Morecambe Station

[Buttsy]

I've always had a soft spot for Morecambe in that it's Eric's home town and it has that faded glory feel about it. Also has a fascinating secondhand bookshop if I remember rightly.

 

[Fred26]

I've always had a soft spot for Morecambe in that it's Eric's home town and it has that faded glory feel about it. Also has a fascinating secondhand bookshop if I remember rightly.

The one on the front that feels like a cave? Scares my partner, that does. I find it disrespectful to have books piled up like that.

I like Morecambe. Run-down, but it's not a bad place. The views are great, it's close to Lancaster and the Lakes and Heysham with it's ruins is just along the coast. My in-laws live there and I enjoy going up.

 

[Condor7]

I'd say it's current location is better as it's at least closer to the town centre now. The Promenade station was only handy for the Midland Hotel (can't imagine many of their customers would come by train these days!).

My wife and I intend to do Leeds to Morecombe on the train and stay at the Midland later this year.

As has been pointed out the views across the bay are stunning and the rail journey from Leeds is beautiful as well.

 

[snail]

How sad to see the once grand station has suffered the indignity of becoming a "Wacky's Warehouse" :cry:

That's not strictly true. The entrance canopy and main concourse area is now The Platform, a meeting and entertainment venue that has retained the original brickwork and roof in a sympathetic conversion. You can still make out the original platform entrances when inside.
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Of course, Morecambe Promenade was the Midland Railway station and Morecambe Euston Road was the London and North Western Railway station.

An original LNWR shed at Euston Road is still visible in what is now a builders' merchants. The present line is the LNWR route, the MR route has become a cycle path from Lancaster that runs as far as Morecambe station.

 

[merlodlliw]

Anyone on here know who it was who first coined the old saying....

"They don't bury their dead in Morecambe, they just stand 'em up in bus shelters"

A similar resort,I used to go to,Colwyn Bay in the late 40s with my grandparents for a weeks holiday,they lived just outside Brindley Ford, Staffs. I recall the amusement park near the station, The station if I recall then, had two up platforms and one down with I think a bay, Now its also run down with the pier about to fall down and the amusement park buried under the A55, anyhow away from my ramblings and back to Pauls quote,Vic Oliver a well known 1940s/50s pianist & comedian, his comment about Colwyn Bay was

"Colwyn Bay, A Graveyard with lights"

 

[Butts]

I've always had a soft spot for Morecambe in that it's Eric's home town and it has that faded glory feel about it. Also has a fascinating secondhand bookshop if I remember rightly.

I saw the above premises on my walk along the front - it was just closing. Incidentally I forgot to mention the The Battery at the other end - looked like it was once a big Hotel / Pub now boarded up
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I love Lancaster. Not just because it's where I studied, but it's a genuinely nice place to spend a few quiet hours on a Saturday. Nice pubs, nice street market, a bustling town centre that many areas would kill for.

Not been to Morecambe for a few years, but it was always a bit down at heel.

I agree about Lancaster, a couple of good Museums and The Castle (a prison until a few years ago-great tour)

Plus 2 Wetherspoons for a cheap nosebag

 

[Leylandlad]

I saw the above premises on my walk along the front - it was just closing. Incidentally I forgot to mention the The Battery at the other end - looked like it was once a big Hotel / Pub now boarded up
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I agree about Lancaster, a couple of good Museums and The Castle (a prison until a few years ago-great tour)

Plus 2 Wetherspoons for a cheap nosebag

Excellent pizza restaurant as well just opposite the Dukes Theatre

The Castle still houses the Crown Court, which still sits occasionally. This court has passed more death sentences than any other in England hock:

 

[SeanG]

My wife and I intend to do Leeds to Morecombe on the train and stay at the Midland later this year.

As has been pointed out the views across the bay are stunning and the rail journey from Leeds is beautiful as well.

Hellifield - Carnforth, the 'Little North Western' is stunningly scenic.

Often overlooked in favour of the S&C, its always worth a trip.

 

[Leylandlad]

Hellifield - Carnforth, the 'Little North Western' is stunningly scenic.

Often overlooked in favour of the S&C, its always worth a trip.

Yes it's a nice run. I must have a run on it again soon.

Longest block section on the network I think now, Settle Junction to Carnforth.

 

[junglejames]

Ah Morecambe. Got a soft spot for that place. Once had a Birthday Party at Frontierland many years ago. Could be a lovely place once again, but needs a lot of money spent on it. Frontierland needs reopening as well, and that tower kept! Cant go getting rid of that.

As for Lancaster. Its a lovely smaller version of York. Fantastic City, and Williamson Park and Monument is a gorgeous spot.
Do up Morecambe, and youve got a great area to live, with plenty going for it, encompassing the likes of Lancaster, Morecambe, Bare Lane, and last but not least, the awesome Hest Bank.

 

[thenorthern]

Didn't the re-build mean that the 2 platforms as Morecambe have no link to each other until Bare Lane?

