Upon opening, the station was called Milton, or possibly, Milton for Brampton.[3][4] According to Quick (2022), the station has since been renamed several times.[5] Nowadays, the station is commonly suffixed as Brampton (Cumbria), in order to distinguish it from the station of the same name in Suffolk.
Brampton operated as a junction station from opening in 1836, linking with a short branch line, the Brampton Railway, known locally as The Dandy. The line, which was initially horse-drawn, ran into the town, terminating at Brampton Town.[6][7] This short branch line was taken over by the North Eastern Railway in 1912, with the track relaid and locomotive operated services resuming from August 1913, with a break from 1917 to 1920. The line was closed in 1923, with most of the former route now serving as a public footpath.[7][8]
The station was also the junction of another railway serving the local collieries owned by the Earl of Carlisle. Known as Lord Carlisle's Railway, this ran to a junction with the Alston Line at Lambley. This mineral railway closed in March 1953.[9]
The first Station Master at Brampton was Thomas Edmondson, who introduced cardboard tickets and later developed the ticket dating machine.[10]
Brampton was reduced to an unstaffed halt in 1967, along with most of the other stations on the line that escaped the Beeching Axe. The former station buildings were subsequently demolished in stages during the 1970s and 1980s.
Facilities
The station has two platforms, both of which have a ticket machine (which accepts card or contactless payment only), seating, waiting shelter, next train audio and visual displays and an emergency help point. There is step-free access to both platforms, however the Carlisle-bound platform is not fully accessible from the station's car park. Both platforms are also linked by a pre-grouping metal footbridge, similar to those at Haltwhistle and Wetheral. There is a small car park at the station.[13]
Brampton (Cumbria) is part of the Northern Trains penalty fare network, meaning that a valid ticket or promise to pay notice is required prior to boarding the train.[14]
As of the December 2023 timetable change, there are ten trains per day (eleven on Saturday and nine on Sunday) heading west towards Carlisle. Heading east towards Newcastle via Hexham, there are eleven trains per day (ten on Saturday and eight on Sunday). Some trains extend to Morpeth or Nunthorpe via Hartlepool. All services are operated by Northern Trains.[15]
^James, Leslie (November 1983). A Chronology of the Construction of Britain's Railways 1778-1855. Shepperton: Ian Allan. p. 22. ISBN0-7110-1277-6. BE/1183.
^Joy, David (1983). The Lake Counties - (A Regional history of the railways of Great Britain). Newton Abbot: David & Charles. p. 270. ISBN0-946537-02-X.
^"Opening of the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway". Cumberland Pacquet, and Ware's Whitehaven Advertiser. 26 July 1836. p. 3. Retrieved 2 June 2020. – via britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk (subscription required)
Farr, Michael G.D. (1997). "Edmondson, Thomas". In Simmons, Jack; Biddle, Gordon (eds.). The Oxford Companion to British Railway History From 1603 to the 1990s (1st ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 141. ISBN0-19-211697-5.
Hoole, K. (1986). The North East. A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain. Vol. 4 (3rd ed.). Newton Abbott: David St John Thomas. ISBN0946537313.
McRae, Andrew (1997). British Railway Camping Coach Holidays: The 1930s & British Railways (London Midland Region). Vol. Scenes from the Past: 30 (Part One). Foxline. ISBN1-870119-48-7.
^ abStations in Middlesbrough, Redcar and Cleveland, and Stockton-on-Tees are considered part of North East England, while stations in the unitary areas of York and North Yorkshire are considered part of Yorkshire and the Humber.
^Stations in North Lincolnshire and North East Lincolnshire are considered part of Yorkshire and the Humber, while all other stations are considered part of the East Midlands.
