth, when the delay takes place, is most miserable. On the Furness side of the line there are two seats for about 200 passengers, one waiting room, and one refreshment room, which
6848-431: The new administrative county of Cumbria . At the district level, it now consists of the borough of Barrow and part of South Lakeland . From April 2023, Furness will form part of the new unitary council area of Westmorland and Furness , which will replace Cumbria County Council and the districts of Barrow and South Lakeland , all of which will be abolished. Low Furness and the western part of High Furness are in
6955-590: The new unitary authority of Westmorland and Furness . The Furness Peninsula , also known as Low Furness, is an area of villages, agricultural land and low-lying moorland , with the industrial town of Barrow-in-Furness at its head. The peninsula is bordered by the estuaries of the River Duddon to the west and the River Leven in Morecambe Bay to the east. The wider region of Furness consists of
7062-412: The newer attractions. Transport has become an increasingly controversial issue, with conservation groups and local business clashing over the need for improvements to the A590 trunk road, the main link to the M6 Motorway . Proposals for a road bridge over Morecambe Bay have appeared, but are yet to progress beyond the planning stages. Furness formed the greater part of the North Lonsdale exclave of
7169-441: The opening of the line on 26 August 1857 – they "were now joined in the great network of the rest of England", allowing a lucrative goods traffic: " A few days ago some 67 tons of pig iron, the produce of the new blast furnace at Harrington passed over the Whitehaven Junction and Whitehaven and Furness Railways en route direct to South Staffordshire by the newly-opened railway across the Ulverston Sands". In 1858, after completion of
7276-507: The ore was carried by rail and by sea to the coal districts of Lancashire, to the Staffordshire blast furnaces, and to Wales. The mining operations were, of course, very limited, and the price of the ore subject to extensive fluctuations, owing to the circumstance that the red haematite ore was only used as an admixture to other ores to improve the quality of iron, and the ironmasters used a small proportion of this more expensive ore, or tried to do entirely without it, whenever they could not obtain
7383-435: The outset of the railway the company were aware of its potential for tourism. In an attempt to attract more tourists to use the line it bought a steam yacht , the Gondola . This was made by the Liverpool firm of Jones, Quiggin and Company at a cost of £1,200 (£150,000 in 2023), transported in sections by rail, and assembled on the slipway close to Coniston Hall . It was launched on 30 November 1859 and began to run
7490-499: The peninsula and the area known as High Furness , which is a relatively mountainous and sparsely populated part of England, extending inland into the Lake District and containing the Furness Fells . The inland boundary of the region is formed by the rivers Leven, Brathay and Duddon, and the lake of Windermere . Off the southern tip of Furness is Walney Island , 11 miles (18 kilometres) long, as well as several smaller islands . The Borough of Barrow-in-Furness , which developed when
7597-506: The places to which hematite ore was carried" had allowed "extraordinary economy and consequent commercial success.": "But there was another fact still more decisive and important for the prosperity of the Barrow blast furnaces and for the prosperity of the whole mining district surrounding them, and that was the adoption of the Bessemer process . No sooner had Mr. Bessemer's great invention got into practical use than there arose an almost unlimited demand for pure hematite iron." Witnesses for
7704-470: The points which had been mis-set. The Dalton branch was extended to Lindal (goods traffic running from mines there from early May 1851) and then on to Ulverston , eight waggons of coal being delivered there from Whitehaven in April 1854, even before the station was complete. Passenger services on that section began in June 1854. In 1854, 330,000 tons of iron ore travelled over the railway (as against 225,000 tons
7811-645: The population in the short space of seven years is a unicum in European geography") It gave two reasons: "The stimulus to which in the first instance the rapid rise of Barrow-in-Furness has been due, is the erection of blast furnaces on that spot for the production of pig iron from the red hematite ore, belonging to the district near Barrow and Ulverston, and further north of both towns". The first blast furnaces had been brought into operation at Barrow in 1859. Proximity to mines, and to Barrow harbour, and "the advantage of obtaining coke and coal as return freights from
