The New Year of 1865 brought the railway to Bassenthwaite Lake with the opening of a station there. It served the nearby community of Dubworth as well as the more-distant Bassenthwaite village which involved a three-mile trek.

Like many small country stations, it featured a signal box, a coal depot to its northern side and a timber siding to the south. The route was single line but trains could pass on Bassenthwaite’s loop. The station was base to a gang of platelayers who were each earning 18 shillings per week as the 19th Century closed.

In January 1966, Transport Minister Barbara Castle announced that passenger services would be withdrawn between Keswick and Cockermouth, signalling the end of the line for Bass Lake. The last train pulled out on 18th April 1966.

Today, the Station Master’s house is still a home but the main building stands only as a shell.

Click here for more of Maurice’s evocative pictures featuring the Cockermouth, Keswick & Penrith Railway.