The Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway (L&HR) is a heritage railway in Cumbria, England.
History
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. The line was served by local passenger trains which started their journey at Ulverston on the FR's main line from Carnforth to Barrow-in-Furness.
The FR branch trains travelled east to the triangular junction at Plumpton, 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 reopening by L&HR
British Railways closed the line to passengers on 6 September 1965, and to all traffic two years later.
A group of enthusiasts, chaired by Dr Peter Beet, formed the Lakeside Railway Estates Company; they had 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 rerouting 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.
As a result, Austin Maher became chairman of the LREC, which then reopened the truncated L&HR as a heritage railway on 2 May 1973. Maher and fellow L&HR director Jim Morris each bought one LMS 2-6-4T Class 4MT, nos. 42073 (Maher) and 42085 (Morris), which were restored eventually as L&HR nos. 3 and 4, became the line's core steam power units.
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.
Stations
Locomotives
Steam locomotives
Steam locomotives currently at the railway
Information below derived from the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway Visitors Guide sixth edition and the IRS reference book.
Operational
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Number !! Name !! Built !! Builder !!Type !! Former Operator !! class="unsortable" |Notes !! Image
|-
|-
| 2333 || || 1953 || Barclay || || Millom Ironworks || Boiler ticket expires in 2029; painted in maroon lined out in black and yellow || 150px
|-
| 2682 || || 1942 || Bagnall || || Preston Docks || Boiler ticket expires in 2029; painted in dark blue lined out in black and red || 150px
|-
| 3698 || || 1950 || Hunslet || , Austerity Tank || National Coal Board || Boiler ticket expires in 2026; painted in lined black || 150px
|-
| 42073 || || 1950 || British Railways, Brighton works to an LMS design || , Class 4MT || British Railways || Returned to service in 2014; painted BR black with late crest || 150px
|}
Inactive
{|class="wikitable sortable"
! Number !! Name !! Built !! Builder !!Type !! Former Operator !! class="unsortable" |Notes !! Image
|-
| 2996 || || 1951 || Bagnall || , New Standard 18 || Steel Company of Wales for Port Talbot Steelworks, Austin Motor Company || Boiler ticket expired in 2024; painted in maroon lined out in black and yellow || 150px
|-
| 42085 || || 1951 || British Railways, Brighton works to an LMS design || , Class 4MT || British Railways || Undergoing overhaul; painted BR black with early emblem || 150px
|-
| 46441 || || 1951 || British Railways, Crewe works to an LMS design || , Class 2MT || British Railways || Running In, Boiler ticket expires in 2033. Painted BR maroon with late crest.
46441 began its running in testing in November 2023 and is intended to return to revenue service in 2024.
||150px
|}
Steam locomotives formerly at the railway
The list of locomotives below contains those currently identified as having been resident at Haverthwaite in the past. It is, in all probability, not an exhaustive list.
{|class="wikitable sortable
! Number !! Name !! Built !! Builder !!Type !! Former Operator !! class="unsortable" |Notes !! Image
|-
| 1 (works Nº 1925) || || 1937 || Peckett || , OY class || Courtaulds, Preston || At the Ribble Steam Railway in Preston || 150px
|-
| 5 (works Nº 1631) || || 1929 || Hudswell Clarke || || Stewarts & Lloyds || Acquired November 1970; now at Tyseley || 150px
|-
| 6 (works Nº 1366) || || 1919 || Hudswell Clarke || || Renishaw Ironworks Nº 6 || Acquired November 1970; now at the Tanfield Railway || 150px
|-
| 20 || || 1863 || Sharp Stewart || , FR class 17, Rush class A5|| Furness Railway, Barrow Steelworks || Built as an 0-4-0; rebuilt for Barrow Steelworks as an , running as Nº 7; rebuilt in preservation to original configuration. Owned by the Furness Railway Trust and operational at the Ribble Steam Railway in Preston || 150px
|-
| 1900 || || 1936 || Peckett || || Courtaulds, Holywell || Operated during the summer of 1983; now at the Buckinghamshire Railway Centre || 150px
|-
| 3794 || || 1953 || Hunslet || , Austerity Tank || Ministry of Defence || Owned by the Furness Railway Trust || 150px
|-
| 5643|| || 1925 || GWR, Swindon Works || || GWR, British Railways || Owned by the Furness Railway Trust || 150px
|-
| 44806 || || 1944 || LMS, Derby Works || , Black 5 || LMS, British Railways || Acquired November 1970; moved to Steamport Southport; now at North Yorkshire Moors Railway with plans to return to the mainline || 150px
|}
Diesel
Diesel locomotives currently at the railway
Information below derived from the Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway Visitors Guide sixth edition and the IRS reference book.
|-
| D5301 || || 1958 || Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company || Bo-Bo Class 26 || British Railways as TOPS 26 001 || Now at the Caledonian Railway, Brechin, Angus, Scotland
|-
| D5370 || || 1962 || Birmingham Railway Carriage & Wagon Company || Bo-Bo Class 27 || British Railways as TOPS 27 024 || Now at the Caledonian Railway, Brechin, Angus, Scotland
References
Citations
Bibliography
External links
- Photos of the entire railway