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The Garstang – Knott End Railway
By Margaret Edwards

A Lancaster Museum Monograph first published in February 1975.
The text and images are copyright.

The Garstang – Knott End Railway

Introduction

The story of this railway is a remarkable one. Enthusiasm, bitterness, despair and apathy are emotions which emphatically mark its creation and development; and ignorance, recklessness, perseverance and shrewdness are some of the qualities which label the characters who took leading rolls in the drama of its story, which spanned a century. The following outline traces the main stages of the railway’s development and operation. The best-known work on the railway is a pamphlet written by R W Rush and M R C Price: ‘Locomotion Papers No. Twenty-Three’, published by the Oakwood Press of Lingfield, Surrey, in 1963. The details of this outline were obtained from that work and also from local newspapers.

There then follows a survey of remaining traces of the Garstang – Knott End Railway, which was made by the author in August, 1973, in conjunction with a photographic record. A similar survey had been made by the author in August, 1967. The changes which had taken place in the meantime emphasised the fact that, when buildings and other parts of enterprises consisting of scattered structures cease to be used, their decay can be rapid and frequently goes unrecorded. There was a further reason for making a detailed record in this case; the map drawn up by Rush and Price was by no means accurate or complete in its details, and this necessarily affected their chapter entitled ‘The Line described’.

The interested local historian or railway enthusiast can still see many traces of the railway today. Most of the crossing houses survive, illustrating the two distinctive styles of ‘Pilling’ station at Stakepool, and, secondly, by the younger company, to the west of that station. Enough of the lay-out of the Garstang station yard is visible to make a visit there worthwhile. But many items of interest are to be found in less obvious places, down the ‘tracks’ crossed by the railway, rather than ‘roads’. It is down these that one can find a kissing gate in situ, a cattle pen where the livestock waited to be put on board the ‘Pilling Pig’, or a stretch of thirty years of ‘track’ outlined by the original fence posts. Away from the main roads of today, as one stands in the quiet and rich Fylde countryside, one can best imagine the busy freight service which the railway once provided – the loads of potatoes, livestock, grain, vegetables, and, later, salt and coal, which daily crossed the Fylde. But times change; and the broken L.M.S. sign is a reminder that the erratic fortunes of this railway entered their final, long decline at the town when negotiations were taking place to make this small but important concern an insignificant part of a much larger commercial enterprise.

Outline of the History of the Railway

In December of 1863, the prospectus of a newly formed company was issued. Its name was ‘The Garstang – Knot End Railway Company’ and its capital was £60,000. (Note the spelling of the name of the second terminus). As a result of claims made in this prospectus, objections to the proposed railway scheme were raised by the owners of the Preston and Wyre Railway, which was already established in the Fleetwood area, and a Select Committee of the House of Lords was appointed in March , 1864, to examine the proposals and its report favoured the project. The bill which permitted the building of the railway receive3d the Royal Assent on 30th June, 1864, and stipulated that five years should be taken over the construction.

There followed a period of difficulty concerning the obtaining of the necessary land; the company was involved in much litigation and resulting delays, and also ultimately in financial difficulty. In April, 1865, the first contractor resigned, and his job was taken over by an engineer appointed by three shareholders who had formed a partnership to ensure the continuation of the work. An application for an extension of time was submitted to Parliament in May, 1867, and was granted. In the same month, the Knott End Railway Shareholders’ Association was formed in order to protect the interests of those with a stake in the project.

In December, 1867, the financial situation was still grave, and the result was the decision to construct the line from the junction with the L.N.W.R. line as far as Pilling, not Knott End. The line would be leased to the contractors, who would operate it in return for half the net profits, and the company would provide the rolling stock and staff. An order for coaches was placed, but the company could not meet the cost; therefore on 12th October 1870, fourteen shareholders formed the Garstang Rolling Stock Company, with capital of £5000. This company would purchase the coaches, and lease them to the Railway Company. An engine ordered by the Railway Company, but delivered before payment was made, was eventually paid for by an unknown purchaser and leased to the Railway Company in 1871.

In June, 1870, it was necessary to submit a second application for an extension of time. This was granted, but only one year was allowed for the completion of the line.

The line was officially opened on 14th December, 1870. As there was only one engine available, the service was restricted, and trains transported both passengers and goods. No trains operated on Sundays, to allow repairs to be carried out. When the engine needed major and urgent repairs in March, 1872, the service had to be suspended for three days, from the 11th to the 13th. This same engine was withdrawn by its own in April, 1872, as no payment for its hire had been received from the Railway Company for several months, and thus the service came to a complete halt. In some ways this was no bad thing, as the running of the railway had always been far from satisfactory. The pressure of the financial situation had resulte3d in some bad practices which imperilled the safety of staff and passengers, and several serious and fatal accidents had brought the Railway Company greater notoriety than ever.

