John Pickup writes book on Oxenholme station in the steam age

However, once upon a time, it was one of the best places in the network to watch steam trains blast up and down the railway. 

A new book, written by John Pickup and published by the Cumbrian Railways Association will cover Oxenholme in the heyday of British Rail steam, through the eyes of someone involved in the station from 1957 to 1961. 

Oxenholme station in the age of steam (Image: Cumbrian Railways Association)

The book conveys the daily challenges and goings-on that encouraged local enthusiast Alec Mayor to keep detailed records of train operation and time-keeping. 

Alec's photographs illustrate the book, and it also includes images from the association's archive. 

Ron Herbert spent some years in his railway career as a train and traffic controller in Preston. He said: “It’s a superb read - reliving the railway as I remember it all those years ago. This was the real railway in action!”

The front cover of John Pickup's book (Image: Cumbria Railways Association)

Reviewer Bill Myers said: "There can't have been many finer places than Oxenholme to watch the full range of steam-hauled services offered by British Railways in the late 1950s and 1960s.

"The painstaking work of this former advertising executive more than half-a-century ago helps us to see a lost railway world of steam power passing through Lakeland.

"Some of his fascinating images - backed with facts and dates drawn from 200,000 words of meticulous notes - have been drawn together by John Pickup”

The book is priced at £8. It is in A4 and is 48 pages with a laminated cover. It is available for online purchase and mail order via the Association's website.