Number 215December 2014

The Journal of theRavenglass and EskdaleRailway Preservation Society

The R&ER MagazineNumber 215 December 2014

The R&ER Magazine

The Journal of theRavenglass and EskdaleRailway Preservation Society

Editorial Team: Keith Herbert, Di Chase, Bill Seddon, Mark Harrington, John Taylor

Editorial Designer: Julie Hutchinson Address for Magazine Correspondence: PRESS DEADLINE: Material for inclusion in Keith Herbert the next issue of the Magazine must 7 Dalegarth Cottages reach the editors not later than Boot, Holmrook Thursday 15th January at noon. Cumbria CA19 1TF Please send material earlier if possible. magazine@rerps.co.uk

The R&ER Magazine is always pleased to receive correspondence, photographs and articles for possible inclusion. Most nowadays arrive via our e-mail address, but postal contributions are just as welcome. Please write your name and address on the back of any prints, and give at least the date and location of each photograph where possible. We have scanning facilities for slides and negatives, and will endeavour to return any loaned photographic material.

Society website: http://www.rerps.co.uk

Council Chairman: Sam Dixon, 15 Lyceum Close, Leighton, Crewe, Cheshire CW1 3YB. Email: chairman@rerps.co.ukHon. Secretary: Mungo Stacy, 52 Old York Street, Hulme, Manchester M15 5TH. Email: secretary@rerps.co.ukHon. Financial Secretary: Ian Leigh, 206B Crowfield House, North Row, Central Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire MK9 3LQ. Email: treasurer@rerps.co.ukHon. Membership Secretary: Phil Taylor, 12 Wholehouse Road, Seascale, Cumbria CA20 1QY. Email: membership@rerps.co.uk (1-1299 and 2500-3999)Assistant Membership Secretary: Jim Wilcock, ‘Porthlow’, Neston Road, Ness, Neston CH64 4AZ. Email: membershipassistant@rerps.co.uk (1300-2499)Sales Officer: Terry Williams, 88 Bluestone Road, Moston, Manchester M40 9HY. Email: sales@rerps.co.ukMagazine Distributor: Cumbria Mailing Services Ltd. Penrith, CA11 9FQ.Heywood House Bookings: Mary Harding. Email: heywoodhouse@rerps.co.uk. Tel: 01229 717080.Volunteers: Peter Mills. Email: volunteers@rerps.co.ukGeneral Manager: Trevor Stockton, R&ER Co. Ltd. Ravenglass, Cumbria, CA18 1SW. Tel: 01229 717171.

Front Cover: A superb portrait of Martin Willey, 2007. Photo: Steven Feather

Published quarterly by theRavenglass and Eskdale Railway

Preservation Society LimitedMember of the Heritage

Railway Association

No 215 December 2014

The R&ER

Magazine

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Opinions expressed by contributors and in editorial comment do not necessarily reflect the collective views of the Society.

Martin Willey 1951-2014Peter van Zeller

It was with disbelief that we learned of the unexpected sudden death of Martin Willey who collapsed in apparent good health working in Whinney How Wood with a friend. He lived life to the full and was looking towards a gently staged retirement to enjoy more travelling in the summer months and to keep up his railway involvement in winter maintenance, working with a shadow to transfer his knowledge in due course.

Martin called himself ‘one of the Centenarians of the railway, aged over sixty with over forty years’ service!’ He had been a volunteer since 1967-8 when he became such a feature of Skid Row that Doug Ferreira had to give this guard and summer diesel driver a full-time job. During the next four-and-a-half decades he worked out on the line, dug ditches, cut trees, sprayed weedkiller, serviced the diesel fleet, and latterly did all the carriage running gear inspections, wheel turning and maintenance, washed out loco boilers and kept the coal stage tidy, while driving as needed on steam or diesel. He always warmed the loco on Christmas Day for the holiday services that he ran with Bonnie Dundee until loadings became too great. So it was appropriate that Dundee stood in Ravenglass station, outside his workshop, wearing a black ribbon in his memory.

In ‘spare’ time throughout this period, Martin was a stalwart of Wasdale Mountain Rescue Team, a founder member, maintainer of team vehicles and frequently part of a search and rescue mission at a moment’s notice, at any hour and in all weathers. To relax (!) he had a wide ranging interest in local railways and

Martin Willey and Trevor Stockton service Black Prince at Dalegarth in 1982. Martin was a great admirer of this loco. Photo: R&ER Archive

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industrial history across upland Britain, with almost encyclopaedic and on the ground knowledge, following trackways up mountainsides to distant quarries or along tunnels into deep mine adits.

He was quietly larger than life and the legends were rarely exaggerated. He did unwrap a well travelled Egremont Co-op pie on a narrow gauge train in Colorado. He swam off the railway’s JCB digger when it stalled crossing the ford over the River Mite on a rising tide, then guarded a train. The Pennington Arms Hotel had a log for yachtsmen which commented ‘insufficient information about buoyancy given by the manufacturer’! He was clearing leaves blocking the Fisherground tank, having stopped to take water, when he fell in, but still completed his driving turn. When the Bure Valley Railway was barely two seasons old, he went with River Irt in advance of their gala event and gave them the first weeks of reliable operating since the line had opened.

He was kindness itself and will be sadly missed in every quarter. He spent most time doing something willingly, often unpaid, for someone else and his unmarked memorial will be the two-foot gauge railway he laid with Ian Hartland at Threlkeld Quarry. Our phones haven’t stopped ringing with old friends shocked by the news and wanting to pass on deepest condolences to his partner Carol, his wider family and his fellow workers on the railway that he was such a fundamental part of for so long.

News from RavenglassTrevor Stockton

I hope that by the time you read this issue we will have three R&ER steam locomotives available to us for the first time since the end of the 2012 season. River Irt has been available to us for most of the year, as has River Mite until a leak occurred on its steam manifold, resulting in the locomotive missing the whole of September; it is still under repair in mid-October. The good news is the return to traffic of Northern Rock; following protracted running-in trials it was passed fit in time to support Irt and Hercules at the Postman Pat weekend at the start of October.

I think we must thank both the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway and the Bure Valley Railway again for their support in the loaning of Hercules and Wroxham Broad, respectively. Wroxham Broad has already returned to Norfolk via the Kirklees Light Railway’s autumn gala, having completed 1,500 miles in the six weeks of the high summer service. Hercules’ extended stay has now come to an end in mid-October, having been here since before the Whitsun holidays.

With the help of Douglas and Lady Wakefield all of the above have helped to underpin the season. With slight alterations to the advertised timetable we have been able to operate safely and successfully with the railway enjoying one of its better seasons for some time.

With autumn setting in the engineering attention has turned to Perkins. With the locomotive completely stripped back you can clearly see its Muir Hill origins, as the rear of the old chassis is exposed, showing the multi-height three-slot coupling. It will be the old frames again that remain; a new engine will be coupled to the existing transmission, a new bonnet and cab will be fabricated, and a complete rewire will hopefully give us a good permanent way loco and back up to the main operating fleet for some years to come.

There has been some delay in progress in the workshop rebuild, with a hold up on the steel being delivered. It was a blessing in some respects, as there was no major work on the site during the very busy high summer period. However, all the main frame work is now up and the blockwork has started on the west side; the long wait to get our workshop facilities back will soon be over.

The facility to book events online has seen a big surge in booking for the Eskdale Belle and our Cream Tea experiences; the recent Postman Pat event was operated for the first time as pre-booked seats only. The Santa event is a similar success.

