# Bootle railway station

Bootle is a railway station on the Cumbrian Coast line, which runs between Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness. The station, situated 24 miles (39 km) north-west of Barrow-in-Furness, serves the village of Bootle in Cumbria. It is owned by Network Rail and managed by Northern Trains.

## History

The Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway was authorised in 1847 for a line which would link the town of Whitehaven with the Furness Railway at Broughton-in-Furness. It was opened in stages, and the section between Ravenglass and Bootle opened on 8 July 1850. The last section between Bootle and Broughton-in-Furness was opened for passenger services 1 November 1850, with trains carrying Lord Lonsdale and invited guests having travelled over the section on at least two occasions in October. The station had a coal depot, a goods yard with a shed and 5 ton crane, the yard was able to accommodate live stock, horse and cattle vans. The station was host to a LMS caravan in 1936.
The original stationmaster's house, waiting rooms and restrooms on the east platform have been converted to private residences. The buildings are of red granite and sandstone. Originally the design was used on many of the stations on the Cumbrian Coast Line but today only three exist; this one, Drigg and Ravenglass.The station clock is original and still works.

### Explosion on 22 March 1945

At about 22:17 on 22 March 1945 a wagon containing depth charges in a southbound freight train caught fire on approaching Bootle. The train crew, driver H. Goodall and fireman Herbert Norman Stubbs, on becoming aware of the fire, stopped the train south of Bootle station. Despite the fierce fire, the crew isolated the burning wagon by uncoupling the rear portion of the train, then drawing it forward to before uncoupling the burning wagon. With the wagon isolated, the fireman went forward to protect the northbound line while the driver went back in a possible attempt to fight the fire. At this point the depth charges violently exploded, killing the driver and creating a crater 105 feet long to a depth of 50 feet. The line was closed for three days whilst the crater was filled in and the track relaid.
Stubbs was subsequently awarded the George Medal and the Order of Industrial Heroism.

## Facilities

The station is unstaffed. There were no ticket facilities prior to 2019, but a ticket vending machine has now been installed by Northern to allow passenger to buy before boarding. Shelters are present on both platforms, with the wooden one on the northbound side being the more substantial of the two. Train running information can be obtained by telephone, digital display screens or from timetable posters.
A level crossing with hand-operated gates (and supervising signal box) links the platforms, which both have step-free access from the road.
The signal box built circa 1874 is a Furness Railway Type 1 design and was listed in November 2013 for its historic interest as one of the earliest surviving signal boxes in England and in the best original condition of the two of this type remaining. Its lower structure is built of red sandstone dressed with rock-faced ashlar and its roof is of Welsh slate. Inside it retains a London Midland Region lever frame of 15 levers installed in 1977. In November 2024 plans were announced for its restoration.
Also listed is the weatherboarded, timber-framed waiting room and shelter on the west platform. It dates from 1873 and its interior layout and fittings have changed little. It is an increasingly rare example of this type of structure.

## Services

Northern Trains Route 6 :
vte :
Cumbrian Coast, Furness & Windermere lines :
Braystones & Nethertown are request stops. :
Monday to Saturdays there is generally an hourly (with some longer gaps in the early morning and afternoon) request service southbound to Barrow and northbound towards Whitehaven and Carlisle. Some services continue beyond Barrow via the Furness line to Lancaster. The timetable now operates later into the evening than before since the summer 2018 timetable came into effect.
A Sunday service (broadly hourly each way from late morning until 19:00) now operates - this was introduced at the May 2018 timetable change.