Eventually, some debenture-holders filed a suit for the winding up of the company, and a received was appointed. He proved to be particularly shrewd, and, as a result of his guidance, the debenture-holders bought a second-hand engine and commenced a goods transport service on 23rd February 1875. On 17th April of the same year, a passenger service was put into operation; and in the course of the next five years, both of these proved to be profitable concerns.

When the need for a second engine arose, there was some difficulty, however. The Railway Company could not raise the cash; nor could the Garstang Rolling Stock Company, which had received no payment for wagon hire for some four years and needed its remaining capital to cover maintenance costs. Consequently a third company was formed – the Garstang and Knott End Railway Engine Company, whose capital was £2,000. The engine bought by this company is said to have had a particularly piercing whistle, which gave rise to the local name for the train of the ‘Pilling Pig’.

The general organisation of the railway service improved tremendously from this stage; safety and maintenance were given their proper consideration; the Railway Company, under the guidance of the receiver, acquired a better reputation, and traffic increased. The resulting profits were sensibly employed to clear off debts in connection with rolling stock, and to make fresh purchases. By 1883, the rolling stock had been bought outright and the Garstang Rolling Stock Company was wound up in January, 1884. By 1896, the Garstang – Knott End Railway Company was financially sound, and the receiver handed over to the directors on 3rd June 1897. The Company found itself in a position to purchase the engines it needed, instead of having to hire them; consequently, in October 1898, the Garstang and Knott End Railway Engine Company was wound up.

In August of 1898, the Knott End Railway Company was formed, with capital of £20,000, for the purpose of extending the line from Pilling to Knott End. Work began in 1900, but the company soon experienced some of the difficulties which had confronted the original company – labour troubles, shortage of finance, errors or judgement, and a race against time. An application for an extension of time was submitted to Parliament, and granted.

An unexpected and fortunate occurrence was the building of new salt works, south of Preesall, by the United Alkali Company. This acted as a spur to the directors, who now issued a new prospectus. The first practice of using direct labour with no contractor was abandoned. A contractor was employed, work began on 1st January 1908, and was completed by July 1908. The opening took place on 29th July, 1908.

In the spring of 1908, it had been proposed that the two companies should amalgamate. The Knott End Railway Company would buy out the original company for £50,000. This proposal was accepted, and the Knott End Railway Act was passed on 18th June, 1908. The name of the old company, however was to go on being used. Pilling Station ceased to be a terminus now; a new halt was opened at Carr Lane crossing, in 1911; and a branch line to the United Alkali Company’s works was built in 1912. These developments, plus a steady increase in the amount of freight carried seem to be the main features of the railway’s operation from its opening until the general reorganisation of railways of 1919.

As a result of the Grouping of Railways Act, 1919-1920, the line became part of the London, Midland and Scottish Railway. Financial terms were finally settled in 1923, but these were by no means favourable to the shareholders of this small railway company. During the period of these negotiations, the pattern of the railway’s traffic gradually changed. A forced increase in cartage rates, and greater use of improved roads in the area heralded what was to prove a period of gradual decline. The railway could not compete with the increased motor transport, and passenger traffic was discontinued from 31st March 1930. Halts were completely closed now, but stations remained open for the handling of parcels and goods.

The decline began to affect freight traffic, too. In 1925, the cartage rates caused the United Alkali Company to recognise its methods of operation, and the railway lost a great deal of profitable business as a result. Then the Moss litter works near Cogie Hill crossing closed, and more traffic was thus lost. In 1950, the line between Pilling and Knott End was closed, as was Nateby station. Only one goods train per day had formed the whole service since 1947; and this situation continued, but only on weekdays, until 31st July, 1963, when the line between Garstang and Pilling was closed.

