Mountaineer hauled across the Cob for fundraising appeal
A TEAM of young Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway volunteers have embarked on a fundraising bid to get Alco 2-6-2T Mountaineer back into traffic.
They launched their new campaign to ‘Rebuild the Alco’ by getting sponsored to pull the First World War veteran from Boston Lodge Works across the Cob to Porthmadog Harbour station Platform 1.
The restoration of No. 57156 of 1916 will largely take place at Glan y Pwll workshops, which requires some restoration work itself before any on the engine can take place.
The railway intends to invest in a new insulated roof on the workshop building, as well as other upgrades to the site. Once this is complete, the team will look to start the process of restoring the Alco.
The locomotive was built for the War Department and later saw use in France to help with the postwar rebuilding efforts.
In the 1960s it was purchased by enthusiast John Ransom and brought over to the UK.
After a few years running in London, it was decided to hand the locomotive to the Ffestiniog Railway, where it arrived in 1967 and quickly became an important member of the fleet.
Much rebuilt to improve its usefulness, Mountaineer saw regular use on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland railways until February 2006 when it was withdrawn for an overhaul. Since then, it has been stored under cover, awaiting the time and resources required for a rebuild.
The locomotive was named in 1969 after an earlier Mountaineer, one of the FR’s original George England engines, and the nameplates are replicas of the originals.
The bell from the original Mountaineer also survives and is fitted to the Alco on special occasions.
The pull across the Cob by 20 volunteers was due to be held on Saturday, August 27 between 7am and 8.45am.
A challenge to guess how long it took the volunteers was set up, with the closest to the time winning a set of five pieces of Alco merchandise, including a cap, badge, sweatshirt, hoodie, a print of the locomotive, polo shirt, and T-shirt.
Each ticket cost £12.65, with all proceeds going towards the ‘Rebuild the Alco’ fund, held by the Ffestiniog Railway Society.
The merchandise can also be bought separately.