As we enter the winter period attention will turn to maintenance, with much to do to the rolling stock: the dry weather has seen the open carriages out a lot this year and some of them are showing signs of wear and tear; the saloons and semi-opens will need painting.

Again there is a big push on the permanent way; you will read elsewhere of the use of plastic sleepers for the first time and the replacement of the diamond crossing and allied pointwork outside the signal box. The new workshop will need track laying in it, as will the yard outside, with pointwork to meet up with the three shed roads inside.

Following a long career with the railway Angie Zegveldt has moved on to pastures new. Angie had worked in both shops and booking offices, in recent years was responsible for the wrapping of the hundreds of Christmas presents each year, as well as

River Irt is attached to the rear of Hercules’ train, to give assistance, at Miteside in June. Note the camera drone hovering above. Photo: Bob Brook

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covering in the office when required. Her versatility will be missed and we wish her every success for the future.

We are also saying goodbye to Jim Walker, the Company’s Chief Executive. Jim has overseen and helped drive through great change across the whole of the three companies; his drive and enthusiasm will be sorely missed. Jim will be taking a well-deserved early retirement. I am sure you will join me in wishing him all the best and I am sure we will see him around the railway for years to come.

Please do not forget that, should you wish to start volunteering, you are welcome to contact Peter Mills, Volunteer Liaison Officer, or the railway directly. Details are inside the front cover of this Magazine.

Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Healthy and Happy New Year.

Traffic NewsPeter van Zeller

Although all five locos were steamed in all the roads in the loco shed during the week in July when the peak ‘yellow’ service started, only three steam engines were ever in service together at any one time, working alongside two of the big diesels. However Bonnie Dundee has had more exposure than ever, being hauled out each day to stand on the spur by the turntable at Ravenglass for people to see and photograph. Unlike earlier in the season, many trains would have tested

its capacity – frequently running at nine cars in the frequently fine weather through August into late September, either well loaded or including the Eskdale Belle. The ‘Eskdale Belle Experience’ has proved very popular and the coach usually makes two runs as its guests take lunch at Dalegarth.

Wroxham Broad arrives at Ravenglass after another faultless trip in August. Photo: Ian Pilkington

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The peak timetable saw an interesting change, with the loss of the mid-afternoon run giving a longer layover at each end. While timekeeping over the whole railway recovered instead of steadily increasing any delays, the unintended deleterious consequence was severe over-crowding of the 14.30 down departure, frequently filled to capacity at Dalegarth and meeting, and oft time leaving, passengers at intermediate stations who had accumulated due to the lack of passing trains. The early evening services were deemed to have generated new traffic during the high summer season.

River Irt, after problems in May with both air brake compressors, steam on the loco and belt-driven under the tender, has spent the rest of the season in steady reliable working with a greater variety of drivers than usual. Exceptionally it missed one trip on 23rd August when the tender compressor needed oil urgently. Irt was nominated for filming on 5th September, with Strictly Come Dancing’s Len Goodman celebrating former MP Ann Widdecombe’s summer holiday trip on Ratty half a century earlier, the Country Landowners’ Association on 16th September, a wedding train on 21st September and the Greendale Flyer for Postman Pat’s specials on 4th-5th October, continuing in use until the end of the daily services.

In contrast, after River Mite broke its near-record run of ninety-eight unbroken daily steamings in mid-June with the regulator controlling slipping in Mill Wood, it lost further service with intractable problems later. The left-hand valve gear suffered a bent c o m b i n a t i o n lever on 10th August and r e v e a l e d broken piston valve heads and rings, both after the initial incident and with the replacements. The valve heads were then modified and the loco was tested with nine empty coaches to Irton Road on 26th August, yet was only briefly in traffic from 27th-31st

“And what time is this engine running?” ask the passengers... Bonnie Dundee, just back from the Postman Pat film première in Kendal. Photo: Simon Thompson

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August, when it then suffered a further problem with the steam pipes to the top of the water gauges. When repairs to the original bronze casting of 1966 did not pass muster, a replacement was obtained but found to have flaws in the last stages of machining, and finally a steel manifold fitting was assembled for the loco to be able to run once again at the very end of the season.

Northern Rock was steamed in the yard through the summer enabling the boiler to seal its new rivets by natural means, rust! It was not to move on the main line while the intensive service was running, but it made a light engine move to Miteside on 8th September and then started running-in when crews were available. Persistant warm journals led to two of its main wheelsets being dropped to enable the axle boxes to be relieved. The loco hauled a short set of coaches on 30th September, and eight empties the day after, before entering service on 2nd October. On 18th October it ran with monitoring equipment to gauge stress loading on the main axles as part of the design process for any future use of roller bearings as employed so effectively on Wroxham Broad, enabling its small Siân-sized cylinders to pull ten cars on our gradients.

With the developing situation with the home steam fleet it was therefore fortunate that our visiting locos were both available and serviceable throughout the period of their stays. Hercules from the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway had been running from 23rd May but saw periods out of use due to fire risk concerns with its open ashpan damper, and again after the arrival of Bure Valley Railway

No.1 on 22nd July. However both visitors were running a l o n g s i d e River Irt for the last weeks of August and Hercules’ stay was extended several times. The tank engine was exemplary throughout its entire running period from 23rd July to 6th September; it departed four days later to the Kirklees Light Railway gala event. This year

River Mite makes for Ravenglass, passing under Muncaster Mill Black Bridge, August 2014. Photo: Christopher Glover

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it demonstrated an effective spark arrestor hidden in the smokebox, although by then the fire risk had moderated with (generally) overnight rain.

Hercules had a few moments of angst when scale from the boiler, loosened in sitting out of use, blocked an injector on 25th July and whistle valve on 8th and 12th August, cured effectively by a washout and then running the loco continuously for up to thirty-four days, far longer than would happen at Romney. It was also challenged by the lack of sanders whenever rails were ‘greasy’ or coated with dew, and a banker was sent in assistance on 11th and 17th September. This was acerbated by one of the problems of superheating steam after the regulator – the reduced control when slipping occurs because the steam pipes to the cylinders are four times as long as a comparable Ravenglass loco without superheat. The following days Hercules fought with full nine-car sets but never had any mechanical issues. It made its last service runs during the Postman Pat weekend of 4th-5th October and was dispatched home on the following Saturday.

Cyril has been the regular yard shunter, apart from minor problems after 14th August, with a single trip beyond Ravenglass station limits as the chosen loco for friends of the late Keith Fantham to travel to Bridge No.3 (colloquially named Big Knob Bridge) for his ashes to be scattered on 27th September.

Douglas Ferreira had some slips from its usual quiet monopoly of the diesel-

Welcome back! Northern Rock drifts down towards Miteside with an October train. Photo: Christopher Glover

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hauled passenger services over the last decade, but nothing went seriously wrong after the fuel pump failure at Beckfoot on 25th July. Although the loco was failed at Dalegarth on 27th September with warning lights, returning light engine and taking a following train without issues, and again two days later at the Mill with brakes rubbing, it was trusted on evening Fish ‘n’ Chip Specials on 12th September and 10th October.

Lady Wakefield had a quiet summer until its own brake problems from mid-May were resolved in due course by 12th August, when it made light engine, then six-car train, test runs. Its timely return helped to cover services while both River Mite and Hercules were out of use. However once back in traffic, this mixed traffic loco took occasional passenger work, permanent way trains, timber trains, flailing the lineside on 14th October, RandER 99 emergency calls, sanding greasy rails and banking all in its stride.