7918-455: The post; the locomotive superintendent retired at the same time after forty-six years with the company. The new regime benefited from a recovery in the Furness iron and steel trade, and from a wholesale replacement of passenger rolling stock occasioned by the need to provide a continuous automatic brake, but also made strenuous efforts to develop passenger traffic, with day and weekend excursion tickets being introduced and advertised. Second class
8025-469: The previous year), other goods traffic was up from 22,000 tons in 1853 to 40,000 tons, and there were 145,000 passenger movements (95,000 in 1853); the company declared a dividend at a rate of 6% a year. Copper mining interests at Coniston promoted the Coniston Railway , running from the Furness Railway at Broughton to Coniston and on to the copper mines. The line was nominally independent of
8132-402: The profitability (or otherwise) of the docks. The additional complaint was now made that most of the directors were ornamental and deferred to Sir James Ramsden who had held managerial posts with the company since 1846, and had been the managing director since 1866. For the second half of 1892, despite the disruption to traffic and loss of an engine caused by subsidence at Lindal , a dividend at
8239-464: The rate of 3% a year was declared; amendments seeking to force the resignation of Sir James were moved, but defeated. The secretary of the FR denied that its low dividends were caused by injudicious expenditure on Barrow docks; without them there would be no dividend at all: "The docks have led to the development of many industries in Barrow and the establishment of many feeders to our line". The problem
8346-504: The relief of Thurland Castle in South Lonsdale, then besieged by Colonel Rigby , but Rigby took some of his men over the sands and met the Royalists at Lindal , where they were routed. The Parliamentarians looted the Dalton neighbourhood before retreating to Cartmel the same night. In 1644 the Royalists remained in control of Furness, though the country folk were hostile to them, and Parliament ships landed at Piel Island to aid in
8453-461: The road from Ambleside to Broughton (now the A593). In November 1849 the railway engineer John Barraclough Fell proposed building a railway with a gauge of 3 ft 3 in (990 mm) from the copper mines at Coniston to link with the Furness Railway at Broughton. John Robinson McClean, engineer of the Furness Railway, reported this to the Earl of Burlington (later to be Duke of Devonshire),
8560-457: The rump-shaped island," from Old Norse futh (genitive futhar ), meaning rump, and nes , meaning headland. The island in question may be Piel Island , with the name originally referring to the headland immediately opposite (where Rampside is), before being extended to the entire region. Alternatively it could be Walney Island : though it little resembles a rump today, erosion could have altered its shape over time. Furness's border follows
8667-577: The south. They are cut through by Windermere, Coniston Water , and numerous valleys which drain into the Esk , the Duddon, and Morecambe Bay. The higher ground is rocky heathland, with frequent tarns , while the lower ground supports pasture and woodland. In the east there are two main chains of hills: one overlooking Windermere, with Latterbarrow (245 m) as its highest point, and the other, which reaches 300 m, overlooking Coniston Water. Between them
8774-514: The summer of 1939 a direct train was introduced from Blackpool Central to Coniston. After the Second World War there continued to be about nine trains a day on weekdays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays a through train travelled from Blackpool. Initially on Sundays there were usually two trains a day each way, although by 1922 there were four trains. After the Second World War there were usually only three trains each way on Sundays. From
8881-480: The terminal station and then out again to continue their journey. In 1882, through working became possible when a new station called Barrow Central was opened on a new loop line; the Whitehaven-Carnforth passenger traffic now started to running over this section. The old station at the dockside was retained as the goods station. Heavy expenditure on the docks at Barrow coincided with a down-turn in
8988-404: The tourist trade. In the early 1990s, the decline of shipbuilding led to mass redundancies in the area. The shipyard's employment figures fell from 20,000 to 3,000 in a 20-year period. However, the shipyard at Barrow remains England's busiest and the only nuclear submarine facility in the country. Tourism has increased even more, with the Aquarium of the Lakes and South Lakes Safari Zoo among
9095-643: The trains; a Bowness resident promptly writing to the Times to query the absence of lifeboats on the steamers. The Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway was completed in November 1851, connecting the Furness Railway to Whitehaven and (on completion of the Bransty tunnel at Whitehaven in 1852) to the West Coast Main Line at Carlisle. In 1865, the W&FJR was leased by the Furness Railway, with
