Clifton Moor Station - By Phil Baines

  WHILST RESEARCHING details of the various stations along the line I came across an interesting piece of history I thought I would share.

Clifton Moor station opened to passenger traffic on 1 August 1863, and was originally named 'Clifton'. The 'Moor' suffix was added on 1 September 1927. The station finally closed on 22 January 1962.

To the west of the station was Eden Valley Junction where the Eden Valley Railway joined the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (now part of the WCML), south of the junction was at one time Clifton and Lowther railway station, which closed in 1937.

  The only station on the Eden Valley line to have two platforms, Clifton Moor was situated at the Western end of the Eden Valley Railway, 5km South of Penrith, where it served the village of Clifton, about 3/4 km away on the other side of the WCML and the nearby Lowther Estates. The latter was significant because, whilst the main station building was on the down platform, on the up platform was a private ornamental waiting room for the Earl of Lonsdale from Lowther Castle, the bay windowed section of the building in the following photo.

  Hugh Lowther, 5th Earl of Lonsdale was called the ‘Yellow Earl’ because his liveries, cars and carriages were all a deep, butter  yellow; -" a very conspicuous colour which, if displayed by anyone else, would have been thought vulgar and ostentatious, but Lord Lonsdale was such a colourful figure that it seemed quite natural and proper." ( sic - Loelia, Duchess of Westminster)

He was a founder and first president of  the Automobile Association (AA) which adopted his livery, hence the famous AA yellow vehicles.

The building still exists and has been converted into a family home.

  This is my attempt to re-produce this iconic building for the Stainmore route.

More Soon............................