The railway service that connected two important parts of our county together had a long history of reliability and Coniston railway always ensured that people got where they needed to be.

Events leading to its creation began in 1849, when it was proposed that a railway would be built linking the copper mines at Coniston with the Furness Railway at Broughton.

However, it would not come to pass until 1856 when interest in the line was renewed.

The Coniston Railway Act received Royal Assent on August 10, 1857.

On October 4 in 1958 the last scheduled train with paying customers travelled along the nine-and-a-half-mile line from Foxfield to Coniston.

Since the closure, the stations at Broughton, Woodland and Torver became houses, while Coniston was eventually transformed into a housing and industrial estate.

Had the line survived, it is believed it would have been a major tourist attraction to rival Haverthwaite, or the Ravenglass and Eskdale miniature railway.

A section of the track's bed is now a scenic track and cycleway.

The last passenger service for Coniston was reported in an article that appeared in The Mail.

It said: “The 99-year-old ‘Coniston Flyer’ reached the end of-the-line officially on Saturday to a salvo of railway detonators and a modified chorus of a modern dance tune.

“A hundred or more passengers made the last sentimental journey through the lovely Lakeland valley – a record send-off for the train that most of them had known all their lives.”

The carriages were pulled by a Class 2 passenger engine, number 41217, and the train was five minutes late.

The last recorded individual onboard was Leeds University student Mr J Mansergh, 21, of Broadway, Bootle.

Other passengers included six Coniston girls – Pauline Weiss, Susan Belton, Margaret Tarr, Jean Coward and Jean Usher.

In 2010, the Lake District National Park Authority was involved in a disagreement with local landlords, who had not been invited to a meeting regarding the reopening of the Coniston to Foxfield railway line as a public highway.

The planned highway ran through their land, which most of them used on a daily basis.

The plan and its lack of consultation was a source of great frustration for them.