The early motive power woes of the Ravenglass and Eskdale Line are often waxed lyrical in literature on that railways history. It is true to say with running an all-year round service with heavy goods and huge numbers of passengers in the season ‘La’al Ratty’ was short of motive power with the guts to do the job. Henry Greenly, the famous model engineer and the railways proprietors still wished for a miniature outline locomotive to be used on both goods and passenger services.

One proposal, of 1918 which was never followed through was for a locomotive incorporating running gear based on that of the hardy but ageing Heywood locos under a huge boiler but clinging to an over-scale miniature outline. History has unofficially christened this proposed behemoth the ‘Super Heywood’.

It certainly would have been an interesting addition to the motive power and a more radical design than that of River Esk, Greenly’s actual answer to the mixed traffic requirements of the R.& E.R appearing in 1922. The ‘Super Heywood’ would have been a 2-6-2 and the information can be gleaned shows more of a similarity with the R.& E.R built Northern Rock of 1976.

The drawings below are based on those found on page 124 of Mark Smither’s book ‘Sir Arthur Heywood and the Fifteen Inch Gauge Railway’ The colour scheme is a representation of the livery which might have been carried in Narrow Gauge Railways service.

A plan of the proposed engine

A possible livery for the behemoth