Keekle Colliers' Platform railway station

Keekle Colliers' Platform
General information
LocationKeekle Terrace, near Cleator Moor, Copeland
England
Coordinates54°31′59″N 3°32′26″W / 54.5331°N 3.5406°W / 54.5331; -3.5406
Grid referenceNY004164
Platforms2[1]
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original companyCleator and Workington Junction Railway
Post-groupingLondon, Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
July 1910Opened to workmen's trains
2 January 1911Closed
June 1913Reopened
1 October 1923Closed[2][3]

Keekle Colliers' Platform railway station was opened by the Cleator and Workington Junction Railway (C&WJR) in July 1910, closed the following January, reopened in June 1913 then closed for good on 1 October 1923. The halt was provided to enable residents of the isolated Keekle Terrace, less than 100 yds from the track, to get to and from work at the equally isolated Walkmill Colliery and coke ovens in Cumbria, England.[4][5] The Platform is not shown by Jowett.[6]

The halt consisted of two wooden platforms. It was unstaffed and had no shelter or toilet, but each platform carried a lone oil lamp.[7] Publications both official and authoritative variously refer to the halt as Keekle Colliers' Platform, Keekle Colliers Platform and Keekle Halt.

The halt did not appear in public timetables. Its purpose was to bring workers to and from the remote colliery, but on at least one occasion a passenger special called to take children to and from a Sunday School outing at St Bees.[8] Further research is needed to establish exactly when services to the halt ended, as Butt differs from Croughton et al., who state it was still being used in October 1923.[9]

  1. ^ McGowan Gradon 2004, p. 16.
  2. ^ Butt 1995, p. 129.
  3. ^ McGowan Gradon 2004, p. 68.
  4. ^ Smith & Turner 2012, Map 26.
  5. ^ Anderson 2002, p. 309 (as Keekle Halt).
  6. ^ Jowett 1989, Map 36.
  7. ^ The halt with colliers' cottages beyond, via Cumbrian Railways Association
  8. ^ Cumbria 2000, p. 40.
  9. ^ Croughton, Kidner & Young 1982, p. 90.