A COLLECTION of negatives that provide a window into the turbulent past of England’s first public narrow-gauge railway, the Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway (RER), has recently been acquired by Ravenglass Railway Museum.

The museum was keen to snap up the 44 negatives taken by well-known railway photographer Henry Cyril Casserley when they came up for auction in December.

Collections assistant Claire Winter-Moore said: “We are thrilled to have acquired this collection of negatives which gives us a more detailed and representative view of the railway during a decade that was to signal great change for the RER.”

Taken on a visit in September 1950, Casserley visited the RER at a difficult time for the company, when both money and materials were scarce, jeopardising the railway’s future.

For more visit visit www.ravenglassrailwaymuseum.co.uk