Just to pass on a bit of advertising from our nearest narrow-gauge neighbour:
West Lancashire Light Railway
Station Road
Hesketh Bank PR4 6SP
QUARRY ENGINES
August 29th and 30th 2010, 11.30 4.30
An unforeseen,
never-to-be-repeated conjunction of circumstances has given
us the opportunity to operate three very special steam
locomotives together, each one of which hauled slates in
the slate quarries of North Wales and down to the quays
from which some were shipped to Preston and Liverpool
docks. Some of these slates may even be on the roof of your
house!
After lives of hard labour, each of these locomotives has
been rescued and lovingly restored. Each has a remarkable
story to tell. The locomotives are:
Stanhope, built in
1917. This loco worked in the Penrhyn quarries, It later
suffered the dreadful fate of being dismantled, with some
of its parts being dispersed. They were reassembled thanks
to patient detective work and massive determination.
Stanhope
has
been resident on the West Lancs Light Railway since 1999,
but
this will be its last appearance on the Railway
before it is moved to the newly completed Apedale Light
Railway in Staffordshire.
Edward
Sholto, built in 1909,
also worked in the Penrhyn quarries. It has been carefully
restored, a process which has only just been completed. It
is currently touring the country, wowing railway
enthusiasts wherever it goes. Our event will
reunited Edward
Sholto with
Stanhope
for
the first time since 1961.
Irish Mail,
built in
1903,
our
flagship locomotive. Irish
Mail worked
high up in the Dinorwic quarries. Members of the West
Lancashire Light Railway purchased this loco, minus boiler,
and a similar locomotive, Alice,
with
boiler, so that
they could use Alice's
boiler
in
restoring Irish
Mail. Remarkably,
Alice
had
been abandoned in an inaccessible location, and WLLR
members winched it down the mountainside inch by inch, in
the course of many visits. Following
restoration, Irish
Mail became the
first steam loco on the West Lancs Light Railway in 1981.
(Meanwhile Alice
was
sold to the Bala Light Railway where it was restored and
can still be seen).
Come
and help us give Stanhope a good send-off!
Free
admission to site. Tickets available for unlimited rides on
the train, which will depart approximately every 20
minutes, hauled by one or other of the three engines in
steam. Some double-heading is likely.