Brief Encounter rail heritage centre set to close

A railway heritage centre in Lancashire where scenes from the classic film Brief Encounter were filmed is set to close.

Carnforth Station Heritage Centre lies within a working station, and featured in the 1945 movie directed by David Lean and starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard.

It is due to close on 12 October after staff said it had become "unviable to continue" and visitor numbers more than halved.

Andrea Wren, who runs the Brief Encounter Bistro and Bar at the site, which plans to stay open, called on people to keep supporting the outlet.

Brief Encounter’s exterior station scenes were shot at Carnforth station, with its refreshment room scenes, where lead characters Alec and Laura meet, filmed in a studio.

But visitors can still immerse themselves in the film's atmosphere at the current bistro.

Ms Wren said: "I think because we are adjacent to the heritage centre, people automatically think that if they're shut, we're shut and that is certainly not the case.

"We want to remain open for business as long as possible and we want the heritage centre to remain open.

"People love the history of the place. It's part of the history of Carnforth and it needs to stay."

The demise of steam and the radical reorganisation of the railways in the 1960s led to a gradual rundown of Carnforth Station and the mainline platforms were closed and removed in 1970 prior to the electrification of the West Coast line and the buildings gradually fell into disrepair.

Stories of the dilapidation sparked a revival and in 1996 the Carnforth Station and Railway Trust was formed to save and restore its semi-derelict rooms.

Former rail infrastructure company Railtrack invested in it and local residents raised £1.5m to restore it to its 1940s glory.

After three years' work, the Brief Encounter refreshment room, heritage centre and offices were opened in October 2003.

In 2019, the heritage centre won the Lancashire Tourism Award for small visitor attraction.

It includes a shop and a vintage mini cinema with tip-up seats where you can watch Brief Encounter.

Around 45,000 people used to visit the centre annually - but those figures have now halved, especially since the Covid-19 pandemic.

The volunteers who run it say the lease is to be returned to Network Rail and a decision on the future of the centre made at a later date.

The town council is set to discuss the future of the heritage centre at a meeting on 16 October.

• Adapted for the big screen by playwright Noel Coward from his own one-act play Still Life, Brief Encounter is considered one of the best British films of the 20th Century
• The black and white tearjerker tells the story of housewife Laura Jesson and married doctor Alec Harvey, who fall in love after he helps remove a piece of grit from her eye in a railway station refreshment room
• As filming took place during World War Two, Carnforth was chosen as a location as it was remote and safe from attack
• Filming was between 22:00 and 06:00 so the station could run as normal during the day
• In 1946, Brief Encounter was nominated for three Oscars for best director, actress and screenplay

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