Explore the history around Kendal Railway Station

Explore the history around Kendal Railway Station. . Kendal Railway Station was opened on 21st September, 1846, on a day of great excitement and rejoicing. A public holiday was declared, shops were closed and flags hoisted on the Town Hall and Castle. A large crowd had gathered to greet the arrival of Kendal's first train, eight flag-bedecked carriages drawn by the new engine, the "Dalemain"., It had taken many years of indecision over the best route to carry the main line north, but eventually it was built from Lancaster to Carlisle through Oxenholme, two miles out of Kendal. The line from Oxenholme to Kendal and then on to Windermere was built at a cost of £125,000, but the gradient between Kendal and Oxenholme was to prove troublesome. At a gradient of 1 in 85, compared with 1 in 142 over the notorious Shop summit, it was too short for a good run at it and several early trains came to grief., When the station opened in 1846, there was only a temporary wooden shelter. This was replaced in 1860 with a grand station master's house. By 1980 the station was an unmanned halt and the building stood empty and neglected before being rescued to become a doctor's surgery and offices., William Wordsworth, the poet, condemned the coming of the railway, thinking it would bring hordes of trippers to his Lake District, but he later bought shares in the railway company which proved very profitable, and his objections were forgotten., The railway brought increased prosperity to Kendal and mobility for its people. Goods were carried into and out of the town, and travel by train opened up great opportunities for work and pleasure., From the earliest days there were day trips to Morecambe, Edinburgh and even London for the Great Exhibition of 1851 at £1.00 return First Class and 13 shillings 165p) Second Class. Businessmen could travel comfortably between their headquarters in Manchester and Liverpool and their new Lake District residences., Opposite Kendal Railway Station on Station Road is Kendal Museum. The Museum houses fascinating and important collections of natural history and archaeology. Alfred Wainwright was the Honorary Curator at the Museum for thirty years. The Museum building was previously a wool warehouse and a railway line ran straight into the building from a private siding for deliveries.