Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway Locomotives - Three Foot Gauge Locomotives

Three Foot Gauge Locomotives

For the construction of the railway by Ambrose Oliver, the 'Contractor's locomotive' was noted in reports in the Whitehaven News at work in late 1874 but its identity and its subsequent history has never been determined. Just before the opening of the 3-foot (0.91 m) gauge line to goods in May 1875 an 0-6-0 tank locomotive was obtained from Manning Wardle. Its works number was 545 and it was named Devon. A second, similar, locomotive followed in October 1876 before the line opened to passengers. This was Manning Wardle works number 629, named Nabb Gill. The design was a '3 ft Special' developed from designs for Russia from 1871, and repeated for the Malta Railway from 1880.

The Manning Wardle locos had heavy repairs one at a time at the Lowca Engine Works around 1892-5, with the fitting of Westinghouse air brake equipment and new smokeboxes. In 1905 a derailment at Murthwaite halt involved a loco with the boiler from Nabb Gill and the side tanks of Devon, but only Devon was working during the later years to the end of 3 ft gauge services in April 1913. Both locos were gone, presumed scrapped, by late 1915.