Kirkby Stephen
National Rail
General information
LocationKirkby Stephen, Eden
England
Coordinates54°27′18″N 2°22′07″W / 54.4549076°N 2.3687030°W / 54.4549076; -2.3687030
Grid referenceNY762066
Owned byNetwork Rail
Managed byNorthern Trains
Platforms2
Tracks2
Other information
Station codeKSW
ClassificationDfT category F2
History
Original companyMidland Railway
Pre-groupingMidland Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
British Rail (London Midland Region)
Key dates
1 May 1876Opened as Kirkby Stephen
1 October 1900Renamed Kirkby Stephen and Ravenstonedale
8 June 1953Renamed Kirkby Stephen West
6 May 1968Renamed Kirkby Stephen
4 May 1970Closed
14 July 1986Reopened
Passengers
2018/19Decrease 27,654
2019/20Increase 30,912
2020/21Decrease 5,572
2021/22Increase 25,758
2022/23Increase 29,888
Services
Preceding station Northern Following station
Garsdale
towards Leeds via Settle
 Settle and Carlisle Line Appleby
towards Carlisle
Location
Kirkby Stephen is located in the former Eden District
Kirkby Stephen
Kirkby Stephen
Location in Eden, Cumbria
Kirkby Stephen is located in Cumbria
Kirkby Stephen
Kirkby Stephen
Location in Cumbria, England
Notes
Passenger statistics from the Office of Rail and Road

Kirkby Stephen is a railway station in Eden in Cumbria, England, on the Settle and Carlisle Line, which runs between Carlisle and Leeds via Settle. The station is situated 1.5 miles (2.4 km) south-west of the market town of Kirkby Stephen, just within the civil parish of Wharton, and also serves the nearby villages of Newbiggin-on-Lune and Ravenstonedale. It lies 41 miles 35 chains (66.7 km) south of Carlisle, and is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

History

The station was designed by the Midland Railway company architect John Holloway Sanders,[1] and opened to traffic in May 1876.[2]

The station is more than 1+1⁄4 miles (2 km) from the town (and over 150 feet (46 m) above it) at Midland Hill, just within the civil parish of Wharton. It was opened as Kirkby Stephen, but it was renamed Kirkby Stephen and Ravenstonedale in 1900, and then Kirkby Stephen West in 1953, to avoid confusion with the older Kirkby Stephen, later known as Kirkby Stephen East, station in the town, on the North Eastern Railway's Stainmore and Eden Valley lines. Its remote location was necessitated by the Midland Railway's desire to keep gradients on the line to no greater than 1 in 100 for fast running.[3] Had it been any closer to the town, the climb up to the summit of the line at Ais Gill would have exceeded this limit considerably. The West station reverted to the name Kirkby Stephen in 1968, but was closed (along with all other stations on the line except Settle and Appleby) in May 1970. It was reopened by British Rail in July 1986.

The station is leased by the Settle and Carlisle Railway Trust, which comprehensively restored it in 2009.[4] The main buildings on platform 1 now incorporate a caretaker's flat, offices, holiday accommodation and the Midland Room, opened in July 2011,[5] which includes a cafe and exhibition of items related to the Settle and Carlisle railway. Platform 2 (northbound) has a stone shelter. The old goods shed to the south is now in private commercial use, goods facilities having been withdrawn here in 1964.

Step-free access to both platforms is available (ramps to platform 2 from the road below), along with a footbridge (erected in the mid-1990s after becoming redundant at its original location at Guiseley).[6] No ticket machine is present, so passengers must buy in advance or from the conductor on the train (though operator Northern is in the process of installing one and also digital information screens as part of a rolling station upgrade programme on the route).[7] Buses to and from the town call close to the station entrance on the A685 road to Kendal.[3]

Stationmasters

  • Robinson Bell 1876[8] - 1882[9]
  • William Tunn 1882 - 1888[9] (afterwards station master at Fiskerton)
  • William George Nuttall 1888 - 1892[9] (formerly station master at Plumtree, afterwards station master at Appleby)
  • Thomas Moss 1892[9] - 1919 (formerly station master at Appleby)[10]
  • E. Proctor 1919 - 1924[11] (afterwards station master at Bamford)

Services

Northern Trains
Route 7
Bentham Line and
Settle and Carlisle Line
 Carlisle Parking Bicycle facilities Handicapped/disabled access
 Armathwaite Parking
 Lazonby & Kirkoswald
 Langwathby Parking
 Appleby Parking
 Kirkby Stephen Parking
 Garsdale Parking
 Dent Parking
 Ribblehead Parking Bicycle facilities
 Horton-in-Ribblesdale Parking Bicycle facilities
 Settle Parking Bicycle facilities
Heysham Port ferry/water interchange
 Morecambe Parking Bicycle facilities
 Bare Lane Parking
 Lancaster Parking Bicycle facilities Handicapped/disabled access
 Carnforth Parking
 Wennington Parking
 Bentham Parking Bicycle facilities
 Clapham Parking Bicycle facilities
 Giggleswick Parking Bicycle facilities
Long Preston Parking Bicycle facilities
 Hellifield Parking
 Gargrave
 Skipton Parking Bicycle facilities Handicapped/disabled access
 Keighley Parking Bicycle facilities Heritage railway
 Bingley Parking Bicycle facilities
 Shipley Parking Bicycle facilities
 Leeds Parking Bicycle facilities Handicapped/disabled access

The station is served by eight trains in each direction on weekdays and Saturdays: northbound to Carlisle and southbound to Leeds.[12] A new early morning Monday to Friday service southbound began in May 2011. The first weekday northbound service now runs through from Leeds, rather than arriving from Carlisle and returning there after a reversal as before.

There are six departures each way on Sundays throughout the year, including a through train to and from Nottingham. DalesRail services between Blackpool North/Preston and Carlisle used call at the station on summer Sundays, but this service is not running in 2023.

References

  1. ↑ "Notes by the Way". Derbyshire Times and Chesterfield Herald. British Newspaper Archive. 1 November 1884. Retrieved 12 July 2016 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  2. ↑ Quick, Michael (2020). Railway Passenger Stations in Great Britain; a Chronology (PDF) (5 ed.). Market Drayton: The railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 252. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
  3. 1 2 Kirkby Stephen station bridge Craven, S Geograph.org Retrieved 24 November 2016
  4. ↑ S&C Trust website. Archived 27 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ↑ Johnston, Howard (10 August 2011). "Regional News". Rail. Peterborough. p. 24.
  6. ↑ Kirkby Stephen station facilities National Rail Enquiries; Retrieved 5 December 2016
  7. ↑ "Better stations are coming to Northern"Northern news article; Retrieved 23 November 2019
  8. ↑ "1871-1879 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 743. 1871. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  9. 1 2 3 4 "1881-1898 Coaching". Midland Railway Operating, Traffic and Coaching Depts: 48. 1881. Retrieved 5 April 2021.
  10. ↑ "Death of Mr Thomas Moss, Long Marton". Penrith Observer. England. 15 April 1924. Retrieved 5 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  11. ↑ "Death of Mr E. Proctor". Penrith Observer. England. 9 September 1924. Retrieved 5 April 2021 – via British Newspaper Archive.
  12. ↑ Table 35 National Rail timetable, May 2023
Preceding station National Rail National Rail Following station
Garsdale   Northern Trains
Settle and Carlisle Line		   Appleby
  Historical railways  
Garsdale   Midland Railway
Settle and Carlisle Line		   Crosby Garrett
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