After a washout on the Sunday, I postponed my visit to the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway until Monday, and I am glad I did, the weather was much warmer, and a good thing too with the open carriages that were on offer. The railway was originally built in 1875 for transport of iron ore from…
Trago Mills is a large “discount retailer” with three stores, two in Cornwall and a third located near Newton Abbott in Devon. Having never visited the Cornish outposts I can have no opinion as such about them, but a visit to the Devon branch has pretty much been an annual occurrence for me. It is a great place to…
After publishing an article on the Mighty River Mite I was determined that my next blog post wouldn’t carry on about how the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway is small only in scale, but I could not help myself!
In the late 1960’s steam power was being obliterated in the UK. The iron king that had powered the industrial revolution and changed the world was at the end of its reign. As steam locomotives were being withdrawn and scrapped, something unusual was happening. A new 2-8-2 steam engine was being built…
La’al Ratty in olde Cumbrian dialect means Little Railway and is an affectionate name of the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway. It might be a little railway, but it has a very big heart and was the biggest revelation for me on my recent trip to the Lake District. This 15in gauge railway deserves a lot…
Being a fan of the old Southern Railway, the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway has always been a line that has caught my attention in books and in the media. The Southern Railway’s history is largely a progressive one – a tale of early electrification and suburbanisation. The thought of this company owning and running a…
The Steam and Scones event at the Talyllyn Railway on the 31st July will have a very special locomotive that will be hauling two of the Flyers. On the 19:00 train, the Asperger’s Flyer will be hauled by none other than No. 2, Dolgoch, who was the inspiration to one of the Rev. Awdry’s famous narrow…
If a railway enthusiast claimed to have seen a streamlined coronation pacific, a parallel boiler Royal Scot and an unrebuilt Merchant Navy class in steam in 2014, you would be forgiven for thinking that they had gone a little crazy, or perhaps that this is an April Fools Day prank! But it is possible, providing…
Tonight is just a gentle reminder about the appeal for Sir Haydn. Please click on any of this text or the picture above to read more. Thank you 🙂
When a locomotive’s boiler ticket comes to an end, it is either laid up in an overhaul queue or within a matter of weeks the overhaul commences and a quick return to steam happens. This, of course, depends on two factors; condition of the locomotive and the key factor, what funds are available. One such…
Loco Yard 