Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway

The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway is a 15 in (381 mm) minimum gauge heritage railway in Cumbria, England. The 7 miles (11.3 km) line runs from Ravenglass to Dalegarth Station near Boot in the valley of Eskdale, in the Lake District. At Ravenglass the line ends at Ravenglass railway station on the Cumbrian Coast Line.

Intermediate stations and halts are at Muncaster Mill, Miteside, Murthwaite, Irton Road, Eskdale Green, Fisherground and Beckfoot. The railway is owned by a private company and supported by a preservation society. The oldest locomotive is River Irt, parts of which date from 1894, while the newest is the diesel-hydraulic Douglas Ferreira, built in 2005.

The line is known locally as La'al Ratty and its 3 ft  (914 mm) gauge predecessor as Owd Ratty.^[1]

Nearby attractions include: the Roman Bath House at Ravenglass; the Hardknott Roman Fort, known to the Romans as Mediobogdum, at the foot of Hardknott Pass; the watermills at Boot and Muncaster; and Muncaster Castle, the home of the Pennington family since 1208.

History

Original railway

The original Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway was a 3 ft  (914 mm) line opened on 24 May 1875 to transport hematite iron ore from mines around Boot to the Furness Railway standard gauge line at Ravenglass.^[2] There has been dispute about the gauge. It is shown as 3 feet in records but is quoted as 2 ft 9 in (838 mm) in some books such as the ABC of Narrow Gauge Railways.^[3] This figure was believed for many years until the present company discovered a sleeper from before the line closed, with spacings between holes made by track spikes confirming the gauge was the wider one. The confusion probably stems from the fact that the line was built under the condition that it was "of a gauge not less than 2' 9" ".^[1]

Passengers were permitted from 1876 and were carried until November 1908.^[1][2] It was the first public narrow-gauge railway in England.^[2] The line was declared bankrupt in 1897 although it operated for many years afterwards. It was forced to close in April 1913, due to decline in demand for iron ore and small volumes of passengers in summer.^[2]

Bassett-Lowke era

In 1915 Wenman Joseph Bassett-Lowke and Robert Proctor-Mitchell, two model makers, converted the line to the 15 in (381 mm) gauge that it is today. The first train operated over the regauged line on August 28, 1915.^[1] By 1917, the entire line had been converted and trains were running along the whole length. Initially, services were operated using the Bassett-Lowke-built, to-scale 4-4-2 Sans Pareil. Rolling stock was augmented by Sir Arthur Heywood's Duffield Bank line, following Sir Arthur's death in 1916. These included the 0-8-0 locomotive Muriel, whose frames and running gear were rebuilt as River Irt.

As well as passengers, the line transported granite between Beckfoot Quarry and Murthwaite crushing plant. From Murthwaite to Ravenglass the track ran as dual gauge for a time, with standard gauge track straddling the 15 in (381 mm) gauge rails. A diesel locomotive was obtained in 1929 to work this section and details are in Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway locomotives. The line carried much of the goods and produce for the valley. By the mid-1920s, the line had been extended to its present terminus at Dalegarth Station. Passenger trains did not run during World War II.

Keswick Granite

Following the war, the line was purchased by Keswick Granite Company, but the quarries closed in 1953. They sold the railway in 1960 .

Preservation

Locals and railway enthusiasts formed Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway Preservation Society to save the line, with financial backing by others. The structure, the railway owned and operated by private company, with the backing of the preservation society, is still in place.

Despite construction of the 2-8-2 engine River Esk in 1923 and the rebuilding of Muriel into the 0-8-2 River Irt in 1927, the line was short of motive power. To allow for an expanded timetable, the preservation society raised funds to build a third steam locomotive. River Mite (2-8-2) entered service in 1967 and, although owned by the society, has been on permanent loan to the company ever since.

In the early 1970s it became apparent that, with passengers rising, another locomotive was required. This time the company constructed the engine itself. Northern Rock (2-6-2) was complete in time for centenary celebrations in 1976. A further addition was made in 1980 when the company constructed the B-B diesel locomotive Lady Wakefield.

Other significant locomotives include: Bonnie Dundee, built in 1900 as a 2 ft  (610 mm)-gauge tank engine before being donated to the R&ER by a member and converted to 15 in (381 mm)-gauge, later converted again from tank to tender configuration; Synolda, a twin to the original 15 in (381 mm) loco Sans Pareil, built in 1912, saved from Belle Vue Zoo in 1978 and now in the railway museum; Shelagh of Eskdale, a 4-6-4 diesel built in 1969 incorporating parts of the Heywood loco Ella; Perkins, a rebuilt 0-4-4 diesel engine, which started as a quarry shunter before being rebuilt into the steam-outlined Passenger Tractor and then again in 1984 into its current guise; Douglas Ferreira, a B-B diesel loco constructed in 2005 and named after the general manager of the R&ER from 1961 to 1994.

Since the 1960s, the railway has improved and visitors have increased. Between 1961 and 1994, Douglas Ferreira was the general manager and he is one of the people who have left the biggest legacy on the Ratty. Today, there are 120,000 passengers each year with up to 16 trains daily in summer. Trains run most of the year; the railway is only closed in January.

