Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
Fairburn 2-6-4T No. 2085 in Caledonian Railway colours being serviced by volunteers of the Lakeside Railway Society at Haverthwaite L&HR in 1976
Locale Cumbria, England
Terminus Lakeside
Commercial operations
Name Ulverston to Lakeside Line
Built by Furness Railway
Original gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Preserved operations
Operated by Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
Stations 3
Length 3.2 miles (5.1 km)
Preserved gauge 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm)
Commercial history
Opened 1 June 1869
Closed 6 September 1965
Preservation history
Opened 2 May 1973
Headquarters Haverthwaite

The Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway (L&HR) is a 3.2 miles (5.1 km) long heritage railway in Cumbria, England.

Contents

Location [edit]

The L&HR runs from Haverthwaite at the southern end of the line via Newby Bridge to Lakeside at the southern end of Windermere. Some services are timed to connect with sailings of the diesel excursion vessels or steam vessels on Windermere, sailing from Lakeside to Bowness and Ambleside.

Furness Railway operation of the branch line [edit]

The railway is a former branch line of the Furness Railway (FR) and was opened on 1 June 1869.[1] The line was served by local passenger trains which started their journey at Ulverston on the FR's mainline from Carnforth to Barrow-in-Furness. The FR branch trains travelled east to the triangular junction at Plumpton and then turned north via Greenodd and on to stations at Haverthwaite, Newby Bridge halt and Lakeside. The FR's weekdays passenger service in July 1922 comprised eight trains in each direction. There were advertised train-to-boat connections that were established in 1869. During the summer season, excursion trains from Lancashire and elsewhere used the east-to-north side of Plumpton Junction to reach Lakeside, where their passengers joined the boat sailings on the lake.

Closure of the branch and re-opening by L&HR [edit]

British Railways closed the line to passengers on 6 September 1965, and to all traffic two years later.[2]

A group of enthusiasts chaired by Dr Peter Beet formed the Lakeside Railway Estates Company, with the idea of preserving both the line and the former LMS 10A locomotive shed at Carnforth, to provide a complete steam operating system. However, although backed by then transport minister Barbara Castle, the need to build a number of motorway bridges and re-routing of the A590 road from Haverthwaite via Greenodd to Plumpton Junction, meant that the complete vision was unsuccessful. Beet acquired 10A in partnership with Sir William McAlpine, 6th Baronet, which became the visitor attraction Steamtown from 1967. The venture folded as a public access visitor attraction in 1987, but the preserved site was taken over by businessman David Smith to become the base for his West Coast Railway Company.[3]

Resultantly, Austin Maher became chairman of the LREC, which then re-opened the truncated 3.5 miles (5.6 km) L&HR as a heritage railway on 2 May 1973.[4] Maher and fellow L&HR director Jim Morris each bought one LMS 2-6-4T Class 4MT, Nos. 42073 (Maher) and 42085 (Morris), which eventually restored as L&HR Nos. 3 and 4 became the lines core steam power units.

In fiction [edit]

[ ]
Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
Lakeside
Windermere
Newby Bridge
Haverthwaite
River Leven
Greenodd
Ulverston
Furness Line

In Christopher Awdry's book "Thomas & Victoria", the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway is featured as the railway where Victoria worked before coming to Sodor.

Locomotives [edit]

  • Steam Locomotives
    • LMS 2-6-4T Class 4MT nos. 42073 built in 1950 and 42085 built in 1951, L&HR nos. 3 and 4. (Both operational & painted in BR lined black. 42073 carries late BR crest and 42085 has the early BR crest).
    • War Department 0-6-0ST WD Austerity Tank no. 3794 Repulse. Built in 1950. (Operational and painted in lined black)
    • Bagnall 0-6-0ST (1942) no. 2682 Princess. (Operational, painted in dark blue lined out in black and red).
    • Barclay 0-4-0ST Millom Ironworks (1953) no. 2333 David. (Operational, painted in red lined out in black and yellow).
    • Barclay 0-4-0FT (1917) no. 1550 Sir James. (Awaiting restoration, painted in light blue).
    • Peckett 0-4-0ST OY (1937) no. 1925, L&HR no. 1 Caliban. (Undergoing repairs).
    • Barclay 0-6-0T National Coal Board (1911) no. 10 often known as "Thomas" by staff.(1245). (undergoing minor repairs, boiler ticket expires in 2015, painted in light blue lined out in white).
    • Bagnall 0-6-0ST "Victor" (under restoration)
  • Diesel Locomotives
    • BR 0-6-0 Class 03 nos. D2117 (L&HR no. 8) and 03072. (Operational).
    • BR 0-6-0 Class 11 no. AD601 (ex-Industrial lookalike). (Operational).
    • BR Bo-Bo Class 20 no. 20214. (Operational).
    • Jones 0-4-0 crane no. 20. (Operational).
    • Motor Rail & Tram car co. 0-4-0 Rachel. (On display, undergoing restoration).
    • BR Bo-Bo Class 27(visiting from Caledonian Railway (Brechin)).
  • Diesel Multiple Units
  • Rolling stock
    • 5 BR Mk. 1 Tourist Standard Open coaches
    • 2 BR Mk. 1 Second Corridor coaches
    • 2 BR Mk. 1 Brake Second Corridor coaches
    • 1 BR Mk. 1 Brake Standard Open coach
    • 1 BR Mk. 1 Restaurant Miniature Buffet coach
    • Great Eastern Railway Royal Saloon no. 5 (Undergoing restoration)
    • North London Railway 2nd Class Coach (Used on Victorian Evenings)
    • North London Railway "Birdcage" Guard's & Luggage Van (Undergoing restoration)
    • North London Railway 1st Class Coach (Undergoing restoration)
    • Selection of assorted goods vehicles
  • Past Stock

Image gallery [edit]

  • Class 26, no. D5301 inside the shed at Haverthwaite on 31 March 2005. This was one of the final locomotives of its type in traffic, being withdrawn in late 1993.

  • 'Repulse' passes the up train at Haverthwaite Station.

  • Fairburn tank 42085 at Lakeside station.

References [edit]

Notes [edit]

  1. ^ Butt 1995, p. 109
  2. ^ Butt 1995, p. 115
  3. ^ "Obituray - Dr Peter Beet". The Guardian. 7 December 2005. Retrieved 2011-01-02. 
  4. ^ Butt 1995, p. 252

Bibliography [edit]

  • Butt, R.V.J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations. Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-85260-508-1. 

External links [edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lakeside & Haverthwaite railway

Coordinates: 54°15′50″N 2°59′18″W / 54.2640°N 2.9884°W / 54.2640; -2.9884

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lakeside_and_Haverthwaite_Railway&oldid=542444128"