Edward Thomas celebrates 100th birthday at both its lines!
TALYLLYN Railway 0-4-2ST No. 4 Edward Thomas has marked its centenary by returning to the Corris Railway for which it was built in 1921 before being sold to its‘sister'2ft 3in gauge line 30 years later.
The Tattoo class locomotive was built by Kerr Stuart of Stoke-on-Trent to become the fourth operational Corris locomotive, the other three being in a poor condition and in need of overhaul. After the GWR took over the Corris in 1930, No. 4 worked the line with Hughes 0-4-2ST No. 3 of 1878.
At nationalisation in 1948, No. 4 was out of service and in need of overhaul. When the Corris Railway was closed by BR that year, the two locomotives were stored under a tarpaulin on a siding behind Machynlleth station for three years until Nos. 3 and 4 were purchased by the newly-formed Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society in 1951, to be named Sir Haydn and Edward Thomas respectively.
On September 4/5, No. 4 made a return visit to its former home line for a 100th birthday gala weekend, running with 2005-builtTattoo replica No. 7.
No. 4, which had not headed a passenger train from Corris station since 1930, carried a suitable birthday headboard.
Links with the past
The weekend also brought some welcome visitors whose parents and grandparents had worked on the Corris before its closure in 1948.
Selwyn Humphreys is the son of Humphrey Humphreys who was the last regular driver and fireman, working from the locomotive shed at Maespoeth Junction where No. 4 was housed during its return. Elizabeth Humphreys, Humphrey's sister, was the final stationmistress at Corris.
The railway's mechanical engineer in the 1920s when No. 4 was delivered was Albert Hulme who performed or arranged work on the locomotive to ensure that it worked reliably after initial problems – not to mention a mishap when the original chimney was damaged in a collision with an overhanging branch or structure.
A first class engineer, he was also responsible for amalgamating components of the original trio of Loughborough steam engines built in 1878 into one locomotive which, numbered 3, worked with No. 4 until the Corris was closed by BR. He seems to have lost his job when the GWR took over the line in 1930 and returned to his native Manchester.
Albert's grandsons David and Stephen came to the event where they met Jackie Jeffrey whose grandfather Thomas Squire worked with him on the Corris in 1926, when he lived in Esgairgeiliog, served by the next station down the line from Maespoeth Junction.
After the Corris closed in 1948, the engines seemed destined for scrap, but the stationmaster at Machynlleth, Campbell Thomas, hoped that they might have a future life and kept them sheeted over in the goods yard at his station, away from prying eyes. Had it not been for the actions of Mr Thomas it is unlikely that either would have survived.
Temporary renaming
After three years under his care, they were purchased by the Talyllyn in 1951, helping to establish the world's first heritage railway. Without the Corris pair it is questionable as to whether the Talyllyn preservation project would have succeeded, and the history of the heritage era might have been very different.
To recognise its role in the birth of railway preservation, No. 4 was temporarily renamed Campbell Thomas in the presence of Chris Magner whose book The Saviours of British Railways Narrow Gauge
Railways relates how Mr Thomas and other BR officials helped to conserve and preserve locomotives and infrastructure of mid-Wales narrow gauge lines including the Welshpool & Llanfair and the Vale of Rheidol.
The following weekend, September 11/12, No. 4 returned to the Talyllyn to continue the celebrations with another gala – and was accompanied by No. 7.
In addition to Edward Thomas running, special trains were made up over the weekend in which Edward Thomas ran as a double header with No. 7.
The Talyllyn gala weekend also featured two other visiting Kerr Stuarts, 0-4-0T No. 1158 of 1909
Diana, and Apedale Valley Light Railway-based 0-4-2ST Tattoo No.2395 of 1917 Stanhope, which both ran on temporary 2ft gauge track giving cab rides in the yard at Tywyn Wharf.
Diana, which was supplied new to the Kerry Tramway in mid-Wales, had been partially restored after being
bought by enthusiast Graham Mullis in 1964. It was purchased in 2014 by Talyllyn member and volunteer Phil Mason who completed its restoration in 2015. Diana was back in service, on the Bala Lake Railway, by the end of that year. Diana’s own centenary in 2017 was celebrated by a tour of several UK railways including Statfold Barn, Beamish Museum, the Ffestiniog Railway and the Welsh Highland Railway. It is currently operating on the Amerton Railway.
Stanhope had been owned by several companies, the first being civil engineer Holloway Brothers for work on the construction of 1000 homes in Rosyth, relating to the Royal Naval dockyard. It was then transferred to Kent for the construction of the Swanley bypass, following which ownership passed to Durham County Water Board, where it acquired its name.
The gala weekend was complemented by another of the popular Talyllyn Railway craft beer, cider and gin festivals.