Description

The Coniston Railway opened between Broughton and Coniston in 1859, intending to tap the then expanding copper ore traffic from the copper mines at Coniston. To this end the line took a high-level course at Coniston to reach the copper mines wharf, thereby placing the passenger and goods station above the village, and making it accessible only by an inconveniently steep road.

The copper ore traffic soon began to dwindle and by 1890 had ceased, leaving slate, general goods and passengers as the principal traffic, the passengers being mainly tourists in the summer season. The steamer Gondola, which the Furness Railway had built and placed on Coniston Lake late in 1859, became one of the principal tourist attractions, so much so that a second steamer Lady of the Lake was added in 1908.

This book tells the story of the Coniston Railway from its inception through its Victorian and Edwardian heyday and its demise and demolition under British Railways.

Paperback, 64 pages, the book is illustrated with photographs, drawings and diagrams.