Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway | ||||||||||||||
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There were two interlinked railways on the south shore of the Solway Firth.
The Port Carlisle Dock and Railway Company was opened in 1854, following the route of a former canal, intended to connect Port Carlisle, to which sea-going ships could navigate, with the city of Carlisle.
The Carlisle and Silloth Bay Railway and Dock Company was built as an extension of the Port Carlisle line, opening in 1856, because silting of the Solway was making Port Carlisle unusable.[a]
The two railways operated collaboratively, but neither was successful financially and insolvency seemed inevitable. However the North British Railway (NBR) was building the line that became the Waverley Route from Edinburgh to Carlisle. The established railways at Carlisle obstructed the NBR's intended access, so the NBR leased the Port Carlisle and the Silloth companies, and connected with them at the Port Carlisle's station in Carlisle. The NBR sent goods traffic for English destinations on to Silloth and by coastal shipping from there, by-passing the competing companies' obstruction. Irish and other destinations were served as well, and the maritime trade developed well. The NBR also improved Silloth as a holiday resort, and it became popular.
However, from 1879 the NBR made an alliance with the Midland Railway and traffic to England over that line became dominant, and Port Carlisle and Silloth were no longer of strategic value. Local traffic other than the seasonal holiday trade was insignificant and decline was inevitable. the Port Carlisle line closed to passenger traffic in 1932 and the entire network closed in 1964.
The Port Carlisle branch from Drumburgh was notable because passenger trains were operated by horse-drawn vehicle, lasting until 1914.
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