Kendal Tommy Click here to go back to A-Z page
Kendal Tommy at Grange Station 1880s
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 Kendal Tommy
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For 56 years Grange had a direct rail connection to Kendal. The Kendal Branch train was nicknamed the ‘Kendal Tommy’ after one of the longest serving members of the regular crew. It started running in 1876 when the Hincaster to Arnside line was completed. Three trains a day ran between Grange and Kendal.
In the 1880s there was up to five trains each way – with a few terminating at Arnside – onward passengers had to change. During the 1930s the trains often ran from Windermere to Cark, Ulverston or Barrow via Kendal, Sandside & Grange.
In 1890 a combined Carriage Shed and Water Tank House were built, and a new siding built to enter the carriage shed from the east (the shed is now part of the industrial complexes immediately alongside the road in station yard – mainly Grange Supplies). The shed was mainly to store the Kendal Branch train, which until then had been stored in the open. It was quite a small train, consisting of a tank engine, one carriage, and sometimes a horse box.
The service ceased during the war (1942) and was never re-instated. After the Barrow Steel Works closed the line was little used and the section north of Sandside closed in 1963 with the Arnside-Sandside section remaining to serve the quarry at Sandside until 1968. The final rails were removed in 1966, the Bela viaduct demolished in 1973 and the land sold to the adjacent farmers and landowners.
In the 1880s there was up to five trains each way – with a few terminating at Arnside – onward passengers had to change. During the 1930s the trains often ran from Windermere to Cark, Ulverston or Barrow via Kendal, Sandside & Grange.
In 1890 a combined Carriage Shed and Water Tank House were built, and a new siding built to enter the carriage shed from the east (the shed is now part of the industrial complexes immediately alongside the road in station yard – mainly Grange Supplies). The shed was mainly to store the Kendal Branch train, which until then had been stored in the open. It was quite a small train, consisting of a tank engine, one carriage, and sometimes a horse box.
The service ceased during the war (1942) and was never re-instated. After the Barrow Steel Works closed the line was little used and the section north of Sandside closed in 1963 with the Arnside-Sandside section remaining to serve the quarry at Sandside until 1968. The final rails were removed in 1966, the Bela viaduct demolished in 1973 and the land sold to the adjacent farmers and landowners.
