CARNFORTH
STATION |
THE
GATEWAY
OPENS
FEBRUARY 14 |
Carnforth Station's finally back on track
A 10-year-old dream will start to come true when Carnforth Railway
and Station Trust Company Limited opens Carnforth Gateway, the first stage in their
ambitious plans to restore the once derelict station into a welcoming railway station and
a useful asset to the town.
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THE opening ceremony of Carnforth Gateway is expected to be
attended by representatives of Railtrack, The Railway Heritage Trust, First North Western
Trains, Arriva Trains, North West Development Agency; Lancashire County Council, Lancaster
City Council, Lancashire Tourism Partnership, Lancaster City Tourism, Cumbria Tourist
Board, North West Community Loan Fund, the Councils of Carnforth, Bolton-le- Sands, Priest
Hutton and Warton. Many of The Friends of Carnforth Station, who have done so much to
support the restoration work, will also be present. |
| Radio Lancashire's, Jim Bowen, will broadcast live from the
station from 9am to noon and visitors will be able to use their mobile Cyber Cafe'. The
Red Rose Youth Band will play throughout the morning.
The opening ceremony will commence at 10.45am. After Geraldine Smith opens the
Carnforth Gateway; the official party will be shown round three exhibitions comprising a
photographic record of the station, past and present, and exhibitions of paintings by
local artists, Chris Rigby and Jo Ware |
| These exhibitions will be open to the public from 12.30pm and will remain
open, during the day; for the next few weeks. The Carnforth Gateway is so named as it is
intended to be the Gateway for people in Carnforth to visit the proposed attractions of
the island platform and the railway, and also for passengers arriving by rail to enter
Carnforth. |
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| The proposed attractions include the Brief Encounter
Refreshment Rooms, the Carnforth Heritage Centre and the Lecture Theatre. These are
expected to open in late 2003. A buffet reception will be held in The Royal Station
Hotel for the official guests at noon.
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It is hoped that the diesel train unit named Brief Encounter will stop at
Carnforth Station at l.45pm on a schedule run to Manchester Airport. Over the last year
Railtrack North West has spent approximately �lm on Carnforth station, �150,000 of which
was a direct donation to The Friends of Carnforth Station.
The remaining �850,000 was spent refurbishing the operational platforms of the
station, used by passengers travelling to either south Lakeland, Barrow and Cumbria coast
stations or towards Lancaster, Preston, and other main line destinations. |
| The station received a complete new lighting system. The
subway used to gain access to the platforms had a complete makeover to provide a brighter,
more passenger friendly environment. |
| The glass the entrance to the subway was reglazed and a new
guttering system installed to prevent leaks. Everything was thoroughly cleaned and
repainted in a light colour scheme to provide a more welcoming atmosphere and new
disabifity compliant handrails were fitted in both access ramps.
The ornate ironwork either side of the subway access ramp on the Preston-bound platform
was repainted and new railings were installed along the edges of the old main line
platforms.
On the Barrow platform, the concrete canopy was fully repaired complete with a new roof
covering. All glazing to this structure was renewed and the redundant doors and windows
were bricked up.
The whole structure was decorated in a base colour so that at some future point the
Friends of Carnforth would be able to paint a mural along the whole platform length |
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