Howe & Co Sidings and Cocklakes Works Tramway
Howe & Co Sidings and Cocklakes Works Tramway © Bill Watson https://ironroad.smugmug.com/ History & The Route Located several miles south of Carlisle lies the site of Howe & Co Sidings and Cocklakes works tramway. The short but steeply graded tramway connected Howe & Co sidings on the famous Settle & Carlisle railway with the Gypsum works at Cocklakes. It was in operation from the 1880s until the 1970s when it was put on "Care & Maintenance" and subsequently closed. However, Gypsum had been mined in the area since the 1680s. But, things did not fully take off till during the second world war when there was an increased demand. John Howe opened and operated the mines till around 1910 when the Carlisle plaster & Cement company took over. They were later taken over by British Gypsum. Today the majority of the 1-mile tramway can be walked. And, in places there are some reminders of its previous life as an industrial railway. Starting at the site of