Town celebrates as famous station steams into future.
 Carnforth's
history has long been connected with the railways and the station work revitalises that
great link Picture CARNFORTH STATION TRUST |
Railtrack and The Friends of Carnforth
Station worked together to have the unused buildings refurbished in addition to work being
done on the operational platforms. Picture: GEORGE COUPE |
Dawn of a new era |
"Brief Encounter" on Valentines
Day for MP Geraldine Smith who performed the opening and Peter Yates, chairman of the
Carnforth Station Trust. Picture: PETER WILCOCK 1402024/9 |
by Steven Hewitt
LOVE was in the air in Carnforth on
Valentine's Day as the town celebrated a decade of hard work on their station made
world-famous in the classic film. `Brief Encounter'
The superb turnout 'rim local residents as well as some from Ireland and London together
with representatives showed just how dear the station is in the heart of many:
And that bodes well for the future when many hope mainline trains will be stopping off in
Carnforth, which only four years ago was named the worst station in the country.
Morecambe and Lunesdale MP Geraldine Smith opened the new building, which included offices
for Carnforth Connect, the new rural bus service.
She said: "This is a wonderful day for Carnforth and I pay tribute to all the local
people who have worked so hard to make sure this day has come.
"It just shows what people can achieve when they pull together. This is only phase
one, we have got a long way to go yet.
"I want to see a day when trains from London will be stopping at Carnforth."
Peter Yates, chairman of Carnforth Station and Railway Trust Limited, said he was
delighted for Peter Williams, the former manager of the Station Hotel.
"It was his ambition to get Carnforth Station back to life and I have just picked it
up and carried it on.
"Carnforth is a strategic place on the transport network and we want to bring back
the spirit that was here in the early days "
He added that people had travelled from as far away as London and Southern Ireland to be
at the opening.
John Pengelly, estates manager for Railtrack who put £1 million into the project, said:
"There were times when I thought this sunny day would never dawn. I asked myself, are
we really flogging a dead horse?
"We have got quite a soft heart. You see buildings like this and you don't want to
knock them down."
He called on people `to respect it and to use it'. "The one thing you don't want is
to refurbish it and it does not get used. Without the support of the local community it
just dies and withers away"
Sir William McAlpine, chairman of the Railway Heritage Trust, said the refurbishment was a
`major achievement' and the trust had `given both moral and financial support to the
scheme'.
Jean Yates declared it a `very happy day'.
"As a trustee, Lancashire county councillor and city councillor, 10 years of work
really now seems to have been worth it," she said.
Red Rose Youth Band played music during the morning and visitors were able to look around
an exhibition of pictures of the station through the ages.
Dawn of a new era - Morecambe Guardian 22nd
February 2002
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