9202-481: The winter months there were only three trains on weekdays. By 1907 there were eight trains each day between Foxfield and Coniston. The "Fleetwood Boat Train" had a connection with the steamer service between Fleetwood and Barrow. Towards the end of the First World War workmen's trains ran between Coniston and the shipyards at Barrow. In August 1930 there were ten trains running each way on weekdays. In
9309-600: The winter of 1963–64. It was later re-floated and acquired by the National Trust in 1978. It was divided into sections and taken to Vicker's shipyard at Barrow-in-Furness for rebuilding. Gondola was reassembled at Coniston and resumed service in 1980. Such was the success of Gondola that the company commissioned another boat, the Lady of the Lake . This was manufactured by Thorneycroft of Southampton in 1907 and
9416-559: Was abolished (1897) and new corridor bogie carriages introduced on Barrow-Yorkshire services were as good as anything to be found on major railways. To promote tourist traffic, the FR published guides to tours in the Lake District not only in English, but also in French and German. By 1903, passenger revenue was 40% higher than that for 1895, and passenger revenue per train-mile was 10d higher. The Railway Magazine of August 1898 described
9523-447: Was again rejected, and ended in an agreement that the joint Furness/Midland trains from Barrow would continue to run, and the same company which managed (and owned a third of the shares in) the Barrow trains for the railways would also manage the services from Heysham. When services began running from Heysham in 1905, the Barrow services became unprofitable: it became evident that the Midland was preferentially routing traffic via Heysham and
9630-579: Was already double-track, and the line between Ulverston and Carnforth was doubled in 1863. In 1863, in conjunction with the Midland Railway , the FR promoted a bill for the Furness and Midland Joint Railway between Wennington and Carnforth; the intention was said to be to give a more direct connection between the iron ore of Furness and Yorkshire ironworks and coal-mines. The London and North Western Railway cast doubt on this, pointing out that Furness got its metallurgical coke from South Durham over
9737-478: Was being extracted from the area as long ago as the Bronze Age . Green slate has also been quarried in the area for at least 500 years and there has been a tourist industry for some 200 years. By the middle of the 19th century the copper mines and the slate quarries at Coniston were flourishing, the mines employing 400 men and the quarries were producing an average of 2,000 tons of slate
9844-462: Was built from (just west of) the Leven viaduct to Greenodd (allowing suppression of a swing bridge in the viaduct) then through Newby Bridge to a terminus beside Windermere at Finsthwaite; the locality had been known as The Landing, but the station was named Lake-side . The line opened June 1869; a company part-owned (after 1873 fully owned) by the FR ran Windermere steamer services in conjunction with
9951-457: Was built in the 19th century to cater to the increasing demand. Iron and steelworks were established at Barrow, and the town's population grew from 325 in 1847 to 51,712 in 1891, surpassing Dalton's and Ulverston's. Mining in Furness reached its peak in 1882, when 1,408,693 tons of ore were won. At the same time, tourism in the Lake District increased, popularised in part by the work of John Ruskin and William Wordsworth . Tourism in High Furness
10058-471: Was doubled throughout; the line between Seascale and Bootle was also doubled. The Ulverstone and Lancaster Railway was built by a separate company to link Ulverston with Carnforth , on the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway thus giving a rail link southwards from Furness and West Cumbria to the West Coast Main Line so that – as the Earl of Burlington noted at a celebratory banquet marking
10165-441: Was estimated that if the line were closed about £17,000 (£520,000 in 2023), would be saved each year. The line was closed for passenger trains on 6 October 1958. On 27 August 1961 an enthusiast's train ran on the line pulled by Fowler 4F 44347. Freight services ended on 30 April 1962 and the track was lifted and the other railway structures were removed. The Coniston footbridge was dismantled and re-built at Ravenglass for
10272-466: Was foreign competition: "..the introduction of Spanish ore into England has led to a serious diminution of the receipts of the Furness Railway company owing to the reduction in price it has affected all over the country in pig iron and steel; and whereas we used to send away nearly half a million tons of ore to Middlesbrough and other places at rates which gave us an average of 3s. a ton, we are now carrying that ore – in less quantities, I am sorry to say – to
