Glasson Dock railway

Old Railway Map 

I've highlighted the Glasson Dock branch in blue. The line came off the main line at Castle station in Lancaster. From here it ran towards Carlisle bridge but just after crossing Long Marsh  Lane the track veered off to the left and ran down a embankment behind a row of houses this embankment can still be seen today crossing over Lune street before running down behind the industrial area. From here it ran along the bank of the river Lune (the old track bed now forms part of the Lancashire Coastal Way) through Conder Green then on to Glasson Dock.  

No. 46422 propels withdrawn Fowler 2-6-4T No. 42301 into the ship breakers scrapyard at Glasson Dock, five miles from Lancaster, on March 11 1964, the Glasson Branch closed to passengers at this tiny station on July 5 1930, and closed completely on September 7 1964.

Ivatt 2MT 2-6-0 No. 46422 runs cautiously over the weed covered track at Glasson Dock on March 2 1962, after working a train of nitro-chalk to the quay, for shipment (see picture below).  In the background stands the sailing ship Moby Dick, which was eventually destroyed by fire at Morecambe.

This was a very unusual occurrence at Glasson Dock.  Ivatt No. 46422 propels five-plank wagons of nitro-chalk from Heysham Moss onto the quay for shipment, March 2 1962.  The floating cafe in the canal basin on the left is still in operation today.

This RCTS brake-van special transversed the five-mile Glasson Dock branch on June 20 1964, hauled by Ivatt 2MT 2-6-0 No. 46433, seen here at Conder Green.  The train comprises four BR and two LMS 20-ton brake vans, weighing 120 tons in all.

Lancaster's other branch linked the West Coast Main Line with the city's own quay and also with Glasson Dock at the mouth of the River Lune. Ivatt 2MT 2-6-0 No. 46422 shunts empty vans into Williamson's factory on Lancaster quay on March 11 1964.