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From Ratty
The Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway is a 15 inch gauge railway located entirely in the Lake District National Park, in Cumbria, a county in the United Kingdom. The line is famous for once being the smallest public railway in the world, and a popular Lakeland tourist attraction, travelling from the Roman port of Ravenglass, around the base of Muncaster Fell, through the village of Eskdale Green to Dalegarth, near the village of Boot.
Steam engines haul trains for the majority of the year, and only January is considered to be a "closed" month. During high summer, there can be as many as sixteen trains a day in each direction, with seven or eight coaches on each train, capable of carrying many passengers to the heart of the Lake District.
The Line was built in 1875 to 3 foot gauge, but was closed in the 1910s. W.J. Bassett-Lowke found the line and decided to re-open it as a tourist attraction, to the 15 inch gauge that he pioneered, and from 1915, trains have never ceased running, except during the second world war.
In 2000, the railway celebrated it's 125th anniversary with Ratty 125, and the following year, 125 years since the first passenger train was celebrated.
The Railway and its assets are owned and staffed by the R&ER Co. Ltd., but two locomotives and the majority of the workforce is provided by the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway Preservation Society Ltd, which was formed in 1960 to save the railway when it was put up for auction.
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Stock List
The Current Locomotive Fleet
- ICL No. 1
- Quarryman
- Perkins
- Shelagh of Eskdale
- Lady Wakefield
- Cyril
- Greenbat
- Blacolvesley
- Les
- Douglas Ferreira
Locomotives of the Past
Coaching Stock Fleet
- Open bogie coaches - 166, 169, 269, 369, 469, 170, 270, 370 and 187.
- Open/Guard bogie coaches - 271, 371, 287 and 199.
- Semi-open bogie coaches - 101, 108, 109, 116, 117, 124, 125 and 126.
- Semi-open/Disabled bogie coaches - 127, 128, 129.
- Saloon bogie coaches - 102, 105, 106, 107, 110, 111, 113, 114, 115, 119, 121, 122 and 136.
- Saloon/Disabled bogie coaches - 118, 123 and 137.
- Saloon/Guard bogie coaches - 103, 104, 112 and 120.
- Maxi Saloon bogie coaches - 131, 132, 134 and 135.
- Maxi Saloon/Guard bogie coach - 133.
- Maxi Saloon/Bar bogie coach - 130.
- Bassett-Lowke 4-wheel open coach - 10.
- Dawson 4-wheel semi-open coach - 32.
- Teak open bogie coach - 627.
Departmental Stock Fleet
- 4-wheel Flat Wagons - A, B, D, E, F, G, H, J, K, L, M and N.
- Rail Bender - I.
- Sleigh - S.
- Tank Wagon - T.
- Emergency Van - U.
- Mess Van - V.
- Flail Mower - Anita.
- Man Rider - X.
- Bogie Flat Wagon - W.
The engineering workshops have four wagons - a boiler flat, a flat wagon, a diesel engine overhaul frame and a hydraulic wheel press frame.
The Route
- Ravenglass (0 miles)
- Raven Villa (1/4 miles)
- Barrow Marsh (1/2-1 mile)
- Black Bridge (1 mile)
- Muncaster Mill (1 1/8 miles)
- Mill Race (1 3/8 miles)
- Mill Wood (1 1/2 miles)
- Miteside (1 5/8 miles)
- Miteside Loop (1 3/4 miles)
- Katie Caddy (2 miles)
- Wet Cutting (2 1/8 miles)
- Murthwaite Ground Frame (2 1/2 miles)
- Murthwaite (2 3/4 miles)
- Horsefalls (3 miles)
- Rock Point (3 1/4 miles)
- Walk Mill Summit (3 1/2 miles)
- Black Bridge (3 7/8 miles)
- Irton Road (4-4 1/4 miles)
- Long Yocking (4 1/2 miles)
- The Chicken Run (4 5/8 miles)
- The Green (4 3/4 miles)
- Hollin How Bank (4 7/8 miles)
- Fisherground Crossing (5 1/4 miles)
- Fisherground Loop (5 3/8 miles)
- Fisherground (5 1/2 miles)
- Spout House Curve (5 3/4 miles)
- Little Cutting (5 7/8 miles)
- Gilbert's Cutting (6 miles)
- Beckfoot Smithy (6 1/8 miles)
- Beckfoot Quarry (6 3/16 miles)
- Big Stone (6 1/4 miles)
- Beckfoot (6 1/2 miles)
- Beckfoot Bank (6 5/8 miles)
- Dalegarth Cottages (6 3/4 miles)
- Dalegarth (6 7/8 miles)
