Members of the Welsh
Highland Heritage Railway in Porthmadog, working with colleagues from the
Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway are pleased to announce the only surviving
Welsh Highland Railway steam locomotive, ‘Russell’
built by the Hunslet Engine Company in 1906 will be running on a section of the
original Welsh Highland Railway in 2019!
‘Russell’ successfully completed a gauging and
inspection run on the 25th November along part of the original line
of the Welsh Highland Railway. This represents the first time the locomotive
has travelled along this section since 1937, when it was on its way to Dinas to
be locked away at the closing of the line.
The run was made
possible owing to the close working relationship between the two railways in
preparation for ‘Russell’ to appear
at a special event in 2019 to celebrate the heritage of the Welsh Highland
Railway.
As part of the Welsh
Highland Heritage Weekend between Friday 21st and Sunday 23rd June 2019 ‘Russell’ will be working between the
replica 1920s WHR halt at Pen-y-mount, to Pont Croesor and on to Hafod y Llyn.
‘Russell’ ran on another section of the line in 2000
when it ran from Caernarfon to Waunfawr. This will be the first opportunity for
it to stretch its legs with a longer
run since it was restored in 2014 to as close as possible the condition
as-built in 1906, at a cost of over £350,000 all covered by private donations.
Mark Seale from the
Welsh Highland Heritage Railway is project-managing the joint event on behalf
of the WHHR and said:
“It was important for us to make sure that Russell was
fit and well before we made a final commitment to participating in the event.
We are aware that many railway enthusiasts are very keen to see Russell running
up the line and this is something that we ourselves have wished for, for some
time. The inspection run went very well and we are very excited to be
supporting the event; we believe that working together we can make a valuable
contribution and make the event in June a spectacular weekend.”
The primary goal for the inspection run was to ensure
that Russell’s rather special design of pony truck and running gear will
negotiate the curves of the re-instated railway and ensure that enough movement
from the trucks is evident on the tightest curve. Whilst the inspection run
took place Ffestiniog Railway engineers were invited to take a closer look at
the locomotive. The locomotive team at the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway will
now have the winter to prepare the locomotive.”
Graham Farr, the
Chairman at the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway added:
“This is another important milestone in the evolving
Welsh Highland Railway story. It demonstrates how ‘Russell’ operated by the
Welsh Highland Heritage Railway in Porthmadog can be used to complement and
support the further development of the re-instated railway.”
Welsh Highland Heritage
Railway members are looking forward to working with our Ffestiniog and Welsh
Highland Railway colleagues. Hopefully this will be a first step and the Welsh
Highland Heritage Railway looks forward to operating more heritage trains
beyond our station at Pen-y-mount in the future. Watch this space…
Ffestiniog and Welsh
Highland Railways General Manager Paul Lewin comments:
The 21st - 23rd of June will be THE
narrow gauge event of the year. 2019 is looking like being an epic year for the
Welsh Highland Railway 21 years on from the first trains running out of
Caernarfon. Not only will we see the opening of two new stations we will also
enjoy visiting locos that will go a long way toward recreating so many Welsh
Highland heritage scenes of years gone by and some fascinating additional
visitors too.
The first visiting loco we can announce following the
successful test last weekend is NWNG locomotive Russell in the care of our
friends at the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway. Keep a close eye on the press
in coming months as we hope to announce further attractions for this long
summer weekend.
I would like to add at this point that we have really
enjoyed working with the team at WHHR on the technical tests. We are looking
forward to sharing the pleasure of seeing Russell in action with our many
supporters and friends.
Photographs can be seen here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/55958391@N07/albums/72157676088464488
And if you'd like to see some amazing footage shot from a drone (not mine) visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21UskbZFaL4
Cheers,
Michael Chapman