Over the fence, the main line has its own challenges from poor rail conditions. In the summer more passenger services than in many previous years were worked by Workington-built Class 142 four-wheelers, released from elsewhere in the Northern Rail franchise. But with the autumn leaf-fall, services reverted to the bogie 156 and 153 units. Freight trains to and from Sellafield usually have more locos than wagons to cover for any problems; the English Electric Class 20s and 37s give a hearty roar as they accelerate DRS nuclear flasks from the current 5mph temporary speed restriction over the Ravenglass road bridge. In contrast, Freightliner Heavy Haul Class 66s simply whistled away as they handled 2,200 ton coal trains en route from Hunterston to Fiddlers Ferry power Station, diverted four days a week from 8th October after problems over the Settle and Carlisle Railway from the unexpectedly sudden seasonal leaf fall.

Effortlessly passing through Ravenglass, a DB Schenker Class 66 worked the Cumbrian Coast Explorer from Nottingham on 26th July, West Coast Railways 47s worked the Cumbrian Coast Express from Saltburn on 13th September, and WCR 47s (786 and 804) ‘topped and tailed’ the Settle, Carlisle and Cumbrian Coast from Norwich on 20th September. Sadly there have been no main line rail tours this summer using the R&ER as a destination; however the local speed restriction will have given their passengers and operators a tantalising glimpse for future visits.

The underbridge is now scheduled for major rebuilding in January 2015. Before they disappear, the two vertical columns supporting the maine line southbound ‘down’ platform extension over the road into the village should be recognised as matches of cruciform section bridge supports photographed at Foxfield in 1917, and hence of those columns cast but never used on the erstwhile Duddon viaduct. This was authorised for the Whitehaven and Furness Junction Railway but never completed after its takeover by the Furness Railway in 1864, a reminder of the fierce economic rivalries when these new railways transformed the region.

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Engineering ReportStephen Farish

The last few months have been a busy period for the engineering staff. Northern Rock has now settled into daily service again after her spell out of traffic and River Irt is in daily service with no major problems to date. River Mite, on the other hand, has had a few problems mainly concerning the gauge glass manifold; this developed a small leak some time ago and was immediately taken out of traffic to rectify the fault. The manifold was sent for repair but this was not successful, failing during hydraulic pressure testing. A decision was made to scrap the old manifold and have a new one cast.

The new manifold arrived and, after much machining, was ready for hydraulic testing, at which point it also failed because the casting had porous areas that didn’t show up on quality inspection.

The new manifold was also deemed scrap at this point and an agreement was reached with the foundry with no financial loss to either party. A mild steel manifold is currently being fabricated in our workshops. This method is more complex than the casting because of the cab-to-boiler flange clearance. All being well, Mite should be back in service before this article goes to print.

Lady Wakefield and Douglas Ferreira are both performing well with no problems, and Perkins’ rebuild is progressing well: the old cab has now been removed, a new cab and bonnet are being fabricated and we have taken delivery of her new wheels, which are awaiting machining (this will be sub-contracted owing to lack of machine capacity on our lathe).

River Esk’s future is still being discussed with the insurance company with regard to her rebuild. We will hopefully have some better news in the next issue.

The workshop rebuild is slowly taking shape. As you read this, the steel work is complete and the builders are on site putting up the walls, but the weather is no longer in their favour.

Stalling by the insurer has contained progress on River Esk. Photo: Stephen Farish

Signals and Telegraph (S&T)Phil Brown

Maintenance of our signalling systems is an essential part of running a safe railway. In recent years this responsibility has fallen on the shoulders of the [now] former Permanent Way Foreman Neil Dickinson (now a relief signaller with Network Rail), and Stuart Marsh (who runs his own specialist cable and hardware business). The Company has appointed me to assist with the day to day maintenance checks and repairs as these demands increase with every new project completed.

Regular visitors to our railway will have noticed many changes over the years as the Ratty keeps pace with modern demands. One such development has been the installation of ‘point indicator’ lights at passing loops.

Mounted on posts at the approach to passing loops, a white light is controlled by detectors on each set of points, confirming to the driver that the route into the loop is correct, or ‘set’ (steady light = normal, flashing light = diverging/reverse, no light = stop and inspect). The last passing loop to be given this treatment, Miteside, will be tackled in the 2014/15 maintenance programme.

Another less obvious signalling development has been the installation of point machines. The first machine was installed on the crossover outside Ravenglass engine shed several years ago. Motor operated, the point is mechanically locked in position, providing what is known as a facing point lock (FPL).

The second machine to appear was recently installed at Dalegarth, operating the siding point and catchpoint (designed to prevent rolling stock inadvertently rolling on to the main line). A cabinet has been installed, providing guards with a control switch. This is less obtrusive than a groundframe which would have blocked the public footpath.

One further development at Dalegarth will be a point indicator light matching those at the intermediate loops. This will be much

The yellow boxes contain the detection units that prove the point is correctly set, in this case located on the crossover outside the engine shed. Photo: Phil Brown

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clearer for drivers to see than the current indicator, which can be challenging to pick out in bright sunshine.

With Dalegarth siding operational, S&T has turned its attention to Irton Road siding. The groundframe, with levers to control the siding point (plus a new catchpoint) and FPL, is being installed as this edition goes to press. The FPL is a design new to us, imported from the Ffestiniog Railway; the plan is to install a similar unit at Murthwaite once it has proved successful in operation at Irton Road.

The permanent way department is planning to replace six points around the railway this coming winter, all necessitating S&T attention. At Fisherground a new point is being fabricated which will require installation of detector units to operate the point indicator light (solar-powered rechargeable batteries provide electric at this remote location). A replacement scissors crossover for Ravenglass is also under construction off-site and, once installed, all four points will require connecting to the signal box. The point accessing platforms 2 or 3 is also to be replaced. Finally, with all this work being carried out at Ravenglass, the opportunity will be taken to renew the timbers that hold the rodding, wire pulleys and pivots exiting the signal box… No mean task for S&T!

Detection and FPL provide extra safety on the furthest machine-controlled point from the signal box. Point machine at Ravenglass. Photo: Phil Brown

Irton Road groundframe secured to a new concrete pad. The rodding and cranks are roughly laid out for reference. Photo: Neil Dickinson

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Permanent Way NotesDavid Moseley

At the time of writing (mid-October), extensive behind-the-scenes work has taken place in preparation for the winter.

Mention was made in the last notes of the first use for this railway of sleepers made of materials other than wood. The significance of this change to our track cannot be over-exaggerated. Other than the Ffestiniog we are the first ‘heritage’ railway in the United Kingdom to use these sleepers – other railways are watching the results with interest.

Certainly this change would have been forced on us sooner rather than later – there are likely to be restrictions on the importing of hardwood sleepers, while the use of home-grown softwood sleepers relies on adequate preservative treatment (the use of creosote is being stopped shortly).

The first item on plastic sleepers to be delivered will be the new left-hand points for Fisherground. These will be installed during the first of this season’s Track Weeks in November. The plain track will also be on plastic sleepers – this year with Pandrol plates and clips rather than screws and clips. These sleepers were due to arrive in the third week of October.

There will also be extensive drainage works and tree clearance. As a result of changing the points there will be some extra work for our small but perfectly formed S&T department, who will have to install detection on

Vegetation clearance in progress at Miteside: the flail with Lady Wakefield crosses two passenger trains at once! Photo: David Moseley

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the new points. The track and ancillary works have to be complete to allow Santa trains to run in late November.

