Sandside to Hincaster Lost Railway of Milnthorpe

The small sea-port at Sandside was used for importing wines from France and other goods from Ireland, Isle of Man and west of England by 17th century, was principal port of Westmorland until 19th century up until the arrival of the railway in 1876.

​The Hincaster Branch opened in 1876 a single track of the Furness Railway which ran from Arnside on the Furness main line to a junction with the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway (later the London and North Western Railway) at Hincaster Junction, Intermediate stations were provided at Sandside and Heversham.

​Above:  Bela/Beela viaduct demolished in 1973 and the land sold to the adjacent farmers and landowners.

Above: A section of the line just North of the Viaduct. Below: A section just to the South.

The above and lower images are what remains of the Hevesham Line towards Hincaster Jn

A Furness Railway local passenger train service (known locally as the Kendal Tommy for much of its life operated through Sandside from Grange-over-Sands to Kendal between 1876 May 1942, when the station also closed to passengers.
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​Below: ​ Hevesham Stn looking North towards Hincaster

Above and below: Hevesham Stn looking South

​​Passenger services ended 4 May 1942 and the track between Sandside and Hincaster Junction was lifted in 1966. A short line from Arnside to Sandside lasted into the 1970s to serve local quarries.

The Hincaster Tunnel is a canal tunnel on the Lancaster Canal at Hincaster, a hamlet in Cumbria as work to extend the Lancaster Canal north from Tewitfield to Kendal began in 1813. This section, which includes the tunnel, opened in 1819.

It is 378 yards (346 m) long. The tunnel's entrances, the east and west portals, are faced with limestone and are Grade II listed.

The building of the tunnel through Hincaster Hill brought the canal close to existing gunpowder works at Sedgwick an 18th-century gunpowder works there was replaced in the 19th century. The tunnel itself is lined with something like four million bricks.

There is no towpath through the tunnel. Horses were led over the hill via a horse path which is a scheduled monument.

Below: Lancaster Canal Bridge nr Hincaster.

Above: Milnthorpe railway station served the village from 1846 to 1968 on the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway. The station was opened on 22 August 1846 closed on 1 July 1968.

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