Kirkby Stephen East railway station
Kirkby Stephen East railway station [KSE] was situated on the South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway between Barnard Castle and Tebay. It served the town of Kirkby Stephen in England. The station opened to passenger traffic on 8 August 1861 and closed on 22 January 1962.
The station had an extensive goods yard, which is now occupied by a Caravan Park. Also on the site was an engine shed, carriage shed and turntable.
Despite its rural location, this was a busy station in its heyday. Starting in 1932, the two expresses to Blackpool - one from Newcastle and the other from Darlington - both stopped at KSE for about five minutes, before setting off towards Blackpool. The return trip also passed through later in the day. Also, the station paid service to the Durham Miners special between 1932 - 1936.
Following the closure of the station in 1962, it was converted into a Bobbin Mill. The Bobbin Factory closed in 1992 and it remained empty until 1997.
In 1997, a company called Stainmore Properties Ltd. was formed, with the intention to convert KSE into a heritage centre representing the early 1950s. In the year 2000, another company, Stainmore Railway Company, was formed to help with the restoration of the site. Since then, essential repairs have been made to the roof and station, a number of rooms have been restored and a short section of track has been laid along the formation of the old Eden Valley Line, with some sidings and yard infrastructure within the station area and surroundings.
August 2011 marked the 150th anniversary of the railway. To commemorate this occasion, a series of events were held during 2011, leading up to 'Stainmore 150', a large event, where Steve Davis, the then-head of the National Railway Museum, drove the first fare-paying passenger train from the station in over 50 years. In 2013, the Stainmore Railway Company began its first operating season, running Peckett 0-4-0 'F C Tingay' on selected weekends. In 2014, this was joined by Yorkshire Engine Company 'Stanton', which operates diesel hauled trains on weekends when there is no steam service.
See also
External links
| Preceding station |  Heritage railways |
Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Musgrave Future |
Stainmore Railway Company | Terminus | ||
| Disused railways | ||||
| Smardale | South Durham & Lancashire Union Railway | Barras | ||
| Musgrave | Eden Valley Railway | Barras | ||