Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway Helps us out...

Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway Helps us out…

A previous posting on the blog made reference to tube issues on a couple of the steam locomotives here.  Despite blanking, Edward Sholto’s continued to leak so a decision was taken to ‘stop’ it for now pending re-tubing.  As a result of this we would have been short of operational steam for the narrow gauge beyond the Great War Steam Fair.

The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways have been very helpful in arranging at very short notice for us to hire Lilla for the duration of April. Thanks to Paul Lewin and his collegues at the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways for arranging this for us. Hopefully Lilla will be with us next week, intime to shunt the rolling stock arriving from the Apedale Valley Light Railway.

Lilla was built by the Hunslet engine company in 1891, works number 554. It started its working life at Cilgwyn Slate Quarry, in 1928 Lilla moved and continued its working lift at the Penrhyn Quarry Railway.

Lilla was bought for preservation by Bernard Latham in 1963, the locomotive was restored and ran in various locations until it visited the Ffestiniog Railway in 1993. The Lilla locomotive group was formed and bought the locomotive for the Ffestiniog Railway. It has stayed at the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways ever since making regular tours around the country to visit other railways as an ambassador for the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways.

We look forward to Lilla running at Beamish and hope that visitors to the Great War Steam Fair, Horses at War and Old King Coal will enjoy having the opportunity to see a locomotive that normally resides in Wales visiting the North East.

Below: Lilla has been north before – seen here at the Penrhyn Quarry Railway Gala at Threlkeld last July.

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Stop Press!  Lilla and the Motor Rail from the Moseley Railway Trust collection arrived on Wednesday…