The Track
A Survey, Summer 1973
 

Grid Reference Description
1 496455 This is the site of the former bridge carrying the railway over the River Wyre. The brick bridge abutments remain; and leading to this site from the mainline, and also west from it, is a very clearly-defined, highly-raised embankment.
2 493455 At this point the track crossed the road B6430 via a bridge. All that remains now is a break in the high embankment referred to above. The section west of this site leads almost immediately into the station yard.
3 492456 The station yard site is greatly overgrown, yet a considerable proportion of the buildings survive, though most in a derelict condition. The central island platform still stands, though there is no trace of the waiting room which stood on it. South of this platform stands another, which supports a goods warehouse; and south-east of this, at the eastern extreme of the yard, stands the Smithy, whose door still bears the metal ‘Mater Farriers’ sign. This building is still used as business premises. At the westerly extreme of the yard, to the north of the line of the track, stands a derelict building, now used as a store, which was the original engine shed. Almost opposite this, on the south side of the track, there still stands a buffer ramp which originally formed the westerly end of a siding (see diagram, Rush and Price, p 38). The line of the track as it left the yard and headed west towards the bridge carrying the road A6 (486457) is still quite clear; some of the land had been claimed, however, and apparently is used as a garden area.
4 483457 The first level crossing west of the A6 bridge. The crossing house remains, inhabited; and the two gateposts on the west side of the crossing still stand. (Nateby House road crossing)
5 479456 Here the track crossed the Lancaster Canal. The brick bridge abutments remain. The line of the track between the last site and this bridge site is quite clear; but west of this site it is less easy to discern.
6 459460 Nateby Station occupied this site. All that is visible now is the sloping west ramp of the platform, on the south side of the track, on which a bungalow now stands. The line of the track west from here is easily discernible.
7 446468 This is the Cogie Hill crossing. The crossing house still stands, on the south side of the track, only slightly modified. Two original gateposts on the north side are still in position, and there is still an original small gate on this side of the crossing. The line of the track towards Pilling can just be made out.
8 436472 This was the site of the Cockerham Crossing halt, built where the railway crossed a rough track leading north to Cockerham. All that is visible now is a slight hump in the course of the track.
9 423475 Here on the edge of Stakepool the line crossed the Garstang-Pilling road. The crossing house still stands, though some-what modified; and track has been reclaimed to provide the house with a garden.
10 422475 A track-side hut stands intact, visible from the Pilling road.
11 413477 This was Pilling Station yard, for some time the terminus of the line. The yard is now private property, used for business purposes, and obscured from the road by a bungalow. The platform with its sloping ramp still stands.
12 401478 The track here crossed Carr Lane, and the crossing was the first one west of Pilling station to have the small type of crossing house typical of this stretch of line. The line of the track on either side of the crossing is only just discernible.
13 394477 At this point the track crossed Shaws Farm Lane. All that remains now is the somewhat dilapidated cattle pen by the side of the track, and a broken L.M.S. notice warning trespassers.
14 393477 A considerable altered crossing house marks the Lambs Lane Crossing. The track to the east of the crossing has been reclaimed as a garden area, but this has not obscured the line of the track between this crossing, and the Shaws Farm crossing.
15 384475 Green Dick’s Lane crossing. One of the original gates stands out on the east of the crossing, opposite to the crossing house, which is still intact. The line of the track eastward to Lambs Lane crossing has been obscured, as is the case westwards for a short distance.
16 378475 Here, at Bourbles Farm track crossing, is the best-preserved stretch of ‘track’; for some thirty yards to the east of the crossing, the track stands clearly defined by parallel lines of the original metal fence posts. The crossing itself is of interest, too, with the remains of a kissing-gate on the south of the track still quite well preserved, though somewhat overgrown by vegetation.
17 370476 Sandy Lane crossing. The road from Stakepool to Knott End, B5270, was here crossed by the line. The crossing house survives intact, and the origianl gate on the east side of the crossing yet stands in position. The line of the track west to Preesall station can be judged by looking towards the bridge carrying the Blackpool-Knott End road, B5377, over the track.
18 365476 A modern warehouse now marks the site of Preesall station, but the western sloping ramp of the platform remains intact. Immediately west of this end of the platform is the bridge carrying the B5377 road; and west of this bridge several of the original metal fence posts remain in position and the line of the track can still be walked. Forty yards west of the bridge stands a track-side hut, on the north side of the track.
19 351479 This is the Hackensall Hall lane crossing. The line of this track is clearly visible to the east of the crossing, but has been obscured to the west. On the north and east side of the crossing stands the smallest of the crossing houses.
20 347485 This extensive site marked the terminus of the line, and was a large yard area, now occupied by a gold club and a public car park. Part of the station building survives, being used nowadays as a terminus building by the Ribble Bus Company. The broken edges where the platform have been destroyed are clearly visible.

List of slides taken, by the author, deposited in Lancaster City Museum.
Set 1 Numbers 54-79 inclusive taken August 1967
Set 2 Numbers 80-100 inclusive and 127-134 inclusive, taken August 1973

To get the best impression of the track, view the slides in the following order. This will give the outline of a journey west from Garstang and Catterall, to Knott End.


