The Glasson Dock Branch

[rogerfarnworth]

In early November 2019, my wife and I spent a week or so staying just to the Southwest of Lancaster. During our time there we walked along much of the old Glasson Dock Branch which is now a cycleway alongside the River Lune. We were fortunate with the weather!

The linked article below describes the line and its history. .....

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/11/27/the-glasson-dock-branch

Glasson Dock sits at the mouth of the Lune Estuary to the Southwest of the City of Lancaster.

Navigation up the River Lune to the Port of Lancaster was not easy. In 1779, the Port Commission decided to build a dock/port at the coast. Land was purchased and, by 1782, a pier had been constructed. Delays occurred and it was not until March 1787 that work was completed. When the dock was opened it could hold up to 25 merchant ships.

Following the demise of Lancaster as a port, Glasson Dock was, at its height, the largest port in the north west, importing cotton, sugar, spices and slaves from Africa and the Indies. ........ The settlement of Glasson remained relatively small and only saw some limited growth in the 19th century. A shipyard and Customs House were built in 1834, a Watch House in 1836, a Church in 1840, and a Dry Dock in 1841. The shipyards were largely concerned with ship repair rather than shipbuilding. [1]

The quay was not connected to the railway network until 1883.

 

[randyrippley]

Just to be pedantic, the Lancaster Quay Branch mainly ran along New Quay (downstream of Carlisle Bridge). Not St Georges Quay which is the Georgian Quay upstream of the bridge. The New Quay was paid for by the railway company as the bridge blocked sailing ship access to St Georges Quay.

Whats little known was that until flood prevention works around 20 years ago, New Quay carried the remains of a narrow gauge tramway which presumably served Storey's works. The remaining track was destroyed during the works and probably never documented: I've never heard it referred to or discussed

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Just to be pedantic, the Lancaster Quay Branch mainly ran along New Quay (downstream of Carlisle Bridge). Not St Georges Quay which is the Georgian Quay upstream of the bridge. The New Quay was paid for by the railway company as the bridge blocked sailing ship access to St Georges Quay.

Whats little known was that until flood prevention works around 20 years ago, New Quay carried the remains of a narrow gauge tramway which presumably served Storey's works. The remaining track was destroyed during the works and probably never documented: I've never heard it referred to or discussed

There are some narrow gauge lines shown on the OS Map extracts in the post. Are they perhaps the ones to which you refer?

Best wishes

Roger

 

[randyrippley]

There are some narrow gauge lines shown on the OS Map extracts in the post. Are they perhaps the ones to which you refer?

Best wishes

Roger

If you mean the tracks around the gasworks, I believe they were standard gauge. The tramway was further downstream, near the works, just off-map

 

[mailbyrail]

Railmap online - railmaponline.com/UKIEMap.php - shows a complex network of tracks running inland from New Quay when you zoom in which are probably the ones refered to.