As previously implied, it was access to the lucrative Irish market, made possible by the railway link, which brought about increased production at the inland collieries. The initiative came from a meeting in the Senhouse Arms, Maryport, on December 4th 1835. The prime movers included local landowners, Sir Wilfrid Lawson of Brayton and Humphrey Senhouse of Netherhall. The main intent of the scheme was to promote Maryport harbour and successfully break the existing Lowther / Whitehaven monopoly. During the course of the meeting, district committee’s were formed at Maryport, Aspatria and Wigton, with the objective of considering the market conditions and of draughting the documentation required to fulfil the demands of an Act of Parliament. The first secretary was Mr Edward Tyson.
The first section of the railway, from Maryport to Arkelby pits, was opened on July 15th, 1840. By the following February, Aspatria coal from Kirkhaugh’s new pit was being shipped from Maryport. The next section from Carlisle to Wigton was completed by May 1843. The section linking Wigton to Aspatria was opened as a double track in December 1846. By 1860, the work had been completed. The entire cost being funded out of revenue. The Bolton Branch from Aspatria through Mealsgate to Aikbank, to loop back on the main line at Leegate, was opened for mineral traffic on April 2nd 1866 and for passenger traffic on the 26th December of the same year.
The railway extended from the harbour of Maryport, twenty-eight miles, to Carlisle, where it joined the Newcastle and Carlisle Railway, and proceeded to Newcastle, where a connection was available to the ports of North Shields and Sunderland. Thus a direct railway communication of ninety-four miles in length was established between the Irish and North sea. After the completion of the line Aspatria held a prime position as its coal could either be shipped to satisfy the Carlisle market and beyond, or exported to Ireland from the coast. Prior to the railway, Harris’s coal paid cartage at 9s. on a 50 cwt. wagon; this was reduced after 1842, to 4s.
There were initially five trains each way daily between Maryport and Aspatria. The first train left Maryport at 5 30 am the others following at 8 30 am, 11 00 am, 1 30 pm and 4 00 pm. The trains from Aspatria ran at 6 30 am, 9 30 am, 12 noon, 2 30 pm and 5 30 pm. On Tuesdays and Fridays the second train left Maryport at 8 am and Aspatria at 9 am, and the afternoon trains left Maryport at 2 pm and 5 pm; and Aspatria at 3 pm and 6 pm.
Regarding the initial outlay of capital, the line was relatively cheap to construct. The land was comparatively level, open and free from deep cuttings. The average cost per mile was estimated at £6,500, or for the whole length, £180,000.
The results of the Committee’s investigations were outlined in its first prospectus which revealed that the scheme could be run at a profit. These results were tabulated under various classifications, and the estimated revenue was as follows: Passengers, £20,727; Merchandise and Agricultural Produce, £7,365; Coals and Lime, £4,987; Stone, £305; Cattle, £879; Timber, £665, Parcels, £624; a Total of £35,544. The prospectus also included the following description:
“Commencing at Maryport the line passes up the valley of the Ellen for about eight miles and along extremely favourable ground. In this route a valuable coalfield is passed through, and no line of railway has ever yet been projected on which coals can be conveyed cheaper, per mile than on this portion of the line towards Maryport, and no other line can be laid in the district to complete with it. At the ninth mile the line crosses the road at Aspatria which place is near the summit of the country. From Maryport to Aspatria the gradients vary from 1 in 377 to 1 in 230 As the principal traffic, namely coals, will travel from the summit to be shipped at Maryport.”
From 1837 to 1842, the dividend was nil. The line it must be remembered was not opened until 1840. In 1843 the first dividend of 2.5% was paid followed by a similar return in the following year. In 1845 it dropped to 2% and in the next year to nil, from which it made steady progress. By 1873 the increased mineral traffic had projected the railway to the height of its prosperity, such that the Company were able to pay a dividend of 13%, a figure amongst the highest ever paid by a railway company in the United Kingdom.
The first engine used on the railway was named the Ellen. It came from Lowca to Maryport on a raft, and had an adventurous journey. At the end of 1914 the Company owned five tank engines, and 28 engines and tenders.
The construction of the Aspatria to Mealsgate Branch Railway began in the summer of 1864, the construction being executed by Nelson and Co. of Carlisle. Although passengers were carried, its primary purpose was to exploit the vast quantities of mineral resources known to exist in the upper valley of the River Ellen. From a passengers perspective it was a journey far from idyllic, as emphasised in the following extract from a letter that appeared in the columns of the West Cumberland Times:
“But ask those who travel by the train that leaves Mealsgate at 8.40 am., what they have to say on the subject. They begin to look at their watches at the Allhallows pit, the first call. The next call is Baggrow and the cartload of Lime, is just being emptied into a wagon, and Joe says, “it disn’t matter, it mun ga”; so we have to wait until it is ready; then the train gets to Harriston about 10 minutes before it is due at Aspatria. This is little short of a mile to be done in 10 minutes by running, as the train has perhaps 20 minutes’ work at the pit. On this train there is one composite carriage where the third class compartment is so hard that persons who are troubled with piles should avoid this train. There are other trains that make this journey in less time, but if passengers are going west there is in two of these trains the prospect of waiting a long time at Aspatria with a stove lighted if the weather is not very cold, but if the weather is very cold you may be sure the stove will not have been lighted.”
By 1882 the railway was carrying 270,000 passengers annually, of whom only 30,000 travelled in first or second class. In an attempt to redress this imbalance the fares were lowered and return tickets abandoned, with no disadvantage to the public. In 1899 major improvements were carried out at Aspatria. These amounted to the erection of a new signal box, the extension of the platform on the southern side, and a new entrance for the Mealsgate branch line. They installed a metal bridge for foot passengers close to the waiting room, as a means of avoiding the dangerous rail crossing. It was contemplated at the time to make an underground passage, but the heavy run of water down the railway rendered this project somewhat difficult.
The railway retained its independence until 1923, when it became part of the LMS (London, Midland and Scottish). At the time of the takeover it comprised 33 locomotives of which 21 had been built locally in the company’s own workshops at Maryport.
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