Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway

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Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
Hunslet Austerity "Repulse runs around its train at Haverthwaite in 2013.
Locale Cumbria, England
Terminus Lakeside
Commercial operations
Name Ulverston to Lakeside Line
Built by Furness Railway
Original gauge 4 ft 8 12 in (1,435 mm)
Preserved operations
Operated by Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
Stations 3
Length 3.2 mi (5.1 km)
Preserved gauge 4 ft 8 12 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-mile-long (5.1 km) heritage railway in Cumbria, England.

Location

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

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

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-mile (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

Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
Lakeside
Windermere
Newby Bridge
Haverthwaite
River Leven
Greenodd
Ulverston National Rail
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. In the Thomas the Tank Engine TV series, the railway was filmed for a series of short educational segments entitled "Down at the Station."

Steam Locomotives

Operational Steam Locomotives

  • Barclay 0-6-0T National Coal Board no. 1245 often known as "Thomas" by staff. Built in 1911. (Operational, boiler ticket expires in 2015, painted in light blue lined out in white and black).
  • Bagnall 0-6-0ST no. 2682 Princess. Built in 1942. (Operational, boiler ticket expires in 2019, painted in dark blue lined out in black and red).
  • Bagnall 0-6-0ST no. 2996 "Victor". Built in 1951. (Operational, boiler ticket expires in 2024, painted in maroon lined out in black and yellow).
  • LMS 2-6-4T Class 4MT no. 42073 - BR Black, Late Crest (built in 1950, returned to service in 2014).

Locos away from Haverthwaite

N/A

Steam Locomotives out of Action

  • Barclay 0-4-0ST Millom Ironworks no. 2333 David. Built in 1953. (Undergoing overhaul, painted in light green livery).
  • LMS 2-6-4T Class 4MT no. 42085 - BR Black, Early Emblem (built in 1951, undergoing overhaul).
  • War Department 0-6-0ST WD Austerity Tank no. 3794 Repulse. Built in 1950. (Undergoing overhaul, painted in lined black).

Diesel Locomotives

  • BR 0-6-0 Class 03 no. D2117 (L&HR no. 8). (Operational).
  • BR 0-6-0 Class 03 no. D2072 (TOPS: 03 072). (Operational).
  • BR 0-6-0 Class 11 no. AD601 (ex-Industrial lookalike). (Operational).
  • BR Bo-Bo Class 20 no. 20 214. (Operational).
  • BR Bo-Bo Class 26 no. D5301 (Operational).
  • KL100 Jones 0-4-0 crane no. 20. (Operational).
  • Motor Rail & Tram car co. 0-4-0 Rachel. (On display, undergoing restoration).
  • BR Class 110 DMU unit 52071+52077. (Operational).

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
  • Selection of assorted goods vehicles

Former members of the L&H Fleet

Image gallery

References

Notes

  1. Butt 1995, p. 109
  2. Butt 1995, p. 115
  3. Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. Butt 1995, p. 252

Bibliography

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External links

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