 

[Grumpy]

" bigger and better places for people living further afield to go (Blackpool, Preston, Manchester, Bolton etc."


If places like Blackpool and Bolton are considered in any way better than Morecambe then that shows what a dump it must be.


I wouldn't fundamentally disagree with any of the other contributors on here (and Bill Bryson got it right), but it's a matter of balance. Thus my own preference is to get off the train at Bare lane, walk to the prom (5 minutes) and then walk into Morecambe on the prom, enjoying the view over the water toward the Lakeland hills. A nice flat walk that can be bracing at times but very enjoyable.

Until you reach the area of the former station Morecambe seems quite well cared for. Beyond that the doubts creep in. Thus beyond the station, in a prime sea front position with a super view over the bay there is a new Aldi. What was the local authority thinking about allowing that? Surely it would have been better use of the site to have been used for building some modern flats. Beyond that you have the shambles of the former Frontierland and then you are in the land that time forgot-the crumbling decaying area.

So having walked as far as the station area it's into Morrisons cafe for a drink/snack, then either onto the train at the adjacent railway station or back to Bare Lane. I would comment that the new station, although basic, cant be 5 minutes from the prom, has what passes for the bus station outside, and has a booking office. My own local station has more users but Northern don't staff it. What the Station needs is proper through services to the major population centres in the North West such as Manchester, Liverpool etc., and the Leeds trains diverted via Accrington, Halifax, Bradford etc. A modern luxury flat with a view over the bay could be a good place to commute from.

 

[Dunc108]

Morecambe station really isn't all that bad and is still in pretty good condition for a 1990s rebuild when BR were probably strapped for cash, its handy for the town centre and still relatively near the Promenade (a 3 minute walk up Northumberland Street) And I don't buy the argument that if it wasn't for Heysham Power station it would have closed, services on the Branch from my own experience are well patronised even if it might not be an ideal timetable at times, not to mention school children from Lancaster who use it to reach Bare Lane. At worst, it could have been reduced to single track stub like Blackpool South but its hasn't, its probably better than Windermere aswell as far as capacity is concerned.

 

[Butts]

Ah Morecambe. Got a soft spot for that place. Once had a Birthday Party at Frontierland many years ago. Could be a lovely place once again, but needs a lot of money spent on it. Frontierland needs reopening as well, and that tower kept! Cant go getting rid of that.

As for Lancaster. Its a lovely smaller version of York. Fantastic City, and Williamson Park and Monument is a gorgeous spot.
Do up Morecambe, and youve got a great area to live, with plenty going for it, encompassing the likes of Lancaster, Morecambe, Bare Lane, and last but not least, the awesome Hest Bank.

Ehm...I think rebuilding was the word you were looking for

 

[driver9000]

Didn't the re-build mean that the 2 platforms as Morecambe have no link to each other until Bare Lane?

Correct. You now have the Up and Down Heysham line and the Up and Down Morecambe line side by side as two independent single lines. As the names imply any train heading for Heysham Port must use the Heysham line as there is no access from the Morecambe line.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Thus beyond the station, in a prime sea front position with a super view over the bay there is a new Aldi. What was the local authority thinking about allowing that? Surely it would have been better use of the site to have been used for building some modern flats.

Drawing a comparison to what you say about that supermarket, such is my advanced age in years that I recall the late 1950's and 1960's and the walk down Southport Pier over the Marine Lake which continued along to the coastal area where there was a small childrens playground on the right hand side. I made that same journey last year and the area was unrecognisable with supermarket development being allowed.

 

[Gathursty]

I seek further clarification on the two separate but parallel lines from Bare Lane. Can a train bound just for Morecambe use either of the tracks (regardless of the convention to just use the more northern one) or is it strictly Morecambe track for Morecambe and the Heysham spur line for Heysham Port?

 

[driver9000]

I seek further clarification on the two separate but parallel lines from Bare Lane. Can a train bound just for Morecambe use either of the tracks (regardless of the convention to just use the more northern one) or is it strictly Morecambe track for Morecambe and the Heysham spur line for Heysham Port?

Yes a Morecambe train can use either but will usually use the Up and Down Morecambe.

 

[LNW-GW Joint]

You would think wiring from Lancaster to Morecambe would be one of those electrification no-brainers.
Cost is negligible: 3 miles of single track, including both curves.
Useful place off the WCML for trains to lay-over.
Eliminates a messy isolated DMU area with under-wires running and ECS.
The problem, I suppose, is the short journey from Lancaster, and low utilisation.
Better to integrate it with through services to somewhere useful.
Maybe a destination for a second Liverpool-Preston service?

 

[BantamMenace]

I think an extra hourly service through the bolton corridor would be ideal for Morecambe and i'd put it into the next TPE ITT.

On a side point does another know the reasons for heysham port only getting one of the leeds services daily when it seems negligible to run all the morecambe services through to heysham

 

[driver9000]

I think an extra hourly service through the bolton corridor would be ideal for Morecambe and i'd put it into the next TPE ITT.