Gilbert's Cutting

After passing Spout House Farm the line reaches Gilbert's Cutting. Until 1964, trains were forced to follow a sharp curve along a contour in order to avoid steep gradients. However, after several thousands of tons of granite had been dug out, a new 210-metre cutting was opened by Colin Gilbert, thus ending the squealing noise the trains had made negotiating this part of the line until that year.

Train operations

The railway uses radio control train order. Outside Ravenglass station, the line is single track with passing loops at Miteside, Irton Road and Fisherground. Trains operate by radio communication between drivers and at Ravenglass signal box. At passing loops and the terminus station, drivers contact the controller, using reporting numbers (even numbers for up trains ex-Ravenglass, and odd for down) the train is within the loop and is clear of the preceding single track. To leave the loop, the driver contacts control to enter the next single section. No fixed signals are used outside Ravenglass station. Points at passing loops are spring-loaded with direction indicators, meaning no human intervention.

Elements of the operation were used by British Rail to cut costs on remote lines. What became known as Radio Electronic Token Block signalling shared features with the Ratty, such as centralised control, spring-loaded points at loops, and on-train equipment rather than fixed equipment at remote locations.

The line

• Ravenglass: signal box, turntable, workshops, engine sheds, carriage shed, museum, café, booking office and shop, camping coaches, holiday bungalow, car park.

• Muncaster Mill: historic corn mill (no longer open to the public), car park (1 mile / 1.6 kilometres from Ravenglass). Formerly known as Muncaster.

• Miteside Halt (1+³⁄₄ miles (2.8 km) from Ravenglass)

• Murthwaite Halt (2+³⁄₄ miles (4.4 km) from Ravenglass)

• Irton Road: siding, loop, shed, car park (4+¹⁄₄ miles (6.8 km) from Ravenglass). Formerly known as Hollowstones, after the adjacent farm.

• Eskdale Green: car park (4+³⁄₄ miles (7.6 km) from Ravenglass). Formerly known as King of Prussia after a local pub, then Eskdale Green, then The Green before reverting to its current name.

• Fisherground Halt: campsite (5+¹⁄₂ miles (8.9 km) from Ravenglass).

• Beckfoot (6+¹⁄₂ miles (10.5 km) from Ravenglass)

• Dalegarth for Boot: turntable, shop, café, car park (7 miles / 11.3 kilometres from Ravenglass). Formerly known as Eskdale (Dalegarth).

Stock list

The operational passenger stock of the railway currently comprises the following -

• 7 20-seat heated saloons (102; 110; 111; 113-115; 136)
• 2 18-seat heated saloons (106; 107)
• 1 14-seat heated brake saloon (112)
• 3 20-seat saloons (119; 121; 122)
• 2 14-seat brake saloons (104; 120)
• 1 16-seat brake saloon (103)
• 4 24-seat maxi saloons (131; 132; 134; 135)
• 1 22-seat heated maxi brake saloon (133)
• 1 20-seat heated maxi special saloon (130)
• 2 17-seat heated disabled saloons (118; 126)
• 2 19-seat disabled saloons (123; 137)
• 7 20-seat semi-opens (101; 108; 109; 116; 117; 124; 125)
• 3 20-seat disabled semi-opens (127-129)
• 9 20-seat opens (166; 169-469; 170-370; 187)
• 4 18-seat brake opens (271; 371; 199; 287)

The permanent way department currently utilises nine four-wheeled flat wagons, seven of which have removable tops for ballast carrying, a four-wheeled railbender wagon, a bogie man-rider wagon, a bogie flat wagon, an emergency and utilities van and a mess coach (number 105).^[4]

The line in fiction

The Arlesdale Railway in The Railway Series by Rev. W. Awdry is based on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway.^[5] In Small Railway Engines (1967), Awdry relates part of a holiday he spent visiting the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway with the Rev. E. R. Boston; the two appear in the book as the Thin Clergyman and the Fat Clergyman, respectively. The Arlesdale Railway was also the focus point in Jock the New Engine, with an incident that was inspired by an accident that happened on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway, when Perkins crashed in the back of the shed, and with cameos in other books.^[6]

The fictional railway's locomotives are each based on Ravenglass engines: Bert, Rex, Mike and Jock are the steam engines River Irt, River Esk, River Mite and Northern Rock, while the Sudrian diesels Frank, Sigrid of Arlesdale and Blister 1 & 2 are the Cumbrians Perkins, Shelagh of Eskdale and Cyril.^[5] The Arlesdale Railway stations are also visibly based on the Ravenglass ones: Arlesburgh is Ravenglass, Ffarquhar Road is Muncaster Mill, Marthwaite is Irton Road, Arlesdale Green is Eskdale Green and Arlesdale is Dalegarth.^[5]

The line features in The Plague Dogs by Richard Adams; the canine protagonists evade the force of paratroopers searching for them by riding from Eskdale to Ravenglass on an empty train.

See also

• Duffield Bank Railway
• Eaton Hall Railway
• Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway
• Sand Hutton Miniature Railway
• Shuzenji Romney Railway in Japan
• Bush Mill Railway

References

External links

• Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway Company Ltd.
• Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway Preservation Society
• Photos of the railway in dedicated flickr group
• The Cumbria Directory - Ravenglass Railway Museum