Do you know that during the 1790's there had been a plan to construct a canal between Newcastle, Carlisle and Maryport? Canals were being built throughout the country in the 1700's providng a more effective means of transporting goods, such as coal, textiles, pottery.
A scheme, developed by William Chapman and published in 1795, was presented to Parliament in 1797 but was withdrawn after opposition. A canal scheme was subsequently approved and opened in March 1823 linking Carlisle with the Solway Firth.
After the opening of this section of canal William Chapman was asked to look at options for Newcastle to Carlisle. On 8 June 1824, he wrote "it is now more economic to build a railway".
An important milestone for the railway we have today.
Along with other rail organisations throughout the country, we will be celebrating 200 years of rail travel. 