List of Welsh Highland Railway Ltd rolling stock

This is a list of the rolling stock of the Welsh Highland Railway Limited which is used to operate the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway, a 1 ft 11+12 in (597 mm) narrow gauge heritage railway line in Porthmadog, North Wales. The line opened in 1980. The railway owns Russell - the only remaining original Welsh Highland locomotive, and a number of historically important coaches.

Locomotives

Steam locomotives

No. Name Wheel arrangement Date built Builder Works No. Image Notes
Russell 2-6-2T 1906 Hunslet 901 The only surviving original WHR engine. Returned to steam following overhaul in August 2014,[1] and now hauling regular trains alongside Gelert (as of November 2020).
Karen 0-4-2T 1942 Peckett and Sons 2024 Stored out of traffic on display in the shed. The first steam engine to haul a passenger train on the line.
Gelert 0-4-2T 1953 Bagnall 3050 Returned to service in April 2018 at the Statfold Barn Railway following overhaul there. The overhaul included a new boiler being constructed. Returned to the WHHR in July 2018 and has now started hauling regular passenger trains alongside Russell.
Lady Madcap 0-4-0ST 1896 Hunslet 652 Was dismantled in the 1950s and the parts were moved to Gelert's farm for reconstruction. New mainframes manufactured but as yet no boiler or tank.
590 4-6-0PT 1917 Baldwin 794 Baldwin Class 10-12-D imported from India, original number 794 but renumbered 590 to replace the original, scrapped WHR locomotive. Restored at the Vale of Rheidol Railway and entered service in May 2023.

Diesel locomotives

No. Name Wheel arrangement Date built Builder Works No. Image Notes
1 Glaslyn 4wDM 1952 Ruston & Hornsby 297030[2] Heavily modified over the years, very little remains of the original 48DL apart from the chassis and gearbox. Fitted with a 6cyl engine with fluid flywheel in place of the original 4 cylinder.[citation needed] Indicated as operable in 2020.[1]
2 Kinnerly 4wDM 1953 Ruston & Hornsby 354068[2] Named after the old WHR 1964 depot in Shropshire, Kinnerly hauled the first trains on the reopened WHR in 1980. The loco is still mostly original but has had the 'telephone box' cab removed. Very occasionally used as a mobile compressor for visiting locos to operate the WHR's airbraked stock.
4 Simplex No 4 4wDM 1966 Motor Rail Simplex 60S333[2] Originally operated by Pilkingtons Glass.
Worked in sand quarries.
6 Simplex No 6 4wDM 1959 Motor Rail Simplex 11102 Originally operated by Pilkingtons Glass.
Previously named Jonathan.
9 Simplex No 9 4wDM 1968 Motor Rail Simplex 60S363 Originally operated by Pilkingtons Glass.
Previously named Katherine.
58 0-6-0DH 1977 23rd August Works 23387[2] 350 hp Class Lyd2 imported from Poland in 1995. Originally operated by PKP on the Jarocin Railway as Lyd2-58.[3]
60 Eryri 0-6-0DH 1977 23 August Works 23389[2] 350 hp Class Lyd2 imported from Poland in 1993. Originally operated by PKP on the Jarocin Railway as Lyd2-60.[3]
69 0-6-0DH 1980 23 August Works 24051[2] 350 hp Class Lyd2 imported from Poland in 1993. Originally operated by PKP on the Jarocin Railway as Lyd2-069.[3]
Emma 4wDM Hunslet 9346[2] Used in construction of Jubilee line. Indicated as operable and main diesel engine in 2020.[1]

