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| Stations on the Ratty | |
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| Topic Started: 8 Oct 2008, 04:34 PM (226 Views) | |
| davidgwr | 8 Oct 2008, 04:34 PM Post #1 |
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Guard
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What do people think of the recent station improvements on the R&ER. Personally, I liked the footbridge at Ravenglass and the grass verge behind the turntable - I think the fence now surrounding the turntable looks horrible, as does the new fence round Delgarth turntable that relplaced the dry stone wall. The new Delgarth station building might be better for customers, but I think the old station wasa visually nicer. Also it's a shame the siding at Muncaster Mill has been removed as it allowed smaller locos to run shuttles from Ravenglass to there during galas (I remember the late Robin Butterell saying this in a letter to the R&ER Magazine a few years ago). I think the best station on the line is Irton Road as it's in 1870s condition and has changed little from when it opened. |
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| MuzTrem | 8 Oct 2008, 07:15 PM Post #2 |
Operations Manager
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Well sadly I haven't had the pleasure of seeing the new building in the flesh, but from the photos I've seen I can't see anything wrong with it. At any rate, much as we enthusiasts might like a heritage building, railways depend on the public for their survival and they have to make sure their facilities are up to scratch. |
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| Eliot Andersen | 8 Oct 2008, 07:46 PM Post #3 |
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Fireman
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The old building at Eskdale (Dalegarth) - as it was then - was about 100 years old when they pulled it down, and certainly was showing its age. It was already secondhand when it was acquired by the railway in 1926! The new building is much better... in theory. Inside, upstairs, the café and shop have now been squeezed into one large room and the counter at the shop end is in the middle of everything. It does look a bit messy. I think a seperate booking office like there used to be would be the better option, and don't get me started on Ravenglass Booking Office, it sends me crazy just thinking about it all. I will agree with the comments about the turntable fencing (at both ends). Especially when they knocked down my favourite wall at Dalegarth. I turned up one day ready to sit on it and eat my bait and found that there was a fence there instead.  Muncaster Mill siding will only be missed by enthusiasts. We did not have a gala between 2001 and 2008, so it saw very little use for the several years before it was removed. We no longer run trains of only opens (for the public, at least), and all trains must have a guard's compartment and handbrake. Synolda ran at this year's gala with three coaches - I don't think this would have fitted into Mill Siding anyway. |
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Eliot Andersen Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway Volunteer http://cumbria.fotopic.net | |
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| laalratty | 8 Oct 2008, 09:53 PM Post #4 |
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Fireman
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The new building is fine outside, but inside, erm yes, improvement needed although there is enough space for this in the future. As for the mill siding, I believe the HMRI didn't take kindly to the rails on top of the platform, also the point was fairly knacked, is was not worth replacing it. There are other opportunities for short running, Irton Road-Dalegarth or Ravenglass- Miteside (this was done for the 2001 gala). As for the wall, it had already been knocked down twice when things didn't stop in time, once the (Shelagh and once Lady Wakefield) so its day were always numbered, although it was much prettier. |
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| robvulpes | 9 Oct 2008, 07:09 PM Post #5 |
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Porter
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As a Ratty volunteer guard, I can say that from the operational point of view the Ravenglass alterations are a vast improvement. The footbridge pillar on platforms 2-3 was a serious obstacle, (and the headroom beside it was limited as my scalp can testify!) and it prevented a direct run onto the turntable from platform 3. The indirect run had a sharp curve which the 8-coupled locos didn't appreciate. You could always guarantee that the last passengers for an already-late train on pl.1 in high season (remember - 5 trainsets on a single line with no slack in the timetable) would walk slowly over the footbridge (partly because the level route in front of the turntable was blocked by the back of the train.) It's quicker, safer and more wheelchair, pushchair, infirm - friendly on the wide smooth path behind the turntable. A pity the retaining wall wasn't built or faced in stone rather than rendered. IIRC the railings are now green (they were initially unpainted metal) which makes them look far less intrusive. Dalegarth station building was simply rotting away, and AIUI the catering was no longer up to Environmental Health standards. Something major had to be done, but I agree the internal layout isn't great. Robert |
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| davidgwr | 10 Oct 2008, 12:41 PM Post #6 |
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Guard
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OK Thank you everybody for the information |
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11:57 PM Nov 27
