Lakeside & Haverthwaite and Ribble Railways Visit - 26th July 2009
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| Lakeside terminus and pier, viewed from the lake steamer. Geoff Morris |
On Sunday 26th July, 7 members braved a dire weather forecast to visit 2 preserved railways in the North West. Our first destination was the Lakeside & Haverthwaite Railway and the party assembled in the car park at Haverthwaite. Quiet roads meant that we arrived well before the first scheduled departure, but unfortunately our arrival coincided with that of the forecast heavy rain. However our spirits were lifted by the sight of Fairburn 2-6-4T 42073 being prepared for the day’s operations. We had time to inspect the stock inside the main shed and then patronise the station buffet before the general public started to arrive. The shed contained former BR diesels 20214 & 27024, 4-wheel diesel MR2098/1924 and the following industrial steam locos
HE3698/1950 (Repulse), AB1245/1911, AB2333/1953 (David), WB2682/1942 (Princess)
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| Fairburn 2-6-4T 42073 being readied for duties at Haverthwaite. Geoff Morris |
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| Passengers for the lake steamer brave the weather at Lakeside. Note the branch chairman (in the bright red jacket).. Geoff Morris |
A further 0-6-0ST (that once carried a name) could not be identified. An unmarked fireless loco stood in the station yard (understood to be AB1550/1917).
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| Steam & diesel locos (plus traction engines) inside the shed at Haverthwaite. Geoff Morris |
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| Steam & diesel locos (plus traction engines) inside the shed at Haverthwaite-2. Geoff Morris |
2 full road coaches appeared in the car park and seats in the buffet, or under the station canopy, were soon in short supply. Consequently the 5 coach train of immaculately presented carmine & cream Mk 1s was well-filled on departure. Beyond the main shed at Haverthwaite was another shed which held 0-6-0DE AD601 (formerly LMS 7120), 2 class 03s (2072 & 2117), a 2-car BRCW DMU (52071/77) and an 0-6-0T industrial steam loco that could not be identified from the passing train.
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| Fairburn tank 2-6-4T departs Haverthwaite with a train for Lakeside.. Geoff Morris |
The journey to Lakeside terminus (at the south end of Lake Windermere) is relatively short, taking just over 15 minutes, and the Fairburn was not extended during the trip. It quickly ran around its train to await the Lake Windermere steamer. We had chosen to take a trip on the lake and after 10 minutes the MV Swan berthed at the adjacent quayside. The rain meant that space under cover was at a premium and most passengers made for the fully-enclosed lower deck. However about half of our party chose to sit on the upper deck which had a roof but sides that are open to the weather (great on sunny days but not so good when it is raining). The journey to Bowness took about 40 minutes and here we had to alight as our schedule did not allow time for a trip to the north end of the lake at Ambleside. The rain turned exceptionally heavy while we waited for the boat back to Lakeside. This turned out to be the smaller MV Tern but fortunately the crowd waiting for it was smaller than on the outward trip and so everyone could be accommodated under cover. The weather improved on the return leg to the extent that the sun put in a brief appearance as we approached Lakeside ! A quick transfer to the train soon saw us back at Haverthwaite and before leaving we had time to see 42073 being watered and then departing on the next service train to Lakeside. The presence of further road coaches suggested that the railway regularly handles coach parties as it provides a convenient drop-off (or pick-up) point for travellers who are going for a trip on the lake
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| MV Swan at Bowness pier.. Geoff Morris |
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| MV Tern approaches the pier at Bowness.. Geoff Morris |
A trip back down the M6 saw us reach the headquarters of the Ribble Steam Railway in Preston docks. This railway is unique among UK preserved railways in that it carries scheduled freight traffic, conveying bitumen to the adjacent TotalFina depot. RSR locos work the train from the exchange sidings to the depot. 5 bogie tankers were in the loop alongside the RSR building while more tankers stood in the unloading point. Another unusual feature of this railway is that it crosses a swingbridge, that is shared with road traffic, across the entrance to the docks.
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| John Howe (AB1147/1908) brews up at the Ribble Steam Railway station at Preston.. Geoff Morris |
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| John Howe on arrival back at Preston. Note the window in the coach which allows the guard to control movements while propelling.. Geoff Morris |
Andrew Barclay 0-4-0ST AB1147/1908 (John Howe) was working the service train which comprised 2 maroon Mk 1 coaches, again in excellent external condition. The loco hauled the train through to the headshunt adjacent to Strand Road level crossing (where the Network Rail branch from Preston station joins) and then reversed back to the exchange sidings (during this stage the guard controlled the movement from a control desk built into in the end of the brake vehicle). Here the loco ran around and hauled the train back to the terminus.
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| Pre-grouping 0-4-0STs that never made it into BR stock. L&Y 19 & LNWR 1439 (unfortunately with a face on the smokebox) inside the museum (at Preston RSR).. Geoff Morris |
Alan Donaldson, our Indoor Fixtures Secretary, is a guard on this railway and with his help we were able to inspect the stock in the museum, shed and workshop either before or after our trip. These buildings house an extensive collection of (more than 50) industrial locos, many of which used to be at the Steamport site at Southport. 2 pre-grouping locos that never made it to BR stock, but survived in industry, are preserved here: L&YR 0-4-0ST 19 & L&NWR 0-4-0ST 1439, the latter unfortunately had a "face" on its smokebox. Former BR stock is represented in the form of Ivatt 2-6-0 46441 (the only ex-BR steam loco) and diesels from classes 03 (two examples), 05 & 14 - D2148, 03189, D2595 & D9539 respectively. A former Dutch English Electric built 0-6-0 diesel shunter could be thought, at a casual glance, to be another ex-BR loco (as it closely resembles a class 08) as could an industrial example of the type that was the class 02 0-4-0 shunter (it is numbered D2870 although the BR sequence only ran from D2850 to D2869).
Despite the poor weather in the morning, everyone had a good time with plenty of the usual banter being exchanged. The details of the locos mentioned above are presented in good faith from observations by Geoff Morris & Alan Donaldson.
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| D2595 inside the running shed (at Preston RSR). Geoff Morris |
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| AB 2261/1949, D9537 & 03189 in the workshops (at Preston RSR). Geoff Morris |
24/08/09