‘La’al Ratty’ celebrates its 60th with star guests
THE Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway and RER Preservation Society are to hold a special gala marking 60 years of the line’s‘heritage era’with two guest locomotives.
The second annual steam gala will be held over the bank holiday weekend of May 8-10 and will commemorate the anniversary of the line being saved at an auction in nearby Gosforth Public Hall in 1960 as the scrapmen looked on.
At the time, the only locomotives from today’s main fleet working were River Irt, the oldest working 15in gauge steam engine in the world (built in 1894), River Esk and the diesel locomotive now known as Perkins. All three are scheduled to star in the intensive gala timetable service alongside River Mite and Whillan Beck (the society’s own steam locomotives), Northern Rock, plus Katie and Synolda ,the latter pair usually resident in the Ravenglass museum.
Visiting for the big occasion will be Trevor Guest 2-4-2 Siân, owned by the Siân Project Group and operated by the Kirklees Light Railway. The owning group started life within the ranks of the RER Preservation Society. Siân will be making its first visit to the line since 2008.
The second visitor will be the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway’s Pacific Southern Maid,
which last ran at Ravenglass in 1998.
Gala coordinator Keith Herbert said: “The 2019 event featured The Bug,
visiting from the Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway, and set a high bar for galas of the future.
“We hope to showcase all that is good about our railway to celebrate 60 years of the company and preservation society working together, and hope the ambitious timetable we are crafting – and the chance to ride behind visiting and museum locomotives – will draw the crowds.”tickets will be available at the R&ER booking offices at a discount if buying for multiple (two or three) days of the event. Details are at www.ravenglass-railway.co.uk