Oxenholme Lake District railway station in

Oxenholme Oxenholme is a village in England just south of the town of Kendal, with which it has begun to merge. It is best known for Oxenholme Lake District railway station on the West Coast Main Line. Because Oxenholme does not have its own church it ...

, near Kendal, Cumbria, England, is on the

West Coast Main Line The West Coast Main Line (WCML) is one of the most important railway corridors in the United Kingdom, connecting the major cities of London and Glasgow with branches to Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and Edinburgh. It is one of the busiest ...

and at the start of the Windermere Branch Line to

Windermere Windermere (sometimes tautologically called Windermere Lake to distinguish it from the nearby town of Windermere) is the largest natural lake in England. More than 11 miles (18 km) in length, and almost 1 mile (1.5 km) at its wides ...

. The station, which serves as a main line connection point for Kendal and Windermere, is managed by

Avanti West Coast Avanti West Coast is a train operating company in the United Kingdom owned by FirstGroup (70%) and Trenitalia (30%) that operates the West Coast Partnership franchise. During November 2016, the Department for Transport (DfT) announced the Inter ...

and owned by

Network Rail Network Rail Limited is the owner (via its subsidiary Network Rail Infrastructure Limited, which was known as Railtrack plc before 2002) and infrastructure manager of most of the railway network in Great Britain. Network Rail is an "arm's leng ...

History

The station was constructed as part of the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (which is now a section on the

from

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

). Initially the railway was earmarked to go via Kendal. However, a tunnel would have had to have been built north of the town to accommodate this route. As it was deemed too expensive an option, a line running east of Kendal was adopted. The line between Lancaster and Oxenholme opened in September 1846. Trains from Lancaster passed through Oxenholme to a temporary terminus at . This ended when the line to Carlisle was completed in December 1847. With the decision to avoid Kendal, the

Kendal and Windermere Railway The Kendal and Windermere Railway built a branch line from the main line to Kendal and on to Windermere, in Cumbria in north-west England. It was promoted by local interests in Kendal when it became clear that the Lancaster and Carlisle Railw ...

was promoted instead with Oxenholme becoming a

junction station ''Junction station'' usually refers to a railway station situated on or close to a junction where lines to several destinations diverge. The usual minimum is three incoming lines. At a station with platforms running from left to right, the minimum ...

. The

branch line A branch line is a phrase used in railway terminology to denote a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line. Industrial spur An industr ...

would be between Oxenholme and its terminus at (although it actually is in Birthwaite about from the actual

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

). It opened in April 1847. The station's popularity with visitors to The Lakes was fictionalised by Arthur Ransome in the ''Swallows and Amazons'' series of children's books, where it was renamed ''Strickland Junction''. In ''

Pigeon Post Pigeon post is the use of homing pigeons to carry messages. Pigeons are effective as messengers due to their natural homing abilities. The pigeons are transported to a destination in cages, where they are attached with messages, then the pigeo ...

'' Roger releases a homing pigeon there.

Incidents

On 10 February 1965, fugitive John Middleton, who was hiding in the waiting room, shot and killed Carlisle policeman Alex Archibald at the station. His colleague, George Russell, who was also shot, died a few hours later in hospital. On 27 May 2006 a 19-year-old man was fatally stabbed aboard a

Paignton Paignton ( ) is a seaside town on the coast of Tor Bay in Devon, England. Together with Torquay and Brixham it forms the borough of Torbay which was created in 1998. The Torbay area is a holiday destination known as the English Riviera. Paignt ...

train as it was entering the station. A 22-year-old man was jailed for 21 years for the murder in November 2006. The

Grayrigg rail crash The Grayrigg derailment was a fatal railway accident that occurred at approximately 20:15 GMT on 23 February 2007, just to the south of Grayrigg, Cumbria, in the North West England region of the United Kingdom. The accident investigation conc ...

happened on 23 February 2007 when a Class 390 ''Pendolino'' derailed shortly after it had left Oxenholme Lake District railway station; one person died and 22 others were injured in the crash. On 16 August 2022, passengers departing at Oxenholme from a delayed service from London Euston were locked in at the station after staff went home early. Some passengers attempted to escape by climbing a security fence. A

worker eventually reopened the exit 45 minutes after the train arrived.

Facilities

The station is fully staffed, with the ticket office open all week (Monday - Saturday 05:45 - 19:00, Sunday 10:45 - 20:15). A self-service ticket machine is also available in the booking hall for use outside these times and for collecting pre-paid tickets. Waiting rooms are provided on both platforms, along with a variety of other amenities such as post box, coffee kiosk, cycle racks, toilets, shop and food/drink vending machines. Train running information is offered via automated announcements, digital display screens and customer help points. The subway linking the platforms and both entrances has inclined ramps and so is accessible for disabled passengers (though wheelchair users are advised to request assistance from station staff as the ramps are quite steep).

Services

Most

services from

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

call here to provide connections with the Windermere branch. There is normally a train at least every two hours to London (either direct or via

Birmingham New Street Birmingham New Street is the largest and busiest of the three main railway stations in Birmingham city centre, England, and a central hub of the British railway system. It is a major destination for Avanti West Coast services from , and vi ...

) and every hour to Edinburgh or Glasgow.

TransPennine Express TransPennine Express (TPE), legally First TransPennine Express Limited, is a British train operating company owned by FirstGroup that operates the TransPennine Express franchise. It runs regional and inter-city rail services between the major ci ...

services between Manchester Airport and Glasgow/Edinburgh also serve the station once per hour each way, as well as Northern services to and from Windermere. Most Windermere services start and terminate here, but some occasionally run through to Lancaster, Preston and Manchester Airport.GB National Rail Timetable May 2017 Edition, Tables 65, 82 & 83 (Network Rail) Oxenholme and the Windermere branch are signalled from Carlisle PSB.

References

External links

Video footage of the station
{{Cumbria railway stations Railway stations in Cumbria Former Lancaster and Carlisle Railway stations Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1847 Railway stations served by TransPennine Express Northern franchise railway stations Railway stations served by Avanti West Coast 1847 establishments in England Stations on the West Coast Main Line DfT Category D stations