The New Steam Locomotive for the Corris Railway – Falcon Locomotive No. 10

By John Simms (softback, Corris Railway, corris.co.uk, 36pp, £3 plus £1 p&p).

WITH the announcement that the railway’s oldest surviving original (No. 3 now called Sir Haydn) and newest (No. 10) locomotives are set to meet for the first time at Maespoeth Junction this June (see News, pages 10/11), now is the perfect time to read up on the story of the Corris Railway’s latest project to reach completion.

Covering the story from the inception of the idea through to the locomotive’s debut on September 9/10, 2023, this informative booklet is packed full of details and images showing almost every step of the construction of the new Falcon locomotive – at a more than reasonable price, too. A fairly straightforward read, it details some of the differences and reasons between the Falcon as built and its predecessors (both the modified No. 3 and original trio built in the 19th century).

A new-build locomotive is always an astonishing achievement, let alone undertaking a second as the Corris has; it is surreal to see a project such as this, which has spanned almost two full decades, summed up concisely in less than 36 pages, but unless you went into the detail of every nut and bolt, that’s probably for the best. There’s no padding out; you could almost describe it as an abridged diary of the process.

For anyone looking to simultaneously learn about and support the Corris Railway and its new locomotive, this is an ideal way to do so, with all proceeds going towards the ongoing Falcon Locomotive Appeal Fund for No. 10’s continued upkeep.

INTERESTING READ AT A POCKETFRIENDLY PRICE