The Bridge over the River Wyre
Accession Number: LM1975-28-01


The Bridge over the River Wyre
Accession Number: LM1975-28-02


The embankment west from the Wyre Bridge to Garstang
Accession Number: LM1975-28-03


The embankment west from the Wyre Bridge to Garstang
Accession Number: LM1975-28-04


The embankment west from the Wyre Bridge to Garstang
Accession Number: LM1975-28-05


Site of the bridge over main road north from Garstang town
Accession Number: LM1975-28-06


Garstang Town Station
Accession Number: LM1975-28-07


Garstang Town Station
Accession Number: LM1975-28-08


Garstang Town Station
Accession Number: LM1975-28-09


Garstang Town Station
Accession Number: LM1975-28-10


Garstang Town Station
Accession Number: LM1975-28-11


Looking west from Garstang Town station to the bridge carrying the A6 road
Accession Number: LM1975-28-12


The first level crossing west of the A6 road: over the Winmarleigh Road.
Accession Number: LM1975-28-14


The A6 road bridge from the south west
Accession Number: LM1975-28-13


Looking west from the crossing over the Winmarleigh Road
Accession Number: LM1975-28-15


The bridge over the Lancaster Canal, viewed from the south
Accession Number: LM1975-28-16


The bridge over the Lancaster Canal, viewed from the south
Accession Number: LM1975-28-17


East abutment of the canal bridge, viewed from the south
Accession Number: LM1975-28-18


West abutment of the canal bridge
Accession Number: LM1975-28-19


West abutment of the canal bridge
Accession Number: LM1975-28-20


The site of Nateby station
Accession Number: LM1975-28-21


Looking west from Nateby station.
Accession Number: LM1975-28-22


Cogie Hill crossing house
Accession Number: LM1975-28-23


Cogie Hill crossing house
Accession Number: LM1975-28-24


The track west from Cogie Hill crossing
Accession Number: LM1975-28-25


Small gate, Cogie Hill crossing
Accession Number: LM1975-28-26


House at the site of the level crossing over the Garstang-Stakepool road
Accession Number: LM1975-28-27


Track-side hut between the Stakepool road crossing and Filling station
Accession Number: LM1975-28-28


Pilling Station
Accession Number: LM1975-28-29


Pilling Station
Accession Number: LM1975-28-30


Shaws Farm Lane Crossing
Accession Number: LM1975-28-31


Shaws Farm Lane Crossing
Accession Number: LM1975-28-32


Looking west from Shaws, to Lambs Lane crossing
Accession Number: LM1975-28-33


Lamb Lane crossing house
Accession Number: LM1975-28-34


Green Dicks Lane crossing
Accession Number: LM1975-28-35


Bourbles Farm track crossing
Accession Number: LM1975-28-36


Bourbles Farm track crossing
Accession Number: LM1975-28-37


Bourbles Farm track crossing
Accession Number: LM1975-28-38


Bourbles Farm track crossing
Accession Number: LM1975-28-39


Bourbles Farm track crossing
Accession Number: LM1975-28-40


Bourbles Farm track crossing
Accession Number: LM1975-28-41


Bourbles Farm track crossing
Accession Number: LM1975-28-42


Level crossing at Preesall, over B5720 road
Accession Number: LM1975-28-43


Level crossing at Preesall, over B5720 road
Accession Number: LM1975-28-44


Preesall station site, and bridge carrying the Blackpool-Knott End road, B5377
Accession Number: LM1975-28-45


Preesall station site, and bridge carrying the Blackpool-Knott End road, B5377
Accession Number: LM1975-28-46


Preesall station site, and bridge carrying the Blackpool-Knott End road, B5377
Accession Number: LM1975-28-47


Preesall station site, and bridge carrying the Blackpool-Knott End road, B5377
Accession Number: LM1975-28-48


Preesall station site, and bridge carrying the Blackpool-Knott End road, B5377
Accession Number: LM1975-28-49


The view along the track, west from Preesall Station
Accession Number: LM1975-28-50


Trackside hut 40 yards west of bridge carrying B5377
Accession Number: LM1975-28-51


Hackensall Hall Lane Crossing
Accession Number: LM1975-28-52


Knott End station site.
Accession Number: LM1975-28-53


Knott End station site.
Accession Number: LM1975-28-54


Knott End station site.
Accession Number: LM1975-28-55


Knott End station site.
Accession Number: LM1975-28-56

 

 

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