Douglas Ferreira

Who was Douglas Ferreira?

Douglas Ferreira, O.B.E., was the longest serving General Manager of the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway, a heritage railway in Cumbria, England known as the "Ratty". He was at the heart of the "Ratty" for thirty four years.

A pupil at the local St. Bees School, on leaving, Ferreira joined the Harrison Shipping Line as a cadet. After some years with the Line, he went to work in Preston and there he was salesman for the Company that made Bond Minicars,. It was during his time there that he drove Bond 3 wheel cars from Lands End to John o Groats, over the Semmering Pass through the snow, and became the first person to drive on a British motorway. He was first to set off on the opening of the Preston by-pass which became the first section of the new M6, in a Bond Minicar.

When the Ratty was put up for sale by auction in 1960, Doug brought his friend Guy Moser into the short but intensive campaign to secure the future of the line. Moser did all the legal work when it was bought by the Ravenglass & Eskdale Railway Preservation Society supported by Colin Gilbert and Sir Wavell Wakefield, who then appointed Ferreira as the new General Manager, because of his experience gained as a volunteer on the newly reopened Festiniog Railway.