During the quarter just passed we have again been out on a regular basis tending to faults as they occur which have mainly been of a minor nature, such as fittings coming loose and the odd repacking of sleepers. Regular track walks show up any areas needing attention – generally these walks are done by the writer and his canine companions but occasionally other people come along.

Specific areas that have received attention include the bottom of Barrow Bank by the half-mile post where some joints received attention from the Jim Crow, along with repacking to take out a dip which was causing the coaches in particular to roll.

At the other end of the line some repacking has been done at Beckfoot platform where excessive super-elevation has been corrected. This fairly short length under the trees has seen considerable deterioration of the sleepers and will need relaying in its entirety before too long.

We have corrected dips and kinks in the track at Fisherground crossing which will keep it in order until relaying in November.

It is the vegetation that has been in receipt of a lot of our attention – mention was made in the last Magazine to the first half-mile stretch out of Ravenglass being transformed to a mostly neatly mown grass bank; several other areas have also

January Track Week 2015: come along and help to transform this very piece of railway line! Photo: David Moseley

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received a short back and sides throughout the summer whenever staff have been available. Areas such as Fisherground Halt have been cleared of brash and bracken and as a consequence look much tidier. The top of Hollin How has also been cleared and the area around Fisherground crossing has been opened up to improve visibility. A long length from Irton Road to Walk Mill has also been cleared fence to fence. The stretch of line from Eskdale Green crossing back towards Irton Road has been cleared of bracken twice over the summer – hopefully in future years we will be able to get through these stretches more quickly. Work has been much quicker since the Ferrari flail has been acquired – it can get through the grassy shoulders in a shorter space of time than the strimmer.

Like most aspects of trackwork, there is a boost to spirits when you can see the results of the hard work!

Thanks to the Society we are now the proud owners of a new rail-mounted trolley. Built by Ian Page, Dolly the trolley (as it has become known), has been painted and fitted with decking by our own volunteer staff and has proved its usefulness many times over already. Principally intended for transporting the flail, it will be used almost constantly over the winter for carrying the generators and tools around the work sites. More robust than the previous wooden trolley, it comes with its own ramp for loading.

Thanks to all the people who have helped this summer. We are always pleased to welcome new people to come out with us. Even if you can only come for the odd day, or half-day, we are pleased to see additional people to help spread the load.

Please remember we will be out on the track from Monday 5th January 2015 with a Track Week from Saturday 24th January through to Sunday 2nd February. Food will be provided at lunchtimes throughout Track Week and there will also be some evening entertainment on some nights during that week. Please come and help if you possibly can – it is enjoyable and rewarding work, and we like to think we are a good bunch to work with. We look forward to seeing you.

As soon as trains stop in January we will be replacing the crossover at Ravenglass along with the points to platforms 2 and 3. We also need to renew the track into Martin’s carriage and wagon workshop, from platform 1.

Track Week in late January should be on the section from Black Bridge to the one-mile post, where some new cross-track drains are required.

There is, of course, the track to be completed for the new workshop, which may be tackled throughout the period of Santa Trains.

As usual there is no shortage of work to do and we only have a short period of time available to complete it. Don’t forget you can follow us on our Facebook page: search for ‘Rat Track’, where regular written and photographic updates are posted (it’s even better if you’re with us to be in the photos!).

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The Cumbrian Railways AssociationPhilip Tuer

The Cumbrian Railways Association was founded in 1976 to cater for those interested in the fascinating history of railways in and around Cumbria and the Lake District. It is in effect the “line society” for the myriad of small railways in the county.

With a current membership of over four hundred, we produce a regular journal which is distributed to all members four times a year. The Association also publishes a series of highly regarded books on various aspects of local railway history.

A wide range of other services is also available to members including meetings with invited speakers from all areas of the railway world, regular guided walks and trips to look at aspects of railways in the county.

The modeller will find that we now produce etches for the popular Furness Railway platform seat [the squirrel bench! - Ed.] in both 4 and 7 mm scales. Also available are cast brass axleboxes and springs for pre-grouping coaches as built by Wright and Sons of Birmingham in 4 mm scale. A large number of railways purchased coaches from them so they will suit many modellers. Plans, articles and access to a major photograph collection will also assist the modeller of any of the railways that ran in Cumbria.

In recent years members of the CRA have heard about the Ratty as well as paying a visit or two. The CRA has a collection of photographs of the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, both of the early three-foot as well as fifteen-inch gauge lines, if you would like copies then we are always willing to provide them, for a small fee, either in hard copy or modern digital format. A number of articles have appeared over the years, especially in early Journals, which can be made available to interested persons.

www.cumbrianrailways.org.uk

The Passenger Tractor at Dalegarth, just one of many photos in the CRA Archive. Photo: CRA Archive

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Martin WilleyA tribute, introduced by Trevor Stockton

Martin passed away suddenly on the afternoon of Saturday 25th October.

Martin’s death has been an immense shock to everyone. Seemingly in good health, and never shy of hard work, his passing will be difficult to come to terms with.

For those that knew Martin, and he had many friends, he was one of life’s characters, honest and hard working, never frightened to meet a task head-on, and a good problem solver. The phrase “never frightened to get his hands dirty” must have been thought up with Martin in mind!

I first worked with Martin around 1970 and certainly by 1971 we were both guarding and would be at Ravenglass at the same time, being older than me and more-or-less resident in Skid Row, he was very much the senior to me. This meant he was allowed to drive the diesels, etc. and work the signal box when shunting! By 1972 Martin was in full-time employment with the railway and very much part of the Ravenglass scene when I returned to do my last spell of volunteering in autumn 1972.

Martin was part of the winter track gang for few years and our sanctuary for ‘bait’ was the converted four-wheeler tool van where we would huddle round a paraffin heater to keep warm. However, it soon became apparent that the ever-increasing carriage fleet needed someone to keep an eye on it; although all the gang would be involved at some stage in wet weather, it was Martin that pulled together what we know today as the Carriage and Wagon Department.

Martin Willey with Bonnie Dundee at Fisherground water tank - a fondly remembered scene for many. Photo: R&ER Archive

Health and Safety (H&S) was Horrible and Scary to Martin and the introduction of paperwork to his department was viewed with trepidation, but he did embrace it and the enduring testament was a fleet of forty-six-plus carriages that ran a collective 250,000 miles a year. In traffic failures were more-or-less non-existent – a remarkable achievement.

A driver of all the locomotives, chainsaw and weedkilling operative, down a drain, in a water tank, on a coal stage (and that was sometimes just in one day!), a jack of all trades that every railway should have and we have now lost.

Our thoughts are with Martin’s partner Carol, his brother Peter and sisters Judith and Caroline.

Andrew Barnes, General Manager, BVR – All of us at the BVR send our condolences. Martin was well known and liked at Aylsham and his death has come as a real shock.

Danny Martin, General Manager, RHDR – I am sure I speak for everyone at Romney in sending our condolences to Martin’s family and to everyone at Ravenglass. He was one of the legendary characters that make the fifteen-inch gauge fraternity a family and a very special one.

Graham Worsnop – His knowledge of all things railway in Cumbria, not just the Ratty, was amazing. He will be very sadly missed.

Chris Ambler – I knew Martin through Chris Harrison and his dad Stuart, when I used to go out and about on their traction engine. He will be sadly missed. [It should not be forgotten that Martin was part of an exciting adventure (filmed for television and still available on DVD), Steam on the Lakeland Passes, in which Stuart’s traction engine Western Star took to the 1-in-3 gradients of Hardknott Pass. – Ed.]

