This Day in History: 1965-10-08

08 October 1965

On Friday, October 8th, all the usable rolling stock from the New Brighton Promenade Railway arrived at Ravenglass. This included a Ruston-Hornsby diesel locomotive, and a number of Jaywick coaches built by Caffyn of Eastbourne in 1936 for the Jaywick Miniature Railway near Clacton in Essex. The coaches, the first saloons on the Railway for many years, were each 18 feet, 6 inches long on steel frames with 18" gauge, the body framing being of ash covered with plywood and galvanised sheet and lined with plywood or hardboard. The seating was upholstered and each coach had curtains to the windows, opening windows in the doors and electric lights. Each coach carried eight passengers.

The 18" gauge Ruston locomotive was sold in 1967/68 to a garage proprietor in Herefordshire joining the New Brighton rail, after lying for two years at Murthwaite. The coaches left Ravenglass for Pen yr Orsedd Slate Quarry on 4th March 1975, together with three old and very rotten granite tubs. They then lay at Gloddfa Ganol for many years.

In 2009, one of the coaches was restored at Windmill Farm Railway in Burscough, Lancashire out-shopped in white and dark red.