Carnforth (West Coast Railway Company)
The Carnforth depot is a working main-line steam depot in Lancashire operated by the West Coast Railway Company (WCRC), one of the principal main-line steam train operators in Britain. The site sits on the former LNWR / Furness Joint station yard at Carnforth, immediately adjacent to the Network Rail station famous as the location for David Lean's 1945 film Brief Encounter.
The site was originally one of the last steam motive power depots on British Railways, finally closing to BR steam in 1968. From 1971 it was reopened as the "Steamtown" preservation centre, which for two decades was a major heritage attraction in its own right. From the late 1990s the site was redeveloped as the operating base for the WCRC and is no longer regularly open to the public, though the company continues to host occasional open days.
Carnforth is the resident base for many main-line registered preserved engines, and is a frequent staging point for the West Highland and Settle & Carlisle steam tours. The depot has heavy maintenance facilities sufficient for full overhaul of main-line steam locomotives.
History
Carnforth Motive Power Depot (10A) was one of the last three steam sheds on the BR system to close to steam, in August 1968. From 1969 the site was acquired by Sir Bill McAlpine and others as a working preservation centre, and reopened to the public as Steamtown Carnforth in 1971. For much of the 1970s and 1980s it was a major heritage attraction, with regular steam open days and was used as the home base for several main-line tours.
From the mid-1990s the West Coast Railway Company developed the site as a working main-line operating base. Public access was reduced and Steamtown as a visitor attraction effectively closed by 1997, although the depot continues to host occasional open days and remains an important location for main-line preservation.
Original line history
The original Carnforth station and yards were developed jointly by the LNWR and the Furness Railway from 1846, with the locomotive depot expanding through the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The shed was reroofed by the LMS in the 1940s in modern concrete-and-steel "throughway" style, and remains substantially intact today.
Stations and infrastructure
The site comprises the original LMS-rebuilt straight running shed (1944), workshops, a coaling tower (a rare survivor), water columns, and turntable. The Network Rail station is immediately adjacent and is the western terminus of the Settle–Carlisle line via the Bentham line.
Route and stations
Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors
Special events and operations
WCRC operates Carnforth as a working depot and only occasionally as a public attraction. Open days are organised periodically; main-line steam tours from Carnforth (notably "The Jacobite" and Settle–Carlisle services) operate seasonally.
Visitor information
Carnforth is accessible from Network Rail Carnforth station, the depot is immediately adjacent. The Brief Encounter visitor centre on the Network Rail platforms is publicly open.