Peter Smith – One of my most amusing memories of Martin was when I and three of my RHDR colleagues turned up, out of the blue, at Ravenglass in the 1970s. Spotting us in the cafeteria, Martin was heard to remark, “Look out, it’s the opposition!” How much ‘opposition’ we represented from three hundred miles away was never adequately explained! All the best, Martin; you’ll be much missed.

Adrian Smith – I remember with great affection the many hours spent on the lineside clearance working parties in the early nineties that became known as The Willey Gang. The look on Martin’s face when we all turned up with Willey Gang baseball hats (with chainsaw logo) was priceless. Rest in peace, Martin.

Di Chase – Martin had the bluest eyes of anyone I have ever known. He was certainly a maverick, but with a lovely self-deprecatory humour. He would help anyone in need without a second thought. He was remarkably ‘constant’ and never changed. I still can’t believe that he’s no longer around.

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On the Mend: the Engineers’ Workshop

The remains of the workshop under deconstruction, April 2013. Photo: Dick Smith

A year on, May 2014, and still in the demolition phase. Photo: Simon Thompson

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On the Mend: the Engineers’ Workshop

The outline of the new workshop becomes apparent, September 2014. Photo: David Gray

The blockwork taking shape, with the new crane gantry (in yellow) just visible inside the building. Photo: Stephen Farish

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From the Secretary’s DeskMungo Stacy, R&ER Preservation Society Honorary Secretary

Festive foodThe volunteers’ and staff Christmas Dinner will be held this year in the Victoria Hotel, Drigg on Saturday 13th December.

For anyone out there who thinks there is no such thing as a free lunch, we would encourage you to come along to Track Week from Saturday 24th January to Sunday 1st February 2015. Lunch will be provided.

Volunteer drivers

Volunteers can train and work on the railway as three categories of driver: shunter, diesel driver and steam driver.

For the 2015 season, there will be an opportunity for one volunteer to train as a shunter. As has happened previously, a formal application process will be run. Application forms are available from the Secretary (contact details on page 2 of this Magazine). The deadline for applications is Monday 26th January 2015. The application pack gives full details of the role, application process, selection criteria and timescales.

Douglas Ferreira shunts away stock, 20th September 2009. Photo: John Mitcheson

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New Steam Locomotive

The most contentious part of this project (after deciding on what colour to paint it) will obviously be what name to give the locomotive, should it be progressed. It is therefore being referred to by the top secret codename of ‘Number 12’.

The location of the build is under consideration. Although there could be benefits to having it built at Ravenglass, there would be a number of challenges to overcome, with the staff needing to get used to the new workshop, appoint a new assistant engineer and catch up on the backlog of maintenance to the existing fleet. Options for outsourcing the work are also being reviewed.

It is intended to produce a more detailed design specification by the end of the year which could be the basis of obtaining formal quotes.

We are looking for people who are willing to get involved with or lead fundraising, promotional or publicity activities – please contact the Secretary (contact details on page 2) if you could help turn this vision into reality.

Membership

Since the updated Society website went live earlier this year, most renewals have been coming in online. We encourage members to use this facility when renewing. There is a link from the front page of the website: www.rerps.co.uk

Payments can be taken by credit/debit card using the PayPal system. The online form gives the option to renew individually or as a family, to add or remove family members as required and to include a donation.

The new website provides a member-only area. Minutes of the September Council meeting have been published in this area and it is intended to publish future meeting minutes here, to allow members ready access to the Council’s discussions.

A few issues have been noted with membership cards apparently being used as a general ‘free pass’ from some guest houses. Members are reminded that cards are non-transferable. It has been agreed with the Company that an additional form of ID may be requested at the discretion of the booking clerk. The wording on next year’s membership cards will be amended appropriately and will read as follows:

This card entitles the member of the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway Preservation Society named overleaf to free travel on the railway subject to any conditions which may be from time to time in force.You may be asked to provide additional identification in support of its use.NOT TRANSFERABLESubject to terms and conditions, see rerps.co.uk/members

The Company is progressing working member cards. These will allow discounts for working volunteers who visit other railways which are members of the Heritage Railway Association.

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Projects

The dry stone wallers will return for a day to The Green to carry out some further work to the wall. It is also intended to re-tarmac the platform to give a neater appearance.

It is expected that work on the Dalegarth water column will start over the winter.

At Fisherground it remains the intention to raise and clearly define the platform area.

The Museum

Considerable activity has taken place behind the scenes securing grants for the museum project. Funding has been attracted from the Fisheries Local Action Group, Copeland Community Fund, the Trust, the Railway Company, the Cumbrian Railways Association, Historic Model Railways Society and the Heywood Society.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has given ‘stage one’ approval and made available a development grant. This will allow for the full application to be developed in more detail.

The Heritage Lottery Fund has also indicated that they are happy for a two-phase approach to be taken, including spending of the money that is currently

How it used to look! The Green on 25th June 2013. Photo: Howard Mills

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available. This will allow some money to be spent on improving the existing building and is not dependent on full funding being granted for the entire development. This could also de-link the refurbishment of the existing museum from the land transfer. Further work with the Heritage Lottery Fund application will require consideration of how people engage with the exhibits, in addition to just displaying objects.

First phase works are likely to be carried out this winter to avoid losing money already committed. This will most likely refurbish the existing museum and potentially enclose the ramp, rewire the building, provide new lighting and displays.

Proposals for the full development and enclosure of the compound area have been discussed with the local planning officers. A planning application has been submitted.

Other updates

Minor building works will be carried out to Heywood House to address a couple of damp patches.

Terry Williams has been appointed as Sales Officer.

A bequest for £10,000 has been received from the estate of Mr Thomas Jones to the Preservation Society.

Lady Wakefield with the new, taller bonnet, passes Murthwaite Halt with the Eskdale Belle in tow. Photo: Christopher Glover

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Volunteering UpdatePeter Mills, Volunteer Liaison Officer

Our railway is one of the best in the UK, running through some of the most beautiful scenery that there is to see. One of our strengths, and it makes one of the most significant contributions, is the volunteers who help run the railway. Without such help, the task of maintaining the high standards that I think we achieve would be near impossible. It is apparent that other railways within the heritage area are struggling to attract volunteers to maintain a volunteer workforce and service. One point of view is that, historically, railways have attracted a volunteer of a certain age, who remembers steam before 1968 and has time on his or her hands and the inclination to help. Today in 2014, it is a different scenario. There are far more people through various circumstances looking at volunteering on whatever project or cause that they wish to support. The London Olympics is a good example where the general public was suitably empowered to become ‘games makers’, with some of our own volunteers taking part in the scheme.

I have mentioned volunteers of a certain age. Age is no barrier, but if all volunteers are the same age, then in a certain number of years we will run out of them. Without succession planning and continual recruitment there will be manpower issues which could affect how you run your railway, and what services are possible to maintain. I must make it very clear that all volunteers on our railway are important, valued and welcomed regardless, and a cross-range of ages is important. A working volunteer may only be free at weekends, though someone who works part-time or who has free time during the week can give more time ‘Monday to Friday’. The two go hand in hand, so a breadth of age is one of our major strengths within our volunteer workforce. Using volunteers from all backgrounds gives us the best chance to ensure that the volunteering side of the railway continually evolves and succeeds; we must continue to bring new people into the fold whatever their age.

