Friday 10th May

© Photos & Text Tom Chaffin

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Travel from Barrow-in-Furness to Ravenglass was on Northern Class 156, 156 483.  Here waiting departure on the 2C51 11.20 Barrow to Carlisle.

We alighted at Ravenglass, as our train departed, the 2C50 11.07 Carlisle to Lancaster arrived on the opposite platform, formed of 156 425, still with conventional destination blinds rather than the LED display on 156 483.  Northern has 47 Class 156s in total.

It was a short walk from the Ravenglass National Rail station to the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway station.  After a tour round the workshop, our guide gave us a tour of the museum.  

This is 0-4-0 No. 6 Katie, build in 1896 by Sir Arthur Heywood for the Eaton Hall Railway.  It was sold the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway in 1916 primarily for  works trains, but hauled passenger trains on occasions.  It then left in 1919 when it went to Southport then Fairbourne, it was then dismantled in 1929.  The remains were then displayed in the Narrow Gauge Museum in Tywyn.  In 1992 the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway Heritage Group then raised funds to restore the locomotive to original condition which was finished in 2017

W.J. Bassett – Lowke engines Little Giant on the left and Synolda on the right.  Little Giant was the first  15inch gauge Atlantic designed by Henry Greenly and built by Bassett-Lowe and was built in 1905 and was first used on the South Shore Railway in Blackpool before being used on other railways in the North of England.  It cost £323 when new.

Quarryman, built in 1927.   

It was originally built by Muir-Hill, using a Fordson tractor engine and was originally used to carry granite cargo from Beckfoot Quarry until 1953.  This engine is an early example of narrow-gauge internal combustion engine and was still working on permanent way duties until 1980,  

No 1 Bunny - originally built in 1922 with a Ford Model T engine, when later rebuilt after a collision it  and holds the record for the fastest recorded end-to-end journey on the railway of just 15 minutes and was withdrawn in 1959.   It was restored to original condition with a Model T engine in the 1990s by preservation society volunteers.

We alighted at Ravenglass, as our train departed, the 2C50 11.07 Carlisle to Lancaster arrived on the opposite platform, formed of 156 425, still with

We alighted at Ravenglass, as our train departed, the 2C50 11.07 Carlisle to Lancaster arrived on the opposite platform, formed of 156 425, still with

We alighted at Ravenglass, as our train departed, the 2C50 11.07 Carlisle to Lancaster arrived on the opposite platform, formed of 156 425, still with

We alighted at Ravenglass, as our train departed, the 2C50 11.07 Carlisle to Lancaster arrived on the opposite platform, formed of 156 425, still with

We alighted at Ravenglass, as our train departed, the 2C50 11.07 Carlisle to Lancaster arrived on the opposite platform, formed of 156 425, still with

We alighted at Ravenglass, as our train departed, the 2C50 11.07 Carlisle to Lancaster arrived on the opposite platform, formed of 156 425, still with

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