able to come to the conclusion that it was desirable for the company to undertake the construction of a branch line... Overtures were then made to the late Colonel Thompson, who agreed to improve the "Dandy" accommodation. The Thompson firm decided to respond for an agricultural fair on 13 November 1879 by hiring in a North Eastern Railway steam locomotive and carriages. (They appear to have done so for the September show annually since 1869, hauled by the locomotive Garibaldi. Next they erected a small platform at the Sands at Brampton (close to the staiths) and relaid the track with steel rails, and acquired a steam locomotive, Dandie Dinmont, and started a steam passenger operation from 4 July 1881. In 1889, the meeting referred to above complained about the branch service, adding that "The fare which people had to pay from Brampton Junction to Brampton and back, sixpence, was, considering the short distance, a very severe tax, and undoubtedly tended to keep people away from the market." In 1890 the Thompson and Sons lease of the collieries and railways from the Earl of Carlisle was to be renewed, but the Earl of Carlisle required that the branch line from Brampton Junction to Brampton should be inspected. The Board of Trade inspector duly visited and required certain improvements; there was a 1 in 30 gradient on the branch, and there was no signalling or any normal railway safety system. Thompson and Sons decided not to make the required improvements and gave notice to discontinue the passenger operation on 30 April 1890. This left the town without a passenger train service for the time being. Colliery developments In 1893 the Midgeholme colliery ceased operation, although a new pit at Roachburn opened soon after. It was located a mile west of Tindale Fell. The Brampton Railway was buoyant, carrying most of the coal output of its area, and also stone and limestone, to Brampton Junction for onward conveyance by the North Eastern Railway. In the final years of the eighteenth century the mineral output of the area declined steeply, eventually only Roachburn colliery continuing in operation. Against this trend Thompson and Sons acquired a new six-coupled locomotive, Sheriff, in 1900. In 1908, there was an inundation at Roachburn killing three men; the tragedy affected the health of the surviving owner of Thompson and Sons, and he decided to close the business down. Naworth