We are very good at using our experienced volunteers to support and train new volunteers to the railway; the ‘buddy’ system is the best way for new people to learn how to guard, etc. in a ‘hands on’ practical way. This was recently demonstrated when we had a work experience volunteer from school. This was arranged alongside the school and the person in question enjoyed his week with us. He enjoyed his time so much that he has come back throughout the summer to train as a guard. Daniel Duckworth recently had his sixteenth birthday and celebrated by passing out as a guard. Congratulations Daniel, we wish you well in your guarding career on the railway.

There is another side to this, and it’s the reason that I mentioned this particular example. Today in the competitive job seekers’ market volunteering can be important. If you are a recent school leaver or coming out of further education,

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and you have current volunteering experience on your CV when job hunting, then employers see you in a much more favourable light; as a result, you might stand a better chance against other candidates who are without the life skills you learnt whilst volunteering beforehand. Maybe this is something that we should explore and think about in more detail in the next year.

In essence, we need a balanced volunteer workforce from all backgrounds, encapsulating the history, experience and enthusiasm of all involved to succeed and thrive. We are very good at this and we are the envy of many other organisations in this respect.

Next year is an important year in our history, celebrating one hundred years of the fifteen-inch gauge railway. We should be proud of what we have achieved in preservation, and proud to celebrate our success as a Society. But we need to continue being proactive in promoting volunteering; we need to encourage, recruit and ensure that we continue to do things to the best of our abilities.

The Council has discussed various ideas and improvmements for encouraging involvment and interaction from visitors, many of which aim to promote volunteering; for example, a new poster has been created to go alongside the existing station information boards regarding volunteering oportunities. Our website has been updated and improved, giving details of how people can get involved in volunteering. The volunteering leaflet is being updated and improved with up-to-date information. We have a new and shiny sales coach or, as we like to call it, our ‘on line shop’ (because it sits on the line). There’s no “www-dot” that comes with this version of ‘on line’ retail therapy! We can link this in with having a Society stand promoting volunteering on the railway on various days throughout the year. The Society stand boards will be reviewed and improved if needed with up-to-date information and photographs. We are taking the stand to several local model railway exhibitions and local shows to interact with visitors there. Remember that families go to local events and often visitors to our railway were first brought when they were children by members of their family; this can be a useful recruiting tool.

Hopefully more articles will appear in future issues showing details of our progress and ideas to encourage volunteer recruitment and examples of different aspects of volunteering on our railway.

Until then, thank you all for the valuable contribution that you make as volunteers.

Volunteers at work: Station Master Gwyn Murfet and Jackie Pharaoh, driving River Mite, at Irton Road, Jubilee week 2012. Photo: Peter Mills

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One Hundred and Forty Years AgoPeter van Zeller

Exactly one hundred and forty years ago, local papers recorded the first trains that ran on the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway with glowing reports from George Gordon Page, the engineer in charge of the project, and Thomas Rosewarne, the Mine Captain for Whitehaven Iron Mines Limited’s Eskdale workings. The railway contractor and a fifty per cent shareholder, Ambrose Oliver brought his own loco to aid construction and work the first trains, the identity of which is now quite obscure despite a long-standing challenge to experts in the Industrial and Narrow Gauge Railway Societies. This preceded the use of the railway throughout for goods in early May 1875 using Devon, then newly delivered from Manning Wardle & Co. Leeds, and eventually opening to passengers on 20th November 1876 shortly after the arrival of sister loco Nabb Gill.

The portion of the line with its very sharp curves past Fisherground and Spout House Farms, on land owned by Edward Sharpe, was significant because it allowed access to the ore from the Ban Garth workings that came down the Fisherground inclined railway. The route was subject to a dispute that was to echo through the following half century as the solicitor for the Sharpe family was John Musgrave. Whitehaven Record Office has a file of a wad of small notes sent by Sharpe of the work in progress, claiming for damage by trespass whenever he could. He even complained that Spout House Bridge was in the wrong place – by eighteen feet! They would all have been amazed by the compact machinery used to rebuild the bridge approach walls this summer of 2014.

Report from the Cumberland Pacquet, 6th October 1874

“In a recent issue we referred to the proposed construction of a railway from Ravenglass to Eskdale. This is now an accomplished fact. The works were commenced at the latter end of February last, and since that date the whole of the land, with the exception of a very short piece, has been taken, and the railway formed thereon. The rails are now being laid and the line ballasted, and it is expected that by the end of October the greater portion of the line will be fit for traffic. The line is being constructed by Mr Ambrose Oliver, for the Company, on a three feet gauge – a gauge much advocated for light railways as feeders to the main lines. Sufficient land has, however, been taken for the construction of a double line on the ordinary gauge. The most important of the works is at Ravenglass station, on the Furness line, where the railway is brought in on two different levels – one the high level for delivery of iron ore on to the Furness line, and the other the low level for ordinary goods, and if it should be though desirable, for passengers. The line runs partly through the valleys of the Mite (along by Muncaster Fell) and the Esk, terminating at the Eskdale Iron Mines, now being worked by the Whitehaven Iron Mining Company. It opens up an entirely new district, where iron ore is proved to exist, but which

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could not be properly worked in consequence of the difficulty of transport and want of railway communication. The works of this railway are well worth a visit, as showing how a line may be constructed cheaply, substantially, and expeditiously, through a rough and mountainous country. The average gradient of the line is 1-in-109. With the beauty of the Esk valley most of our readers are no doubt well acquainted. Stanley Gill, at Eskdale, is a favourite resort of tourists. The railway will start with the traffic from the Eskdale Mines, and there is no doubt the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway will prove financially successful.”

Report from the Engineer, George Gordon Page, 25th November 1874

“I beg to report that I visited the works on the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st inst. The road is nearly all formed to Nabb Gill, with the exception of the portion through Edward Sharpe’s land, which is not yet in the hands of the contractor, and is the cause of delaying the completion of the formation of this portion, a length of about half-a-mile.

The high level tip is built up to the level of the wall plates for carrying the crossbeams. I am of opinion it will be necessary to place two five-feet diameter turntables at the end of it for transferring the empty trucks on to the down line as they are discharged into the Furness trucks.” (Keith Davies concluded the Ravenglass high level may never have been completed, but the excavations past the signal box for an electric cable to the workshops in February 2013 revealed powdered iron ore in the support wall by the camping coach.)

“The girders and flooring for the low level section of the bridge at Ravenglass are in place. The ‘King of Prussia’ bridge is open to the public. The contractor’s locomotive is working between Ravenglass and three miles fourteen chains, which is halfway between Murthwaite and Walk Mill, the permanent way being laid up to this point.

The contractor has a strong gang of platelayers at work (about forty) and all the necessary permanent way materials. I anticipate, if the weather is favourable and the locomotive kept in working order, that the road will be laid as far as Hollowstones Bridge [now Irton Road] in about a fortnight. The ore could then be carried over the line from this point and transhipped into the Furness trucks by using Mr

Horses and carts meet the three-foot railway at Hollowstones (Irton Road). Photo: R&ER Archive

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Oliver’s branch line to the goods siding at Ravenglass station, until such time as the high level tip is complete and the Furness siding alongside.

A very short space of time would be occupied in laying the permanent way on to the ‘King of Prussia’ bridge, the distance being only fifty-nine chains, or three-quarters of a mile. The ore could then be run from the ‘King of Prussia’ bridge. A temporary shoot on the side of the bridge would enable carts to tip direct into our trucks.

