Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway
of Keswick, Cumberland
The Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway (CK and PR) was incorporated by Act of Parliament on 1 August 1861, for a line connecting the town of Cockermouth with the London and North Western Railway (LNWR) West Coast Main Line at Penrith. [1]
1861 The company was incorporated and is worked by the London and North Western Railway and North Eastern Railway companies. [2]
It was opened on November 11th, 1864.[3]
Arrangements for the use of the stations at either end (Cockermouth was already served by the Cockermouth and Workington Railway) (C and WR) were included. Traffic was worked by the LNWR and (originally) by the Stockton and Darlington Railway (later the North Eastern Railway), both of whom had shares in the company. The line was 31.5 miles (50km) in length, and had eight intermediate stations serving:
- Embleton
- Bassenthwaite Lake: the line skirted the lake for a considerable distance
- Braithwaite
- Keswick
- Threlkeld
- Troutbeck
- Penruddock
- Blencow
A CK and PR station at Cockermouth was built: there was some animosity between the two railways at the time.
The line opened on 2 January 1865: trains from Penrith began to work through to Whitehaven along the CK and PR/C and WR route from 1 July 1865, when the C and WR station was closed: that railway was absorbed by the LNWR in 1866. Although the LNWR provided the passenger services, the CK and PR continued to operate as a separate company until the 1923 Grouping, when it was absorbed by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway.
1908 The line is 31.5 miles in length. [4]