On Saturday 30th July and Sunday 31st July the Welsh Highland Railway will be celebrating its centenary and hosting a number of events.
The railway will operate a selection of heritage trains between Dinas and Rhyd Ddu (South Snowdon) to celebrate the re-opening of this section of the line.
Russell is the only surviving original Welsh Highland Railway steam locomotive usually based at Porthmadog but will be working with some of the trains to Rhyd Ddu. This is some 100 years after the first Welsh Highland Railway trains ran over this section of line.
Russell is a 2-6-2 Side Tank Locomotive and the pride of the Welsh Highland Railway. This beautiful locomotive has had a very varied career. It was ordered by Beddgelert & South Snowdon Railway Company in Portmadoc in 1906. The locomotive was then set to work for the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways company until that company and P.B.S.S were incorporated into the Welsh Highland Railway in 1922.
It was decided in 1923 to cut down the locomotives cab and boiler fittings to allow Russell to run over both the Welsh Highland Railway and the Ffestiniog Railway due to restricted loading gauge. However, this was unsuccessful and Russell was still too large and never managed to work through to Blaenau.
Russell was then requisitioned in 1942 for the War effort and was overhauled at the Brymbo Steel Company and set to work on an opencast Ironstone site near Hook Norton, Oxfordshire. At the end of the war Russell was sold by the Ministry of Supply to work in the Norden Clay Mines at Corfe, Dorset. But Russell’s build meant frequent derailments due to appalling track standards. Sometimes this meant it had its pony and trailing trucks removed to help stop derailments but even this didn’t help. The good news is that the current West Highland Railway has a far superior permanent way line and is good for Russell to wander on.
1953 Russell was laid up and suffered severe axle damage, so she was purchased for £70 from Birmingham Locomotive Society and transferred to the Talyllyn Railway at Towyn. Thankfully Russell’s damage was repaired for FREE by the Hunslet Company and so once again Russell started wanderings to Kinnerley, Carnforth, Llanberis and finally to Gelerts Farm Works.
In 1967 Russell was given a new boiler and in 1987 restoration works were finished. However, since 2003 Russell was out of service awaiting another expensive major overhaul. But with lots of hard work and fund raising from Rail Heritage fans Russell returned to the WHHR on 2nd August 2014 hauling his first passenger train for 11 years.
So if you would like to be wandering with Russell this weekend then you can purchase tickets from https://www.festrail.co.uk/welsh-highland-railway-centenary/
A catering van, real ale bar, footplate rides, model layouts, photo exhibitions and a pre-1939 vintage car display will keep visitors occupied at Dinas Station. Gelert’s Farm, Porthmadog will also be hosting complementary activities.
Image Credit Fest Rail