On Saturday last two hundred tons of rails, two thousand and forty fishplates, two thousand sleepers, and one truck of fencing, arrived at Ravenglass, so that there is now every prospect of the line being rapidly completed as far as five-and-three-quarter miles, i.e. up to Edward Sharpe’s land.”

Captain Rosewarne detailed progress in the various mine workings in the New Year – and noted for the rail enthustiasts that, at Ban Garth… “The day men have been engaged in tramming out and sending down ore, and extending the incline road to meet the railway.

Carriers commenced taking ore down to the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway at ‘King of Prussia’ bridge on Tuesday, the 12th inst. Eskdale, 13th January 1875.”

The ledgers for transport of ore by road to the Furness Railway at Drigg survive amazingly in Lancashire Record Office. Original documents are spread around and often restricted for access. One of the aims of the railway museum project is to create a readily accessible digital archive that can be built up as material is located.

Some years later: the remains of sleepers on the girder bridge over the Esk, of the Gill Force Tramway. Photo: R&ER Archive

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Thoughts on the Gill Force TramwayAlbyn Austin

The layout of the tracks at the Ratty extension to the Gill Force mine has always been a bit of a mystery. About forty years back it was possible to enter the main horizontal level that began just over the bridge across the Gill. This ran for a few yards until it was blocked by a roof fall, where a large pocket of ore seemed to have been worked out.

The mine working was in fact on two levels, with a low drainage channel below the main access route which had a two-foot gauge tramway running along it at well above the height of the track bed outside. This appeared probably to have been three-foot gauge track, judging by the width of the small cutting leading to a tip.

It was presumed there was some sort of loading bank to empty the two-foot gauge wagons into the three-foot ones below, but this seemed an unusual way of doing things.

However the attached photo, courtesy of Jonathan Wignall, makes all clear by showing what appears to be a similar set up to the one shown for the B33 Trial Pit at Lindal Moor, probably photographed about 1906 when it was reopened by the recently reorganised Harrison Ainslie Co. See ‘The Red Earth’ by Dave Kelly, p79-80, ISBN 0 9534779 0 8.

Of course Gill Force didn’t have a shaft – the wagons would just have appeared out of the tunnel mouth on to the raised platform, probably just high enough to clear the open wagons used for the ore and waste. Evidently the ore soon ran out and no more was ever found despite numerous trials in the area.

The Gill Force Way? B33 Pit at Lindal. Photo: Jonathan Wignall Collection

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A Little Mystery…Bob Tebb

The attached photo shows a pair of brass tallies, believed to be connected in some way with Beckfoot Quarry or Murthwaite Crusher (or both!).

There are not many of these, with surviving numbers ranging from one to seven. They are obviously arranged in pairs of the same number, one tally having a hole drilled in the centre. The survivors have substantial strings on them, obviously for tying to something.

Graham Withers included a couple of these in one of his fundraising raffles at a Society do at Santon Bridge some years ago (frustratingly for me, my wife Kath won one and I didn’t!). His theory then was that they were perhaps connected with output of full wagons from Beckfoot Quarry, when the men were on piecework, and it was important to know what every man had produced each day.

These are items for the museum extension – but just what were they used for?

Young Poets’ Corner

Clicketty-clack, clicketty-clack, The train is going along the track. Whoo whoo! Toot, toot! We’re travelling along the route. Huffing, chuffing, turning around, Steaming away, we’re Eskdale bound. Smokey smell in the air, Steam on faces, soot everywhere. Wibbble, Wobble, rattle, hiss, Screeching past fields, views like this. Bouncing, shuffling up the hill, Coming down is a bigger thrill.

This most excellent poem was written by two young visitors to the railway – Thomas and Kathryn Jenkins – and sent to us courtesy of Visitor Services. The photograph, which shows Phil Brown turning River Mite at Dalegarth on a winter’s day, was taken by another young enthusiast, Thomas Whipp (aged seven).

Photo: Bob Tebb

Photo: Thomas Whipp

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A Visit to EdavilleVolunteer guard Anthony Payne has been on his travels again…

Cranberries are recommended as a superfood with many properties, but they were used by Native Americans in a variety of ways and were introduced by them to the settlers from the Old World.

Now they are grown in “bogs” – areas of soft marshy ground with acid peaty soil on which the cranberries grow on vines. When they are ready to harvest, the ground is flooded to a depth of eighteen inches, and a machine separates the berries from the stalk so that they float to the surface and are easy to collect.

What has all this to do with the Ratty?

In order to collect up the cranberries, some plantation owners used narrow gauge railways to haul trucks round their estates, and one of them, Ellis D. Attwood, constructed a two-foot gauge line to run for five-and-a-half miles round his 1,800 acre estate at Carver, Massachusetts, in the early 1940s, buying up rails and rolling stock from other railroads which had gone under because of competition from road transport.

At first he gave rides on his trains to visitors for free, but as demand soared he charged a nickel a ride, and gradually added fairground rides and other attractions, so that the amusement park aspect of things took over from the working railway. He called his attraction “Edaville”, based on his initials, and although he died in 1950, the family still retains oversight over the park.

The train is pulled by an authentic old locomotive with the distinctive smoke stack and “whoo whoo” whistle, and it trundles gently on a twenty-minute circle through the cranberry bogs and pine forest, giving an excellent view of the fairground rides within the area of the track: outside the track, Christmas figures are lit up for children to see. At various points in the park, standard gauge steam and diesel locomotives can be seen, and would-be drivers can climb aboard!

There are special events throughout the year, including a national cranberry festival at harvest time, and Hallowe’en pumpkins throughout October. You can even meet Thomas and Sir Topham Hatt!

Trundling through bogs and forest: the train at Edaville. Photo: Anthony Payne

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CorrespondenceFrom Geoff Holland, by e-mail:

Merrick Tomlinson’s letter [Correspondence, 214] contains a basic factual error, in that the building of the two LNER P2 locomotives is by separate organisations. One, to build a replica of the streamlined version of Cock O’ The North, is by the Doncaster P2 Locomotive Trust. The other P2 is approximately a replica of the original Cock O’ The North as first built, without the streamlined front. This version will have valve gear and operability detail modifications, and will be named Prince of Wales. It is being built by the P2 Steam Locomotive Company, which is an off-shoot of the A1 Steam Locomotive Trust, which built A1 Tornado. The Doncaster P2 Locomotive Trust has been in existence for several years, though progress has been slow. The P2 Steam Locomotive Company only started in 2013 but, on the back of a proven track record with Tornado, it has made huge progress, and will probably be complete quicker than most loco restoration projects. There will probably be some cooperation between the two organisations in terms of parts manufacture.

Turning to the R&ER new locomotive proposal, Merrick is quite right: the railway should consider building more than one. Ideally, what is needed is five locos to run the high season service, plus one operable spare, plus one being overhauled – so seven needed in total. This is approximately the position the Bure Valley and the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railways are in, hence their ability to

loan out their operable spares to keep the R&ER in steam. If the R&ER cannot learn now from this lesson, and get itself properly equipped, it probably never will. Funding would be quite straightforward, if the Railway, not the Preservation Society, took a good, honest look at where the money should be coming from.

Wroxham Broad and River Irt running alongside the Mite estuary, August Bank Holiday weekend. Photo: Jackie Pharaoh

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From Des Bowes, by e-mail:

Bob Tebb’s column on R&ER tickets in the June 2014 Magazine was very interesting and he is quite correct in assuming services also ran later on the main line to connect off the valley signal boxes between B a r r o w - i n -Furness and W h i t e h a v e n were once opened for extended hours compared with those of today. This was largely due to the significant volumes of freight traffic carried which in turn allowed later passenger trains to run. Industrial decline in West Cumbria impacted heavily on freight volumes, while passenger business was insufficient to sustain long opening times at the numerous stations and level crossings.

