Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway

The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway is a heritage railway in Cumbria, England. The 7 mile long line runs from Ravenglass to Dalegarth Station near Boot in the valley of Eskdale, in the Lake District. At Ravenglass, the line connects with Ravenglass for Eskdale railway station on the Cumbrian Coast Line. Intermediate stations and halts are located at Muncaster Mill, Miteside, Murthwaite, Irton Road, The Green (at Eskdale Green), Fisherground and Beckfoot. The railway is owned by a private company and is supported by a Preservation Society. The oldest locomotive is the River Irt dating from 1894.

The line is affectionately known locally as La'al Ratty, Cumbrian dialect for "little narrow way".

Nearby attractions are the Roman Bath House at Ravenglass, the Hardknott Roman Fort known as Mediobogdum at the foot of the Hardknott Pass, the watermill at Boot, and Muncaster Castle, the home of the Pennington family since 1208.

History

A 3-ft gauge line was opened on 24 May 1875 for the transportation of iron ore from mines above Boot village. Passengers were permitted to be carried from 1876, although the line's use remained mainly for industrial purposes. The line was declared bankrupt in 1897 although it still operated until it was eventually forced to close in April 1913, due to decline in demand for iron ore and the unsustainably small amount of passenger traffic due to the short summer season.

In 1915, Wynne Bassett-Lowke and RP Mitchell, two well-known model makers of the day, took over the line and began converting it to the 15-inch gauge that it is today. By 1917 the entire line had been converted and trains were running along the whole length again. As well as passenger traffic, the line was used to transport granite between Beckfoot Quarry and Murthwaite, and 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 the Second World War and the quarries were closed in 1953. With the railway up for sale, 1960 was to be the last season that passenger traffic would run. The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway Preservation Society was formed of locals and railway enthusiasts, with financial backing provided by others. Under the ownership of a private company and with the backing of the Preservation Society, the railway significantly improved and visitor numbers have increased substantially. During 1961 and 1994, Douglas Ferreira was the General Manager of the line, and he is thought to be one of the people who have left the biggest legacy on the Ratty of today.

Today, there are over 120,000 passengers each year with up to 16 trains daily in the high summer season. Trains run throughout most of the year, with only January being a 'closed' month.

A significant benefit of membership of the Preservation Society is free travel on the railway (1/4 fare applies at special event and Public Holidays), membership is £16 and a link to their web site can be found below.

Interesting facts

For part of the run there is only a single track, on which trains run both ways. To avoid accidents the operators use a "key" system. Only the driver holding the key may enter the single-track section. Leaving the section, the driver relinquishes the key to the engine waiting to enter at the other end. The key itself is symbolic, being a piece of brass about 20 cm long and 5 cm wide.

The signalbox at Ravenglass is the railway's control centre. All engines are equipped with radios and the drivers keep in contact with the signalman, who controls most of the line's pointwork from his box. The radio control system the line uses was installed in 1977 and was the predecessor of that which appeared on British Railways.

The Line

Ravenglass: signalbox, turntable, workshop, engine sheds, carriage shed, museum, café, booking office & shop, camping coaches, bungalow, car park.
Raven Villa
Barrow Marsh
Black Bridge (UP signalling point for Muncaster Mill)
Muncaster Mill
Mill Race (DOWN signalling point for Muncaster Mill)
Mill Wood (Home of Red Squirells)
Miteside Halt
Miteside Loop
Katie Caddy
Wet Cutting
Murthwaite Ground Frame: siding, store for PW items.
Murthwaite Halt
Horsefalls
Rock Point
Walk Mill Summit (The middle of the line, at 3.5 miles)
Big Stone
Black Bridge (UP signalling point for Irton Road is between here and Irton Road West points)
Irton Road: siding, loop, shed, car park.
Long Yocking
The Chicken Run (UP signalling point for The Green)
The Green
Hollin How Bank
Hollin How Bridge (DOWN signalling point for The Green is a short while east)
Fisherground Crossing
Fisherground Loop (UP signalling point for Fisherground)
Fisherground
Spout House Farm (DOWN signalling point for Fisherground)
Little Cutting
Gilbert's Cutting
The Smithy
Former site of Beckfoot Quarry
Big Stone (UP signalling point for Beckfoot)
Beckfoot
Beckfoot Wood
Dalegarth Cottages
Dalegarth: turntable, shop, café, car park.

Stock list

Steam

River Irt - 0-8-2 tender engine rebuilt from Muriel (of the Duffield Bank Railway) in 1927.
River Esk - 2-8-2 tender engine built in 1923.
River Mite - 2-8-2 tender engine built in 1968 and the second loco to carry the name. This loco is owned by the Preservation Society.
Northern Rock - 2-6-2 tender engine built in 1976. Strongest 15" gauge locomotive in the world.
Bonnie Dundee - 0-4-2 tender engine built in 1900 as a tank engine for 2 foot gauge. Owned by the family of Ian Fraser.
Synolda - 4-4-2 tender engine built in 1915. Twin of Sans Pareil, the original 15 inch gauge engine on the line. Museum piece.
Flower of the Forest - 0-4-0 engine with an upright boiler. Built in 1985 for Ian Fraser, and returned to the railway upon his death.
Katie - 0-4-0 tank engine; sister of Muriel. First arrived on the line in 1916, but left in 1919. Also from the Duffield Bank Railway. Currently being reconstructed using the original frames.

Diesel

Blacolvesley - Oldest workable ICL locomotive in the world. 4-4-4, built by Bassett-Lowke in 1911. Owned by Dr Bob Tebb.
Internal Combustion Locomotive (ICL) No. 1, Bunny - B-B diesel engine, rebuilt from Crewe Tractor in 1925.
Quarryman - 0-4-0 TVO tractor. Built in 1928. Museum piece.
Perkins - 0-4-4 diesel. Rebuilt twice. Was originally NGR No. 39, brother of Quarryman, which was built in 1929. Rebuilt in 1933 and unofficially named Pretender. Rebuilt once more in 1984 and finally officially named.
Shelagh of Eskdale - 2-Co-2 diesel engine, rebuilt from the remains of Ella in 1969.
Lady Wakefield - Bo-Bo diesel. Built in 1980. Out of service.
Greenbat - 0-4-0 battery electric shunter. Acquired in 1981. Currently out of service.
Cyril - 0-4-0 diesel engine. Acquired in the 1980s. Owned by the Murthwaite Locomotive Group.
Les - 0-4-0 diesel engine. Acquired in the Late 1990s/early 2000s. It is the fitters' shunter.
Douglas Ferreira - Bo-Bo diesel. Complete and named 24 July 2005. This loco is owned by the Preservation Society and named after the railways first general manager in preservation.

The line in fiction

A railway very similar to this one can be seen in The Railway Series by Rev. W. Awdry. The Arlesdale Railway is a 15-inch gauge railway which runs from the main-line station in Arlesburgh (terminus of Duck's branch line) to Arlesdale. It was built on the trackbed of the former Mid Sodor Railway which was a wider (but still narrow gauge) line and continued to its own station in Peel Godred.

When the original Mid-Sodor Railway closed, two of the locomotives were sold to the Skarloey Railway, while the third, Duke the Lost Engine was covered up and left in a shed, only to be discovered by two Clergymen, characters based on Rev. W. Awdry and Rev. Teddy Boston, both railway enthusiasts in real life.

External links