On a side point does another know the reasons for heysham port only getting one of the leeds services daily when it seems negligible to run all the morecambe services through to heysham

It meets with the IoM boat. Heysham Port station isn't in the best location to meet the needs of Heysham being situated at the harbour in the middle of an industrial estate. To be of use to residents it ideally would need a couple of stations built to serve the housing estates.

 

[BantamMenace]

It meets with the IoM boat. Heysham Port station isn't in the best location to meet the needs of Heysham being situated at the harbour in the middle of an industrial estate. To be of use to residents it ideally would need a couple of stations built to serve the housing estates.

understood, is it also no good to what must be hundreds if not thousands of employees at the power plant?

 

[driver9000]

understood, is it also no good to what must be hundreds if not thousands of employees at the power plant?

A lot live within Heysham itself and those that live in Morecambe or Lancaster drive to the power stations, even the buses don't serve the harbour/power station. Even with the chronic traffic in Lancaster driving along the bypass is quicker than waking to the station, going via Morecambe and then walking home. There used to be one bus a day to the power station around 7am from Lancaster bus station as an extension of the 2A yet oddly there was never a return working and the bus carried maybe one or two passengers a day. Sadly Heysham Port station is virtually useless in its current site and the line is understandably only seeing one Parliamentary train a day.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

It meets with the IoM boat. Heysham Port station isn't in the best location to meet the needs of Heysham being situated at the harbour in the middle of an industrial estate.

As its intended situation as a port, it fulfils that point well.

 

[driver9000]

As its intended situation as a port, it fulfils that point well.

As a port, yes it does but all freight traffic comes by road as does the majority or passenger traffic. In the wider terms of Heysham as a town the station is utterly useless as is the line itself skirting around the edges. I remember when the line was 2 lines as far Heysham Moss and trains were 6 coach trains from Manchester running 3-4 times a day to meet the boats. Heysham is better served by buses and I can't see that changing.

 

[Xenophon PCDGS]

Just been looking at a May to June 1962 copy of the Manchester official ABC railway guide, hotel and railway advertiser from my railway archives and table 8 does show these direct services from Manchester. I would have been a keen 17 year old sixth former at St Bede's College, Manchester, in those far off days, preparing myself for life at Manchester University shortly afterwards.

With regard to the comments about the freight movements by road to the port, the proposed new link from the M6 to the Heysham area should facilitate these.

 

[driver9000]

Just been looking at a May to June 1962 copy of the Manchester official ABC railway guide, hotel and railway advertiser from my railway archives and table 8 does show these direct services from Manchester. I would have been a keen 17 year old sixth former at St Bede's College, Manchester, in those far off days, preparing myself for life at Manchester University shortly afterwards.

With regard to the comments about the freight movements by road to the port, the proposed new link from the M6 to the Heysham area should facilitate these.

The period I was taking about would be the late 80s/early 90s when the service was formed of 10x units.

Traffic to the port is already healthy on the freight side but all traffic has to pass through Lancaster to reach the motorway - at times it's a near constant procession of HGVs along Morecambe Road! Thankfully they have now started on construction of the link road which will take the lorries away from Lancaster. The bypass was phase 1 of the scheme opening around 1994.

 

[Wavertreelad]

With regard to the comments about the freight movements by road to the port, the proposed new link from the M6 to the Heysham area should facilitate these.

They might, but it may be too late. The IOM Steam Packet has for many years enjoyed a virtual monopoly with freight movements, except bulk traffic the revenue from which is used to support a year round passenger service from Heysham, Liverpool, Belfast and Dublin. Various attempts to start with "container" services to the IOM largely supported by the retail trade have failed for various reasons, but should it finally happen, then it would difficult to see the existing Steam Packet services being maintained.

Going back to the late 1960's I seem to remember there was a huge model railway in the Morecambe station area, although I cannot exactly where. Happy days!

 

[Baxenden Bank]

Going back to the late 1960's I seem to remember there was a huge model railway in the Morecambe station area, although I cannot exactly where. Happy days!

Are you thinking of the model railway that used to be at Blackpool South?

I remember walking with my parents from one end of Blackpool to the north station, to visit the model railway, only to find that it was at the south station and having to walk all the way there.

Regarding Morecambe station building, and it's location, it is an abomination. Cheap, open to the elements, stuck in a sea of tarmac. Hardly an opportunity to attract or even retain passengers. What were the railway managers thinking of when they allowed this to happen?

Then again, it happened in many towns, especially seaside ones, where no-one seems to have thought of the many passengers whose destination was that town, rather than requiring ownward road transport. Blackpool Central being the obvious example. Unfortunately such proposals are still put forward for other towns.

 

[Wavertreelad]

Are you thinking of the model railway that used to be at Blackpool South?

I remember walking with my parents from one end of Blackpool to the north station, to visit the model railway, only to find that it was at the south station and having to walk all the way there.

No definitely Morecambe, it may have been in a shop adjacent either at the front of the station building or in one of a number of shops very nearby. I'm probably going back to the mid-late 1960's.