Northern unveils photography exhibition at historic station in the Lake District as part of major upgrade

Ten framed photographs line the walls of the underpass at Ulverston Station, after it was cleaned and repainted by a team of volunteers earlier this year.  

The images of the historic Grade II listed station, which date back to 1915, were provided free of charge by the Cumbrian Railways Association (CRA).

They include a photograph of former station manager EG Woolgar and his staff taken in July 1916, a shot of a steam locomotive preparing to depart in September 1963 and a picture of the station entrance taken in October 1980.

They were selected by station manager Jane Murray and David Stubbins, a volunteer who helps the CRA manage a catalogue of more than 50,000 images.

“My idea was to bring back some of the history of the station to this area by putting up 10 specially prepared poster cases and filling them with pictures of days gone by," said Jane. 

“I am so proud of what has been achieved and I do hope that everyone who walks in the underpass enjoys looking at these pictures, which will give them an insight into what the station looked like many years ago.

“This is just one of the improvements we have made at Ulverston Station after reviewing feedback from customers and we know there is more that needs to be done.”

In May, 22 volunteers pitched in over six hours to clean and repaint the station underpass, handrails and stairs, and scrape up old chewing gum.

The volunteers came from the train operator Northern, Network Rail, Transport Focus, ISS UK and the Northern Accessibility User Group (NAUG).

It was part of a long-term project to improve the Victorian railway station, which is used by more than 320,000 customers a year.

Northern has repainted the waiting room as part of a £10,000 upgrade and carried out repairs to the clock tower, chimney stacks and canopy gutters. 

Automatic doors are being installed, new glass windows have been fitted and the underpass, handrails, stairs and canopies which are not being replaced have been repainted.  

Working with Network Rail, the train operator is also preparing plans to replace the station’s glass roof and install a new under canopy lighting system.

Northern is the second largest train operator in the UK, with 2,500 services a day to more than 500 stations across the North of England.