The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway
- The Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway
- For a very minor line, only seven miles long, the R&ER has had a disproportionately tangled history. Built specifically to carry iron ore, it saw its main traffic fail within a few years of opening and then spent nearly thirty years more in chancery, its ever more decrepit Trains pottering up and down the valley while revival schemes rose and fell.
- After a period of dereliction which should have ensured its demise, it was revived by another company and converted to 15in gauge pleasure line - all in the middle of a world war and quite without legal authorisation! How it then once more acquired mineral traffic, ran its own quarries, built or rebuilt its own locomotives and stock, and passed in the process through several more changes of management, makes a fascinating story.
- In 1960 it again seemed certain to close, but railway preservationists rallied to save it and under new management as a steam narrow gauge railway it is today very firmly part of lakeland's tourist amenities. New and rebuilt locomotives, more coaches and additional passing loops have all been needed to cope with traffic increases, and, while retaining all the charm of a steam railway, modern technology also has a place, for the line is being used in proving trials of train movement control by radio, the first of its type in Britain
- 200 pages, 1981 2nd Edition, Case bound, 5¾" x 8¾"
- ISBN-10 0715381946
- ISBN-13 9780715381946
- Pre-Owned, excellent
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Railway Line & Region Histories
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