Posted by Owen Roberts on November 13, 2006 at 12:40:05 from 195.92.67.74 user OwenRoberts.
In Reply to: Re: The Lakeland Pedlar posted by Jock on November 13, 2006 at 00:22:19:
"Come on Owen, spill the beans!"
I do hope you mean anthracite beans.
To paraphrase from the booklet.
Charles Fildes of Sawrey, had in 1870 a boiler that was fitted to his paddle steamer the "Fairy Queen". This he ran on both Windermere and Esthwaite Water.
In the winter he took the boiler out of his boat and put it his locomotive called the Lavinia that ran on his timber line on a plantation railway behind the Sawrey Hotel. This locomotive was a 2-2-2 in railway parlance. No gauge is quoted.
(Sawrey in on the opposite side of Windermere to Bowness)
Charles Fildes also had another steam launch called the "Cuckoo" that he ran on Windermere in the 1890's. He also had a further steam launch called the "Dolly" that I understand was raised from the bed of Ullswater where it had lain since the great frost of 1895.
I am sure that this has little direct relevance to AR, but it does provide some background to what was happening in the area in his formative years.