Before rationalisation crept in, my 1958 London Midland Region Timetable shows trains departing north from Ravenglass at 19.36 (11.50 from Euston), 21.24 and on Saturdays 22.23. The latter started at Liverpool Exchange and ran daily but did not stop at Ravenglass Mondays to Fridays! The last train south departed at 21.35. The line also opened on Sundays with a first departure being south to London at 09.24 (restaurant car from Barrow!). The last departure at 20.18 was to Workington, connecting from the 11.05 London-Barrow. Signal box opening and closing hours in the 1960s were initially designed for the passage of the morning and evening ‘Travelling Post Office’ trains, while Sellafield workers’ hours are no doubt the determining factor today.

In the various old timetables I have, there is little evidence of Ratty running late evening trains on a regular timetabled basis. I would venture to suggest that the ‘time specific’ train tickets shown in Bob Tebb’s article may have been issued in conjunction with special events (such as Eskdale Show perhaps?) rather than as a matter of course.

Hercules and River Irt lift a packed train away from The Green, August Bank Holiday weekend. Photo: Keith Herbert

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Forty Years AgoJohn Taylor

Edited highlights of previous editions of the Society’s Newsletters/Magazines:

Issue No. 56: dated Winter 1974/75

The cover picture was an impression of the Centenary Year logo 1875-1975.

Our New Steam Engine

Preservation Society Members will know that for some time we [the Company] have been planning to build a new steam engine which we have badly needed to deal with the extra traffic generated in the seventies. Our new steam engine is becoming a reality because the English Tourist Board are prepared to make a grant of up to forty-nine per cent of the cost. This is wonderful news and we have lost no time in getting on with the job. We have decided that with our skilled and able staff equipped with the machines recently acquired our engineering workshops are now fully capable of carrying out the necessary machining and assembly work. We hope that it will be in steam in the Autumn ready for trials during the Winter and available for use during the centenary celebrations in 1976.

We have been giving a great deal of thought to the name of the new engine. We would like it to be the forerunner of a name series with local associations like our River Irt, River Esk and River Mite series. Rock has played an important part in our history. We are therefore going to name our first engine of the new Rock series of engines – Northern Rock. Possible names for further engines – we want another diesel – are Furness Rock, Cumbria Rock and Pillar Rock.

News from Ravenglass

The annual overhaul of the steam locos is being pressed forward rapidly so that as much time as possible can be spent on the new loco.

On the line, the appalling weather has held up work badly, although much re-sleepering and fencing have been done. The non-arrival of the new rail ordered for delivery this winter means that the re-laying and raising of the track over the Marsh has been postponed.

Martin Willey has been appointed keeper of the Whitlock digger and has been practising on the bank by the turntable making a way for the extension of the track in No.3 platform down towards the BR main line. There will be a headshunt by the BR signal box, giving access back into the new workshops in the BR warehouse.

In preparation for these works, the shop and booking office were jacked up and

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slid on greased rails fifteen yards to the southwest. A remarkable achievement which resulted in virtually no damage to the building!

After being discussed for many years, plans and grants have now been approved and work has started on the renovating of Dalegarth Cottages.

Working Party Report

The Railway Company had recently purchased a quantity of telegraph poles that used to grace the line between Egremont and Beckermet Mine. In October road transport brought them to Ravenglass, resulting in a pile of fifty-eight telegraph poles, sufficient for about two miles of the R&ER. In November a start was made digging the holes for the poles, and despite heavy showers holes were dug at sixty-yard intervals. In December, the major task was the erection of the telegraph poles which was completed to Miteside. This sounds simple, but fifteen-foot poles are not easily upended and dropped into three-foot holes.

The other task for the December working party was the setting up of the Miteside shelter. The bow section of an old Ravenglass fishing boat had been hauled to the site in July. Having levelled the ground, the bow was manoeuvred into position standing like a letter A. The General Manager opened the shelter by cutting an entrance in the deck with a chainsaw. It has since been used on wet winter mornings by a grateful member of staff.

The original Miteside shelter. Photo: R&ER Archive

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Who’s WhoA chance to meet some of the Ratty’s operating staff, introduced by Di Chase

Trevor Stockton has been a RERPS member since 1961, volunteering for the first time in 1967. Trevor was a trainee manager in the grocery trade before joining the railway staff in April 1973. From then, until the end of 1989, he was a full-time member of the operating staff; the main driver of River Mite for two years (1974-5) and

then Northern Rock for fourteen (1976-89). He was the Permanent Way Foreman from 1990 until 2000, and has been General Manager since January 2001. He still fulfils an operational role, variously controlling the trains or driving them.

Martin Cookman first came to the Ratty on holiday in the early 1970s, returning at the age of sixteen to volunteer. During the summers of 1971-1981 he was a resident of Skid Row (the ex-BR coach; the predecessor to Heywood House). He was employed on the summer staff in 1982 and, following a career in the army, joined the permanent staff in 2003. He worked as a relief driver, controller and member of the permanent way gang. He became the main controller in 2006, then was appointed to the new post of Assistant General Manager in 2007.

David Moseley’s first visit to the R&ER was in the mid-1970s. A volunteer on the Welshpool and Llanfair, he moved to Gateshead for the 1990 Garden Festival, where he drove River Irt, Northern Rock and Shelagh of Eskdale. Between 1991 and 1997 he was a paid employee at Welshpool, after which he spent a year working for Winson Engineering in Daventry and then eight years

running the Isle of Mull Railway. He joined the Ratty staff in 2007 as a relief driver and controller. He is now Permanent Way Foreman, assisted by his black Labrador Alice.

Stephen Farish was born and brought up locally, in Maryport, first visiting the Ratty in the mid-1970s. Trained in motor vehicle engineering, he has been employed at various car garages, working his way up to the position of Service Manager. He also spent six years working for the AA, and had stints in the electronics and agriculture industries. He has had an interest in railways since childhood, and joined the R&ER as Chief Engineer in the middle of 2013, bringing experience of diesel plant maintenance. There was, of course, no workshop when he arrived!

All photos: Di Chase

39The R&ER Magazine is published by the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway Preservation Society Ltd. 2014.

Registered office: The Station, Ravenglass, Cumbria CA18 1SW. Incorporated in England. Registered No. 697768. Printed by Craven Design and Print, Shropshire. www.cravendesignandprint.co.uk

Ratty Diary 2014E&OE. Please check dates and details nearer the time before travelling.

DATE EVENT CONTACT

DECEMBER

JANUARY 2015

FEBRUARY

MARCH

Saturday 13th -

Thursday 15th -

Saturday 14th -

Saturday 14th -

Saturday 14th -

Saturday 24th -

Sunday 1st -

February

Council Meeting, RavenglassChristmas Dinner, Drigg

Press deadline for March issue

Start of weekend service

Council Meeting, Ravenglass

Start of daily service

Track Week

Secretary

Editor

Ravenglass

Secretary

Ravenglass

Ravenglass

Full details of all Railway events can be seen on the website: http://ravenglass-railway.co.uk/events/

† Please book in advance

Hometime for Hercules, Saturday 11th October 2014. Photo: Will Sands

Back Cover: Dalegarth in the snow, March 2013. Photo: Gillian Temple