Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway

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Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
Hunslet Austerity "Repulse runs around its train at Haverthwaite in 2013.
LocaleCumbria, England
TerminusLakeside
Commercial operations
NameUlverston to Lakeside Line
Built byFurness Railway
Original gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Preserved operations
Operated byLakeside and Haverthwaite Railway
Stations3
Length3.2 mi (5.1 km)
Preserved gauge4 ft 8+1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge
Commercial history
Opened1 June 1869
Closed6 September 1965
Preservation history
Opened2 May 1973
HeadquartersHaverthwaite
  • v
  • t
Lakeside and
Haverthwaite Railway
Legend
Lakeside
Windermere
Newby Bridge
River Leven
Haverthwaite
Greenodd
Ulverston National Rail
Furness Line

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 1997, 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.

Stations[]

Map this section's coordinates using: OpenStreetMap 
Download coordinates as: KML
Point Coordinates
(Links to map resources) 		OS Grid Ref Notes
Lakeside 54°16′42″N 2°57′20″W / 54.2783°N 2.9555°W / 54.2783; -2.9555 (Lakeside Station) SD378873
Newby Bridge Halt 54°16′11″N 2°58′26″W / 54.2696°N 2.9740°W / 54.2696; -2.9740 (Newby Bridge Halt) SD366864
Haverthwaite 54°14′59″N 2°59′59″W / 54.2497°N 2.9998°W / 54.2497; -2.9998 (Haverthwaite Station) SD349842

In fiction[]

In Christopher Awdry's book "Thomas & Victoria", the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway is featured as part of the railway route where Victoria worked before going 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."

In the adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel, Dumb Witness, by ITV for its television series, Agatha Christie's Poirot, the opening scene was filmed at the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway, at the Lakeside terminus.

The railway and Haverthwaite station are featured in the video to Never Went to Church by alternative hip hop band The Streets.[5]

Locomotives[]

Steam[]

Number Built Builder Type Formerly Notes
Operational
1245 1911 Barclay 0-6-0T National Coal Board often known as Thomas by staff; painted in NCB dark blue
2333 David 1953 Barclay 0-4-0ST Millom Ironworks boiler ticker expires in 2029; painted in maroon lined out in black and yellow
2682 Princess 1942 Bagnall 0-6-0ST Preston Docks boiler ticket expires in 2029; painted in dark blue lined out in black and red
2996 1951 Bagnall 0-6-0ST "Victor" Port Talbot Steelworks boiler ticket expires in 2024; painted in maroon lined out in black and yellow
3794 Repulse 1950 Hunslet 0-6-0ST WD Austerity Tank War Department boiler ticket expires in 2026; painted in lined black
42073 1950 LMS 2-6-4T Class 4MT returned to service in 2014; painted BR black with late crest
Inactive
42085 1951 LMS 2-6-4T Class 4MT undergoing overhaul; painted BR black with early emblem
46441 1951 LMS 2-6-0 Class 2MT awaiting overhaul; painted BR maroon with late crest[6]
Number Built Builder Type Formerly Notes
Formerly based at Haverthwaite
5 1929 Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST works Nº 1631 acquired November 1970
6 1919 Hudswell Clarke 0-6-0ST works Nº 1366 Renishaw Ironworks 6 acquired November 1970
1550 Sir James 1917 Barclay 0-4-0F on static display at HM Factory, Gretna
1900 1936 Peckett 0-4-0T operated during the summer of 1983
3794 Cumbria 1953 Hunslet 0-6-0ST Austerity Tank operational at the Ribble Steam Railway in Preston; boiler ticket expires in May 2025; painted in FR red
44806 Magpie 1944 Derby Works 4-6-0 Stanier Class 5 British Railways acquired November 1970; moved to Steamport Southport; now at North Yorkshire Moors Railway with plans to return to the mainline

Diesel[]

Number Built Builder Type Formerly Notes
8 1959 British Rail 0-6-0DM Class 03 British Rail D2117 operational
20 1952 Jones 0-4-0 KL100 crane operational
AD601 1945 British Rail 0-6-0DE Class 11 British Rail operational; ex-Industrial lookalike
D2072 1959 British Rail 0-6-0DM Class 03 British Rail TOPS 03 072 operational;
D5301 1958 Birmingham Bo-Bo Class 26 British Rail operational
20 214 1967 English Electric Bo-Bo Class 20 British Rail operational
52071+52077 1961 Birmingham/Drewry Class 110 DMU British Rail operational
Rachel 1924 Motor Rail & Tram Car Co. 0-4-0 Burneside Paper Mills Tramway on display, undergoing restoration

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

References[]

Notes[]

  1. ^ Butt 1995, p. 109
  2. ^ Butt 1995, p. 115
  3. ^ "Obituray - Dr Peter Beet". The Guardian. 7 December 2005. Retrieved 2 January 2011.
  4. ^ Butt 1995, p. 252
  5. ^ Video on YouTube
  6. ^ "LMS Ivatt Class 2 No.46441 / 1950 – Ribble Steam Railway". Archived from the original on 14 May 2018.

Bibliography[]

  • Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.

External links[]

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

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