The Hincaster Branch was a single track railway branch line

Branch line

A branch line is a secondary railway line which branches off a more important through route, usually a main line. A very short branch line may be called a spur line...

 of the Furness Railway

Furness Railway

The Furness Railway was a railway company operating in the Furness area of Lancashire in North West England.-History:The company was established on May 23, 1844 when the Furness Railway Act was passed by Parliament...

 which ran from on the Furness main line to a junction with the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway

Lancaster and Carlisle Railway

The Lancaster and Carlisle Railway was a British railway company authorised on 6 June 1844 to build a line between Lancaster and Carlisle in North-West England...

 (later the London and North Western Railway

London and North Western Railway

The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...

) at Hincaster

Hincaster

Hincaster is a small hamlet and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England, located between Kendal and Milnthorpe. It has a population of 195. Hincaster is most famous for the Hincaster Tunnel which is the longest tunnel on the Lancaster Canal.-Hincaster Tunnel:The building of...

. Intermediate stations were provided at and Heversham

Heversham

Heversham is a small village and civil parish in the South Lakeland district of Cumbria, England. It has a variety of recreational facilities, including tennis courts, bowling green, swimming pool and a playground...

. It was built primarily for use by mineral trains carrying coke and iron ore from County Durham to various ironworks in and around Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness

Barrow-in-Furness is an industrial town and seaport which forms about half the territory of the wider Borough of Barrow-in-Furness in the county of Cumbria, England. It lies north of Liverpool, northwest of Manchester and southwest from the county town of Carlisle...

which had previously had to travel (and reverse) via the busy junction at . The branch was opened in 1876 and also carried a passenger service between and known locally as the Kendal Tommy. This service ended on 4 May 1942 however and the track between Sandside and Hincaster Junction was lifted in 1966. A short stub from Arnside to Sandside lasted until 1972 to serve local quarries.