10379-460: Was in the possession of the crown. In 1127 Prince Stephen founded Furness Abbey , granting the abbot most of the land in Furness and giving the rest to a Fleming named Michael. Henry III later granted the rent due from the lord of Michael's Land (£10 per year) to the abbot of Furness, making him the sole tenant-in-chief , and thus one of the most powerful abbots in the country. In the 14th century Dalton Castle and Piel Castle were built by
10486-418: Was intended to shorten the distance to Barrow for the coke traffic over Stainmore. In 1870, the FR brought forward, and then abandoned, a bill authorising abandonment of the project; construction was pursued with no great urgency, the line not opening until June 1876. The FR objected when in 1877 the Whitehaven, Cleator and Egremont Railway agreed terms for its amalgamation with the LNWR; instead as of July 1879
10593-613: Was merged as one of the constituent companies of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway following the Railways Act 1921 . Furness Furness ( / ˈ f ɜːr n ɪ s , f ɜːr ˈ n ɛ s / FUR -niss, fur- NESS ) is a peninsula and region of Cumbria , England. Together with the Cartmel Peninsula it forms North Lonsdale , historically an exclave of Lancashire . On 1 April 2023 it became part of
10700-512: Was not replaced as managing director. A new general manager (Alfred Aslett) was recruited from the Cambrian Railways , where he had 'worked wonders ... from being one of the most sluggish it has become one of the most enterprising lines in the kingdom'. The incumbent 'secretary and general manager' became 'secretary' only (his assistant, Ramsden's son, became 'superintendent of the line') before retiring in 1897 after thirty-three years in
10807-570: Was on the company's provisional committee – failure to attract local capital meant that the original intention to serve Ulverston was dropped. The company's bill was not opposed in Parliament and the act was given royal assent on 23 May 1844 as the Furness Railway Act 1844 ( 7 & 8 Vict. c. xxii). A further act in 1846 authorised extensions from Kirkby to Broughton-in-Furness , and from Dalton to Ulverston. Goods traffic began running between Dalton and Barrow in June 1846, operated by
10914-607: Was opened in 1860. From Broughton-in-Furness the line rose steeply, initially up a gradient of 1 in 49, to Woodland. From Woodland it continued to rise, with a maximum gradient of 1 in 77, to Torver. Just after Torver station it reached its highest level and then descended towards Coniston, with a level section just before Coniston station. From the outset trains ran from Coniston to Broughton-in-Furness and on to Foxfield and most trains went further, terminating at Kirkby-in-Furness . On weekdays there were four trains each way every weekday and two on Sundays. During
11021-728: Was opened on 18 June 1859 although the buildings at Coniston railway station were not completed until the end of the year. These buildings were designed by the Lancaster architect E. G. Paley in Swiss chalet style . The extension of the line to the copper mines did not open until 1860. In 1862 the Coniston Railway was amalgamated with the Furness Railway , the Furness and Coniston Railways Amalgamation Act 1862 ( 25 & 26 Vict. c. cxxxiii) being passed on 7 July. The line ran for 8.5 miles from Coniston to Broughton-in-Furness. At Broughton-in-Furness it joined
11128-454: Was promoted by the writings of Beatrix Potter in the early 20th century. Potter was one of the largest landowners in the area, eventually donating her many properties to the National Trust . Shipbuilding later replaced iron and steel as Low Furness's main industry, and Barrow's shipyards became the largest in England. In particular, submarine development became a specialty of the town, with
11235-461: Was registered to carry 400 passengers. It cost £5,600 (£750,000 in 2023), was 97 feet 6 inches (29.72 m) long and had a maximum speed of 11.5 knots. The boat was taken out of service at the outset of the Second World War and broken up for scrap in 1950. From the start, locomotives were supplied by the Furness Railway. Originally these were of two types, 0-4-0 locomotives built by Bury, Curtis, and Kennedy , of which Copperknob
11342-724: Was said to have been a director of the Furness Railway, the Barrow Hematite Steel Company, the Barrow Jute and Flax Company, and the Barrow Shipbuilding Company.) The docks at Barrow opened in September 1867. There were two wet docks; the Devonshire (30 acres) and the Buccleuch (33 acres). The Midland Railway's Morecambe-Belfast steamer service was replaced by a Barrow-Belfast service jointly owned by
11449-590: Was then "the largest Bessemer steel works in the country" and "one of the largest in the world". The Dukes of Devonshire and Buccleuch were both major shareholders in the steel company as was the managing director of the Furness Railway, who was also the managing director of the Hematite Steel Company and (following the incorporation in 1867 of Barrow) its first mayor. (Similarly, after the Phoenix Park Murders , Lord Frederick Cavendish
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