Dalegarth Eskdale | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
.jpg) River Mite arrives at Dalegarth, February 2016 | |||||
| General information | |||||
| Location | Boot,Eskdale,Cumbria England | ||||
| Coordinates | 54°23′46″N3°16′30″W / 54.396°N 3.275°W /54.396; -3.275 | ||||
| Grid reference | NY 174 008 | ||||
| System | Station onheritage railway | ||||
| Owned by | R&ER | ||||
| Operated by | R&ER | ||||
| Managed by | R&ER | ||||
| Platforms | 2 | ||||
| Key dates | |||||
| 1918 | Opened | ||||
| 1920s | Relocated | ||||
| |||||
Dalegarth railway station is the easterly terminus of the15-inch gaugeRavenglass and Eskdale Railway in the English county ofCumbria. It has a café and shop for passengers, along with a run-round loop, turntable and siding for trains.[1][2]
The station is situated near the village ofBoot in thecivil parish of Eskdale and theLake District National Park. It lies between theWhillan Beck, a tributary of theRiver Esk, and the road fromRavenglass toWindermere, via theHardknott andWrynose passes.[3]
In the days of the 3 ft gauge line, the line's terminus was nearEskdale Mill in the village ofBoot, with a freight-only branch leaving the main line just afterBeckfoot station and curving to the right across theWhillan Beck, the valley road andRiver Esk to the Gill Forcehematite mine. However soon after the conversion of the line to 15-inch gauge, it became apparent that the miniature locomotives could not cope with the gradient on the final stretch of the line into the Boot terminus, and in 1918 the line was diverted onto the less steep former freight branch. The former route to Boot can still be seen and walked.[1][4][5]
Initially the diverted line terminated in front of the nearby miners' cottages (now home to employees of the railway). By 1926 it had been extended, still on the trackbed of the old mine branch, over the Whillan Beck to just before the crossing over the valley road, and a station built on the site between beck and road. For about 80 years, the station building was a converted second-hand hut from the weapons testing establishment at Eskmeals nearRavenglass.[1][4][5][6]
The current building, utilising its railway embankment site to create a split-level layout with an education/meeting suite below the main café and shop area, was opened on 21 April 2007 by music producer and railway enthusiastPete Waterman.[4]
The current station has two platforms alongside a pair of tracks. The tracks terminate at a turntable at the eastern extremity of the line, where locomotives can be seen detaching from the rolling stock and coupling onto the other end for the return journey to Ravenglass. There is also a water tank at the western end of platform 1.[5]
The upper level of the station building fronts platform 1 and houses theFellbites Eatery andScafell Gift Shop (which also acts as a booking office) that are open when the railway are running scheduled passenger trains. There are toilets on both levels of the station. The station also has paid car parking on site, with electric car charging facilities.[1][2]
The village ofBoot is a 5-minute walk from the station, and is home to theEskdale Mill (a restored water mill) as well as two pubs (the Boot Inn and the Brook House Inn).[1][2]
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| Preceding station |  Heritage railways | Following station | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beckfoot towardsRavenglass | Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway | Terminus | ||
