Irton Road railway station

Irton Road
Hollowstones
Northern Rock arrives with a train for Ravenglass
Location
Place	Eskdale Green
Area	Copeland, Cumbria
Coordinates	54°23′17″N 3°19′48″W / 54.3880°N 3.3299°W / 54.3880; -3.3299Coordinates: 54°23′17″N 3°19′48″W / 54.3880°N 3.3299°W / 54.3880; -3.3299
Operations
Managed by	R&ER
Owned by	R&ER
Operated by	R&ER
Platforms	2
History
1876	Opened (3 ft gauge)
1913	Station closed
1916	Reopened (15 in gauge
Stations on heritage railways in the United Kingdom
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

Irton Road railway station is a railway station on the 15 in gauge Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway in the Lake District National Park, Cumbria. The station is located 4 miles (6.4 km) from Ravenglass and 3 miles (4.8 km) from Dalegarth for Boot, and trains take 20 minutes to reach their destinations in either direction from this station.

At most weekends and high-season, it is manned by volunteers from the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, who sell tickets from the booking office shelter and can give live train-running information, but are unable to carry out these when trains are due into the station, as they are carrying out safety-critical tasks. This is the only intermediate station where the crossing loop is in the station, consequently there are two platforms. It is imperative to inform the guard that you are crossing at this location, because unless it is known that there are passengers to cross from the second train arriving, to depart on the first train that arrived, the first train that arrived will depart before the second train has completely stopped, making the transfer of passengers from the later-arriving train onto the earlier-arriving train unworkable.

Originally named Hollowstones, after the adjacent farm, it opened to passengers in 1876, when the line was still in its 3' gauge form. Closed in 1913 and reopened in 1916 as the new minimum gauge line was created, it is now the main train crossing point on the line, hosting a passing loop with room for long length trains and a siding which is now used by the permanent-way department.

Set in the heart of the Eskdale valley in Cumbria; today a host of different trains can be seen passing through the station in high season, including passenger, permanent-way and empty-carriage-stock trains. Most frequently seen are passenger trains, which run from Ravenglass to Dalegarth for Boot and vice versa. There are sidings here, which end in a two road shed, usually home to Quarryman, a paraffin-fuelled 4w engine formerly used on trains between Beckfoot Quarry and Murthwaite Stone Crushing Plant; Santa's Sleigh, used in the winter time during the Santa Specials and 627, an old coach dating from 1928, which is part of the heritage collection. A bridge over the station carries a metalled track from Irton Road to a farm named Hollowstones, which doubles as a public right of way for walkers heading south from the station.