Cumbrian Coast Barrow to Carlisle

1st January 2008

I'm defining "Coast" as the Barrow to Carlisle route via Whitehaven. (A separate collection will cover the Carnforth to Barrow "Furness" line.) Sadly rail traffic along the Cumbrian Coast is sparse these days. Apart from local DMU passenger trains, there are erratic nuclear flask and chemical tank trains to Sellafield which are often just 1 or 2 wagons, and a daily Carlisle to Workington freight. DRS which operate all the Sellafield traffic use a variety of classic traction and are notorious for having up to 5 locos on trains for positioning purposes. For many years there was a ban on loco hauled passenger trains north of Maryport due to restricted clearances but this has now been relaxed and there are more charter trains using the route.

37602 + 20311 with empty tanks near Nethertown 8/5/06	33025 Redness Point 22/2/03	37605 + 37606 + 33030 + 33025 near Nethertown 10/5/03	33025 + 33030 Nethertown 5/4/03
37606 + 20311 pass Mossbay with a flask train 29/5/06	20310 + 20307 in fabulous conditions near St Bees 22/5/99	Loadhaul black 37698 approaches Kirkby with the Heysham flask train 14/7/97	A lucky fluke near Maryport as 31188 + 31154 on a northbound rail train pass 37114 with empty rail wagons bound for Workington 9/7/97
31188 + 31154 pass the former Bullgill station with a rail train 9/7/97	37709 near Workington with the daily trip freight from Carlisle 9/7/97	20301 + 20302 near Foxfield with a flask train 15/5/03	37262 "Dounreay" in engineers dark grey livery heads north at Nethertown with nuclear flasks 8/7/97
56107 approaches Maryport with the daily freight trip from Workington Dock to Carlisle Yard 10/5/03	33030 + 33025 top & tail 2 chemical tanks over the Mite viaduct at Ravenglass 13/5/03	Solo 20301 passes Seascale with the Drigg trip 8/7/97	With the Old Man of Coniston in the distance "skinhead" 31450 nears Kirkby 15/7/96
With the mountains of Scotland visible across the Solway 20902 and 20903 top & tail a weedkiller train at Parton 15/7/96	37218 + 37059 lead 37611 + 37602 and 3 flasks southbound near Askam 5/5/04	A train of long rails snakes round the bends at Parton headed by 37042 30/4/99	Nose first 20301 heads back to Sellafield with empty wagons from Drigg 8/7/97
31467 winds along the coast near St Bees 9/7/96	33030 + 33025 lead 20304 + 37608 and 2 chemical tanks at Parton 3/5/03	Newly painted in EWS colours 37419 crosses Eskmeals with a flask train 17/7/96	Ex works 37611 + 37612 head a flask train over Eskmeals viaduct 6/5/03