The station was opened to passengers on 2 June 1869 by the Furness Railway, along with the branch from Plumpton Junction (just off the Leven Viaduct, on the Ulverston to Carnforth line) to Windermere Lake Side; a formal opening of the branch had taken place the day before.[2]
Trains were timed to coincide with sailings by the Windermere United Yacht Company from the adjacent pier.[3] Within a few years, the Furness Railway bought the yacht company.[4]
Originally, the station had two platforms with an overall roof, a signal box, a turntable and several sidings.[5] The goods yard was able to accommodate most types of goods including live stock and was equipped with a three-ton crane.[6]
As well as the standard gauge tracks, the station had a narrow gauge tramway used for coaling lake steamers.[7] A camping coach was positioned here by the London Midland Region from 1955 to 1957, and two coaches were here from 1958 to 1964.[8][9]
The station closed with the line on 6 September 1965.[2] After services stopped, the station fell into disrepair and, in 1978, British Rail removed the roof and demolished the clock tower.[10]
British Rail sold off the steamboat service to the Bowness Bay Boating Company, who were still operating day trips on Windermere in 2020.[11]
The station has appeared in a number of film and TV scenes. In many appearances, the station is titled Windermere, although the real Windermere railway station is on the other side of the lake, on a different line.
Swallows and Amazons. Although released in 1974, this was filmed in 1973, the preservation society's first year of operation.
^"Timetable". lakesiderailway.co.uk. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
Sources
Holme, Geoff (August 2016). Peascod, Michael (ed.). "An Edwardian Tour by the Furness Railway". Cumbrian Railways. 12 (3). Pinner: Cumbrian Railways Association. ISSN1466-6812.
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.
The Railway Clearing House (1970) [1904]. The Railway Clearing House Handbook of Railway Stations 1904 (1970 D&C Reprint ed.). Newton Abbot: David & Charles Reprints. ISBN0-7153-5120-6.