album:Mid June 2019

Back in 2008 when our locomotive was newly imported, it spent a few months on display at the National Railway Museum's Shildon site. On an adjacent track was another newly-imported narrow gauge loco, a WWI Hunslet, also in need of a lot of work to make it run. Well the team working on number 303 have been a bit quicker than us, helped by a large National Lottery grant. The newly-completed loco is currently visiting the Ff&WHR and hauled some special trains over the weekend. Here it simmers in Boston Lodge yard. Well done to the restoration team for finishing it to such a high standard.

The rare sight of two double Farlies at Dduallt. On Sunday, Paul had hauled the slate train up here with Merddin Emrys, and was waiting for a path to return light engine. Meanwhile Alan is driving David Lloyd George on a scheduled passenger train.

David Lloyd George has now looped around the spiral and appears above Merddin Emrys .

Mandarin characters marked up on a tender footstep, ready for welding.

Andrew has done a very neat job of writing the characters in weld. The characters are 安全 AnQuan.

The other footstep reads 行车 XingChe. Together the phrase 安全行车 means 'Drive Safely'.

We already had one front footstep which was carried by the loco when we bought it. Andrew replicated this for the other side. The characters are 富平安 Fu PingAn, loosely meaning 'Good Luck, Go Safely'.

All four footsteps together. The painted one is the old one.

Andrew's duty on Sunday was to bring Chaloner from Dinas to Boston Lodge, a distance of over 20 miles. For this archaic slate quarry 'coffee pot' it must have seemed a mammoth journey. The wagon was needed to carry extra coal supplies.

Chaloner stands at Waenfaur next to the new replica station building.

A wonderful photo of the slate train crossing Cei Mawr. The brakesmen from the C2 group included Daves 1 and 2, and Chris; Paul was driving the loco (Photo: Dave Thurlow).

Paul drives Merddin Emrys over Cei Mawr hauling the second slate train on Sunday (Photo: Dave Thurlow).

Locos 2 and 3 in the shed at Dahuichang in 2019. (Photo: Ed or Barney)

Exterior of the loco shed at Dahuichang. (Photo: Ed or Barney)

The loading chutes in the tunnel at the top of the line. (Photo: Ed or Barney)

The rails are still in place along most of the line, though some of it is very overgrown. This is one of the more accessible stretches. (Photo: Ed or Barney)

Driver's side tender footstep on a C2 surviving at Shanhetun, which formerly worked on the forestry railway there.

Fireman's side tender footstep on a C2 surviving at Shanhetun, which formerly worked on the forestry railway there.

The manual includes a very detailed 243-point check; the first page of the description is shown here.

Front cover of the C2 inspection and maintenance manual.