Electric locomotives

No. Name Wheel arrangement Date built Builder Works No. Image Notes

Former locomotives

No. Name Wheel arrangement Date built Builder Works No. Image Notes
4 Sezela No. 4 0-4-0T 1915 Avonside Engine Company 1738 Worked at the Sezela Sugar Mill in Natal, South Africa until 1971, when it was brought back to the UK. It was restored at the Knebworth Park and Winter Green Railway where it ran until the early 1990s. It was purchased in 1993 and moved to the line where it was returned to steam in 1997. In 2006 it was moved to the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway
Moel Tryfan (now Isaac) 0-4-2T 1953 Bagnall 3023 Sister loco to Gelert and allocated the name Moel Tryfan but never carried nameplates. After many years awaiting restoration, it was revealed in February 2008 that it has been sold to a private owner. Now restored and named Isaac it worked for a while on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway at Woody Bay.[4] but is now at Statfold Barn.
Beddgelert 2-8-2 1949 Société Anglo-Franco-Belge 120 Ex-SAR NG15 Class. Sold in 2007, and moved offsite for restoration
Gertrude 0-6-0T 1918 Andrew Barclay 1578 Steamed on the railway for several years before moving to the Leighton Buzzard Light Railway in early 2019.
The Coalition 0-4-0OE 1890, rebuilt 1930[2] Bagnall 1278 Rebuilt from 0-4-0ST steam locomotive. Undergoing cosmetic restoration. Originally worked at Llechwedd Slate Mines near Blaenau Ffestiniog. This locomotive has now left the railway and is on display at Statfold Barn.
The Eclipse 0-4-0OE 1895, rebuilt 1927[2] Bagnall 1445 Rebuilt from 0-4-0ST steam locomotive. Undergoing cosmetic restoration. Originally worked at Llechwedd Slate Mines near Blaenau Ffestiniog.

This locomotive has now left the railway and is on display at Statfold Barn.

Coaches

All coaches are bogie vehicles unless otherwise stated.

No. Date built Builder Body Type seats Image Notes
2 1902 Midland Railway Carriage and Wagon Company rebuilt in 1938 by GWR. brake van 0 Ex. G.W.R. Vale of Rheidol Railway four-wheeled van, sold by British Rail 1968.
6 1995 WHR Ltd. Saloon 12 Bodywork mounted on modified RNAD four-wheeled flat wagon No. 69. Previously numbered 4.
7 1987 WHR Ltd. Fully glazed saloon with tables 32 'The Eisteddfod Coach' Coachwork mounted on a modified Hudson bogie chassis. Carriage had been taken out of service in November 2013 until March 2014 for major reconstruction of the floor.
23 1893 Ashbury Carriage and Wagon Co Manchester Fully glazed saloon 33 'The Buffet Car' This carriage was initially given the number "23" in the combined FR/WHR stock list. However, there is documentary evidence that the carriage was formally identified as "No. 24" in 1936. It appears that this number change occurred in 1926 when the WHR exchanged one of their Ashbury "Summer" carriages (No 24) with the FR in return for three bogie coal wagons.

The carriage was modified by the WHR in 1927 to serve as a buffet car, a service which operated until 1929. It was recovered in 1987 and restored by Stanegate Restorations and Replicas Ltd and WHHR ltd with its first run in the heritage train on 2 May 2009.

25 2010 Stanegate Restorations and Replicas Ltd Fully glazed saloon 33 Replica of original 1893 carriage.
29 1891 Metropolitan Carriage & Wagon Co. Central glazed saloon with open balcony at each end 24 'The Gladstone Car' Ex North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways recovered 1988 and restored by WHR Ltd.
42 1924 Hudson open toast rack 24 Three open unglazed compartments. One of six original bogie toast racks built by Hudson for use on the WHR and FR. Completely rebuilt by WHR Ltd.

Former coaches

No. Date built Builder Body Type seats Image Notes
1 1973 WHR Ltd. saloon/brake 20 Observation and Brake end car with central glazed saloon and part-glazed observation compartment. Coachwork mounted on a modified Hudson bogie chassis. Sold to the Teifi Valley Railway in 1998.
3 1980 WHR Ltd. open toast rack 18 Three open unglazed compartments. Bodywork mounted on a modified Hudson bogie chassis. Sold to a private Railway in Hampshire in March 2010.
5 1913 Waggonfabrik Wismar Chassis of Deutsche Reichsbahn bogie coach awaiting new body. No. 960-104 imported 1972. Returned to Germany in August 2009.
6 1981 WHR Ltd. semi-open part-glazed toast rack 18 Three compartments. Bodywork mounted on a modified Hudson bogie chassis. Sold to the Amerton Railway

References

  1. ^ a b c "Welsh Highland Railway Stock List - Your Train". Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i Industrial Locomotives: including preserved and minor railway locomotives. Vol. 16EL. Melton Mowbray: Industrial Railway Society. 2012. ISBN 978 1 901556 78 0.
  3. ^ a b c Malczewski M.: Witaszyckie „Lidki” in Świat Kolei Nr. 3/2006, p.30 (in Polish)
  4. ^ https://www.steamrailway.co.uk (Steam Railway Magazine March 2008)