WFPettigrew

2 minutes ago, Compound2632 said:

When the Seventh Duke went there for Christmas 1883, there was sent from Chatsworth - dispatched from Rowsley - four private carriages in covered carriage trucks, nineteen horses, and three dogs, at a total cost of £43 14 s 6d.

Thanks Stephen, that was in part what I was thinking off in terms of those more affluent folk who took their horses with them, as I noted those details down when you mentioned this elsewhere on RMWeb previously.  

I would slightly take issue with "country cottage" - Holker Hall is a stately home in its own right, and it was the preferred main residence of the 7th Duke William Cavendish, who disliked Chatsworth and so only went there when he had to - so this was actually him "coming home" for Christmas with the family.  

In my planned skewing of history, the line that was built by the Ulverstone and Lancaster Railway (between Ulverston without an E and Carnforth, not Lancaster) was blocked by the Admiralty due to the loss of shipping access to the ports of Greenodd and Sandside for Kendal (something that nearly happened) and the rival proposal for a line from Ulverston east, via Newby Bridge, to a junction with the Lancaster and Carlisle at Milnthorpe won approval (this was twice proposed with Bills to Parliament).   In that skewed history, there would be a branch line from Newby Bridge down through Cartmel to Cark/Flookburgh and Grange-over-Sands.   I am planning to model Cartmel, but there would be Ducal traffic going through to Cark - by 1914 the 9th Duke was enforcibly resident at Chatsworth as part of wangling around death duties, but he would have regularly visited his former home of Holker Hall, now the seat of his younger brother Lord Cavendish. 

Sorry Dave - that's rather a diversion from your ever lovely Scottish pregrouping modelling.  

4 hours ago, Mikkel said:

Which raises the question: Just how diverse can your "racing day special" be, and what should the proportional representation be? E.g. what was the D299 of horseboxes in Edwardian times?

I am starting to look into this because my intended layout would serve a racecourse, although Cartmel racecourse in 1914 was the preserve of "gentleman racers" rather than pro jockeys, so the catchment would be somewhat different.  So I think the short answer is that it depends on the course, and the radius from which it drew horses.  Ultimately I think simple economics would be at play for the pro stables: a stud in Newmarket or Lambourn say would only send horses to the other end of the country, York or Doncaster for example, if it was worth their while, i.e. that they would hope to get a return on the investment in railway horsebox fees, time, staff away etc.  

I will be going to the archives to look at old newspaper articles etc to try and work out the radius for Cartmel, and therefore which horseboxes beyond the Furness I can have, but I am very hopeful of LNWR and MR, and probably LYR.  

The other thing to remember is that there was a lot of horse traffic that had nothing to do with racing: the movement of working horses, sales, the wealthier taking their horse with them when they and their household went away, etc. 

All the best

Neil