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KESWICK
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Keswick is my N gauge model railway layout depicting a possible ‘new’ Keswick station if the line reopens.
The Cockermouth, Keswick and Penrith Railway reached Keswick in 1865. Like most Cumbrian railways the pressure to build the line came from industrial interests. It would provide a quicker route from the Durham coalfields and its low sulphur coke, to the ironworks of West Cumbria. Tourism and local agricultural interests were always important but they only became the primary justification for the line in the twentieth century.
The line west of Keswick was closed in 1966 but Keswick and the line to Penrith survived until 1972. Today the old station is part of the Keswick Hotel and the line to Threlkeld can be walked, including the eight bowstring bridges that cross the Greta River.
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Background
For a detailed history of the line see:
The Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway by Robert Weston (ISBN 0-85361-564-0),
For a well illustrated history see:
Rails Through Lakeland (two volumes) by Harold Bowtell (ISBN 1-85794-066-0)
The Future?
Recognising the absolute folly of closing the line given today’s traffic flows into the Lake District, there are serious attempts to re-open the line from Penrith to Keswick. For the details see:
Return to Keswick: the case for a new railway by Cedric Martindale (ISBN 1-902543-02-5).
Or on the web at www.ckp-railways.co.uk
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My layout assumes that the new Keswick station would be built a little way to the East of the old station. It includes rather more than is likely to be the case if the line is reopened. Such is modeller’s license! Set in the 1990’s the line is serviced by sprinters and special loco drawn passenger services. Mineral traffic is provided for in dedicated sidings.
Two more shots of the layout. The first on the station and the second of the approach.
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