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Barrow Evening Mail,
Wednesday August 15 2001
Mail
Focus
On the restoration work at
Carnforth railway station
STARS IN TOWN: Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard in a scene from Brief
Encounter filmed at Carnforth railway station in 1945
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Return ticket to old glory
| CARNFORTH railway station will always be
synonymous with the golden age of steam and the setting of the classic film Brief
Encounter. Sadly the grand old station was allowed to fall into disrepair until a small
band of cinema lovers and railway enthusiasts sprang into action. As restoration finally
begins reporter ALAN COLE found out more about the ongoing fight to see the station
returned to its former glory |
A WORLD famous
railway station where a British cinema classic was filmed looked destined to crumble into
ruin until a group of volunteers mobilised the community and put together a £1.5 million
rescue package. Broken and bricked up windows and crumbling walls are now being replaced
with a museum, tea-room and information booth. Many doubted whether restoration work would
ever take place on the station, which provided the setting for David Lean's 1946
masterpiece Brief Encounter featuring Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson.
The station attracts tourists from all over the world following in the footsteps of the
romantic lovers who met in Carnforth's buffet room and snatched repressed afternoons
sipping tea and going to the pictures before returning to their spouses. By the 1970s the
station, which was once an important junction between Cumbria, Lancashire and Yorkshire,
was in decline.
The clock, which features heavily in the film, had stopped and its parts had been sold for
scrap. This was followed by the loss of platforms, ticket office and then finally staff.
The Carnforth Railway Trust decided enough was enough and spent the past few years
badgering various authorities to get the renovation going. Despite being rejected for a
National Lottery on the grounds the station was not listed, the trust managed to raise the
£1.5 million to get things off the ground.
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CHANGING TIMES: Friends of Carnforth Station woodworker
Terry Boxford restoring the case and drum of Carnforth's Brief Encounter clock. The clock
should be up and running again in November this year. |
The famous clock,
under which the gentle English lovers once embraced, is now in a workshop being repaired
after its original face and mechanism was discovered collecting dust in a shop in West
London. The clock will be up and running again by November.
Carnforth Railway Trust chairman Peter Yates, of Yates Garage, Carnforth, said: "The
work started approximately four weeks ago. It is well under way now. "The roof has
been removed for refurbishment and all the rubbish has been taken away. "Barrow firm
Leek Construction have been working on it after they won the tender. "They have been
working hard. By mid November the first phase should be completed. "The existing
buildings are to be brought up to a good standard and a travel office will be opened which
will be run by the County Council offering bus services for the community. "Phase two
will involve the opening of the heritage centre but confirmation for the development of
that has to be formally agreed. "But it is looking very optimistic for the future.
At present the funding is there until early November." Peter explained volunteers are
delighted but they will continue battling until the end of the road is reached. He said:
"People can see it is happening now and it is not just talk. "In fact we want to
encourage more people to get involved. if the community do not get involved it may not
happen. "There is a long way to go and all aspects of the development are open to
discussion. "We are ordinary people who are open to new ideas and I would like to
encourage more local people to get involved. "I would like to thank everyone for
taking us this far, especially Railtrack for their financial support. A number of sources
including many local firms and private individuals have made financial contributions.
There are 260 Friends of Carnforth world-wide who make donations from as far afield as
China and Australia. Carnforth Railway Trust is a non-profit making charitable
organisation.
Five years ago Carnforth Station was voted the worst station in Britain and earmarked for
demolition. Now it will be fully restored to its wartime look with original looking
subway, canopy and platforms. Although the film was set in the London commuter belt of
Weybridge during the 30s, tell tale signs point to Leeds and Barrow not Clapham junction.
Director David Lean used the station because in 1945 the North was seen as a less likely
target than London for the Luftwaffe. Although scenes from the refreshment room in Brief
Encounter were filmed on a studio set, the trust intends to replicate the room complete
with its cast-iron stove and mahogany counter.
Return ticket to old glory, Barrow
Evening Mail, Wednesday August 15 2001
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