The Gwili Railway thread

No words required!

 

A manor in its manor

 

Manor at Danycoed

 

Haulwen very close now and 7812 out and about.

regards

Matt

 

Great news as Haulwen steams. Well done to the team, a great achievement.

more loco news in the pipeline in the next few weeks.

regards

Matt

 

Looks fabulous! Great to get a resident back in steam. Quite the year for the railway... and we're only in march!

 

Keep an eye out on the railways Facebook page for an announcement tomorrow at 12.30pm.

 

Please post here for those of us who abhor Facebook !

 

Could this be an announcement about a visiting loco? It’s been stated on the EVR page that Moorbarrow is staying there for the year so Gwili presumably need some cover until Haulwen is in service…

 

It's good news, but it's for Matt to post when he's ready.

 

Very good news

 

Very good news

 

Here we go..




The Gwili Railway Co is pleased to confirm that it has purchased ex-GWR 2-6-2 “Small Prairie”locomotive L.150, following its appearance at the railway’s “6 for 60 gala”, marking 60 years since the closure of the Carmarthen to Aberystwyth line in 1965.

The locomotive now has a permanent home on the Carmarthenshire heritage line and becomes the first ex-Barry Scrapyard resident in working order to find a permanent home in South Wales.

Commented Gwili Chairman Matt Bowen “it has been a long-held ambition to own our own Great Western engine and L.150 is sure to be a big attraction for the railway and will see good use on regular 5 car sets on the 4 mile line. We are delighted that we have been able to reach agreement with Mr Parker for the purchase and must thank our supporters who helped to make the purchase possible at short notice.

Commented Bill Parker “The Gwili Railway is a delightful line in rural West Wales, and I can’t think of a better home for the locomotive. Given its connections with London Underground I had been discussing it remaining in the London area for more than a year: L.150 was in Wales for only a few days before the Gwili made an offer for it, which I was happy to accept. I’m sure it will flourish there.”

The loco is set to debut for the first time in Gwili ownership on Monday 5th May when it will double-head with visiting GWR 6430 from the South Devon Railway, marking additionally the last day in traffic for 6430 before withdrawal for overhaul.

L.150 was built in Swindon as GWR 5521 in 1927and mainly operated on West Country branch linesduring its working life aside from brief spells at Oswestry and Machynllyth, receiving its last BR overhaul in Caerphilly Works. It was initially purchased from Barry by a group on the West Somerset Railway before being sold to Bill Parkerand his family in 1980 and moved to the Dean Forest Railway, then to Swindon Works and then back to the Forest of Dean again.

The loco was first returned to working order in 2007at The Flour Mill, subsequently appearing at the Wolsztyn open days in Poland in 2007, 2008 and 2009, and getting as far east as Budapest in Hungary, where it piloted the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express out of Nyugati station in September 2007. In 2008 itoperated scheduled passenger trains out of Wroclaw, Poland.

5521 was renumbered L.150 by London Underground in 2013 as backup for Metropolitan No. 1 in the 150th anniversary celebrations, and fitted with a cut-down cab and maroon livery, subsequently operating on the former Metropolitan and Hammersmith & City lines. L.150 has since had another 10-year overhaul with a boiler ticket until 2031.

 

Well done, Matt and the Gwilli team in the purchase of this locomotive. a suitable addition to the line. Here's to the next ten years.

 

Is there a possibility that the loco may have worked over the Gwilli in it's previous existence?

 

Great addition! Livery wibble - can it go back to green?
Seen some negative comments on social media re Fox & Edwards’ involvement at the railway - is this a small vocal minority or are they a bit controversial amongst some supporters?

 

Will it retain its L150 identity?