My uncle Sam Whalan was one of the last station masters to serve at Bassenthwaite Lake station on the Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith (CK&P) line. When the line was closed in 1972 the station was abandoned and left to decay - until recently. In 2019 a major refurbishment took place and 'Bass Lake’ became re-invented as a tourist attraction. Having spent a lot of time at the station when growing up I was inspired to look further into its history and particularly the life and times of its station masters.
The Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway
As far as rail transport in mid-nineteenth century Cumberland is concerned, despite the scenic beauty of its lakes and mountains, it was the needs of industry which were always going to drive things forward. A report in October 1860 in the Carlisle Journal gives details of a key meeting held at The Crown Hotel, Penrith, where proposals for the building of the new cross-country line - the Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway - were seriously considered. Perhaps to raise its status and kudos, Sir Henry Vane of Hutton-in-the-Forest House, a member of the local aristocracy, was invited to chair the meeting. The proposals were outlined by Messrs. Waugh, a Cockermouth solicitor, and Thomas Bouch, an engineer from the Stockton & Darlington Railway. Mr Bouch had a strong reputation for bold and innovative engineering, particularly when it came to bridges. A total of 135 would ultimately become key components of the proposed new route.
Mr Waugh explained that the new line would create much-needed transport from west to east, connecting the Cockermouth & Workington Railway to the west with the Lancaster & Carlisle Railway to the east. In other words the new line would enable an efficient trade link to be created between the haematite ore-fields of West Cumberland and the blast furnaces of South Durham. Happily, the proposals won the support of two major rail companies, the London & North Western Railway and the Stockton & Darlington Railway (eventually to become part of the North Eastern Railway) chiefly because of the commercial links the new CK&P route would have with them. Subsequently the CK&P railway received its Royal Assent and was constituted under an Act of Parliament of 1st August 1861.
Work to build the 31½-mile stretch of railway got under way in 1862. The first sod was cut on 14th May at Great Crossthwaite, in an atmosphere of great celebration, by the chair of new CK&P railway company. Mr. T. A. Hoskins. Large crowds had gathered in Keswick town centre from the early hours and, at the appointed time, the official procession set off. It included several marching bands, such as the military band of the 'Skiddaw Greys’ and that of the Cockermouth Voluntary Engineers, a contingent from 'Sir Herbert’s Lodge of Oddfellows’ and several groups of schoolchildren. At the head of the procession was a group of pretend 'navvies’ dressed in 'white slops and white poke caps’. One carried a barrow across his shoulders and another the ceremonial spade, which were the items to be used in the sod-cutting ceremony. (Amazingly, both of these items have been preserved and passed down through the years. They are currently proudly displayed in The Keswick Museum and Art Gallery on Station Road.)
The construction of the CK&P line was relatively swift and it anticipated this when he says: “The day was a memorable one for Keswick … seldom, if ever, has it been equalled… but perhaps it may be surpassed when the first locomotive, after whirling along by the margin of Bassenthwaite Lake comes to a stand under the shadow of the stupendous Skiddaw."
