Brian's Welshpool & Llanfair Railway Loco Page

The Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway

THE STEAM LOCOMOTIVES Part: 1

"The Earl"

W&L No 1 (GWR 822)

The Earl built in 1902 by Beyer Peacock at their Gorton Foundry in Manchester, works number 3496 ran as W&L Number 1 until renumbered by the Great Western Railway in 1923 as 822 which she carried until withdrawn by British Railways in 1956. She was returned to the W&L Preservation Company in 1961. As built she weighed full 19 tons 18cwt with a tractive effort of 8,175lbs (@ 85%), designed to pull 40 tons up 1 in 30 incline at 10mph, carried 28 cu ft of coal and to go round 3 chain curves and have a maximum speed of 25 mph with a 7ton axle load. In 1929 she went to Oswestry Cambrian Works where she was fitted with new boiler and firebox designed by the GWR. New boiler and firebox were fitted next in 1999 and she returned to traffic in earnest in 2000 turned out in here 1950's BR livery - a sturdy workhorse well liked by here crews at Llanfair.

Here traveling on the standard gauge at the Rainhill 150 celebrations near Liverpool. The Earl traveled to Didcot (GWR Depot) first and then went to the National Rail Museum at York on this "weltrol". "The Earl" was away from the W&L from 1987 until 1991.

"The Countess" W&L No 2 GWR No 823

The Countess seen here on the lower left in Cambrian livery running out from Llanfair beside the Banwy river with Tanllan Farm in the background. On theright we see her at the head of the "Royal Train" on 19th July 2002 receiving the staff prior to departing Llanfair. The Prince of Wales traveled on the footplate from Golfa to Welshpool - the W&L's first Royal Train in 100 years of operation. The Headboard is the original Cambrian Railways royal train headboard borrowed from the Cambrian Railway museum at Oswestry, it was originally used in 1896 for the then Prince of Wales trip to Aberystwyth. So the headboard is some 5 years older than the loco!.

"Monarch"

W&L No 6 (ex Bowaters)

Built in 1953 for the Bowaters paper line at Sittingbourne in Kent, this 0-4-0 + 0-4-0

is an "articulated Meyer" type and ran for only a short time on the W&L before being sold to some members of the Festiniog Railway. This engine

has a marine firebox/boiler and being of a short wheelbase was very kind to the track and also the long boiler helped keep the sparks down. In the hot summer of 1976 she operated most of our high summer services and thus avoided the embarrassment that other Welsh lines suffered of so many fires. The only reasons given for her sale was the risk of exposing the firebox crown on the assent from Welshpool as any long boiler loco was at such risk. One may question this now with the larger boiler on the Tubize loco! In 2002 it was proposed to purchase this loco back! and indeed in the winter of 2002/03 the "bit's" of MONARCH were returned to Llanfair to await restoration. Here we see Monarch's unique "marine" firebox and boiler laying at Tanllan yard, Llanfair awaiting attention, the bunker can just be seen behind.

Monarch had a lot of work done during June and above left is shown one of the engines after the "Monarch" team had started their work. - 16th June 2003

"Sir Drefaldwyn"

W&L No 10 (OBB 699.01)

This loco has a very interesting history: Built in 1944 as an 0-8-0 tender loco by order of the German army (reputedly for use on the Russian front) by the Soc. Franco Belge at Rheims in France. After the war the engine was found in Austria working on the OBB lines and was shipped from Weiz to Llanfair in December 1969 for a total cost to the W&L of £1,200

"Joan"

W&L No 12 (Antigua Sugar Railways No 7)

This 0-6-2 was built in 1927 by Kerr Stuarts in Stoke on Trent for the Antiguan sugar cane lines in the West Indies. It was rescued by the W&L from the cutters torch and after extensive overhaul was returned to traffic in 1977. This very "Colonial" looking loco was great fun to work as it was often near it's limit climbing the Golfa with a heavy train, but was surprisingly sure footed and had a tremendously noisy exhaust with the original chimney. This loco is currently out of service awaiting a major overhaul.

This picture from the summer of 1976 shows "Monarch" on the right about to depart with a passenger train from Llanfair, whilst on the left "Dougal" (the diminutive Barclay) is shunting "Joan" which is just having it's tanks fitted. Also of note the wagon nearest has the steam pump which was required in late summer of 76 to fill the old water tower from the river as the stream had by then run dry. This was a very onerous task for the crew at the end of the day, I well remember sitting with "Monarch" for over an hour "pumping the tower" after returning with the last train to Llanfair. We seem to forget the problems we used to have just to operate a regular timetable in those day's.

W&L No 14 (Sierra Leone Railway No 85)

Loco No 14, although never named is better know by all as "85" it's SLR number. This useful little 2-6-2 is both fast and powerful, although like our other prairie tank it can be light on it's feet especially in the wet. I think this loco was one of the best buy's we made after the original loco's return. We obtained the loco (built 1954 by Hunslet) and 4 coaches (built in 1961 by Gloucester Railway Carriage & Wagon Co.) and arrived at the W&L in 1975.

W&L No 5 (JK 5) The big Tubize Visit Tubize Page