Talyllyn’s Edward Thomas heads home to Corris for big birthday do

Talyllyn Railway Kerr-Stuart 0-4-2ST ‘Edward Thomas’ celebrated its 100th birthday in September with a return to its former home of the Corris Railway.

The Tattoo class loco was built for the Corris line in 1921, taking CR no 4. After the line closed the Kerr Stuart and Hughes 0-4-2ST no 3 were stored in Machynlleth station yard until purchased for the fledgling Talyllyn Railway preservation project in 1951.

Once on the Talyllyn – only 16 miles from Corris and to the same and highly rare 2ft 3in gauge – the loco was named ‘Edward Thomas’ after the former TR general manager. It was quickly pressed into service, effectively rescuing the preservation effort by relieving the line’s worn-out original locomotive ‘Dolgoch’, and has been a core member of the TR fleet ever since.

During its CR visit Edward Thomas hauled its first passenger train into Corris station since 1930 – the loco had returned to the line once before, but at the time the necessary permissions were not in place for passenger workings.

No 4 shared duties with the Corris Railway’s no 7, the new-build Tattoo class constructed in 2001, and after the Gala event on 4th-5th September both locos travelled to the Talyllyn Railway for a second birthday event a week later.

Here they were joined by two more Kerr Stuarts, both 2ft gauge and normally based at the Apedale Valley Railway – Phil Mason’s 0-4-0T ‘Diana’ and Tattoo class 0-4-2ST ‘Stanhope’ ran on temporary track laid at Tywyn Wharf station.

No 4’s return to the CR also attracted families of those who worked on the loco at Corris before its closure in 1948. These included Selwyn Humphreys, son of Humphrey Humphreys the loco’s last regular driver – and fireman, as he did both jobs amongst others on the line. Elizabeth Humphreys, Humphrey’s sister, was the final station mistress at Corris.

Also present were David and Stephen Hulme, grandsons of the CR’s mechanical engineer in the 1920s Albert Hulme. They met Mrs Jackie Jeffrey, whose grandfather Thomas Squire worked with Albert in 1926, during which he lived in the hamlet of Esgairgeiliog, next stop from the line’s loco shed at Maespoeth Junction.

One event during the Gala weekend saw Edward Thomas briefly renamed ‘Campbell Thomas’, celebrating the Machynlleth station master who ensured both Corris locos were not scrapped between 1948 and ’51. Present as Chris Magner whose recent book The Saviours of British Railways Narrow Gauge Railways (reviewed in NGW158) tells how Mr Thomas and other BR officials helped to conserve and preserve locomotives and infrastructure of Mid Wales narrow gauge lines including the Welshpool and Llanfair and the Vale of Rheidol.

Photo: Tom Curtis Above: Despite some issues with a transporter too big to get into the Talyllyn Railway’s entrance at Tywyn Wharf, the four-strong roster of Kerr Stuart locos was soon lined up on 9th September, 2ft gauge engines ‘Diana’ and ‘Stanhope’ joining the two 2ft 3in examples courtesy of temporary track.

Photo: Joey Evans Below: While working passenger trains during its Corris visit, Kerr Stuart 0-4-2ST ‘Edward Thomas’ was also rostered on the freight workings typical of the trains it would mostly have hauled during its working life on the mid-Wales line.

n The well-travelled Joey Evans headed for Kent on Sunday 15th August when the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway steamed two locomotives for its highsummer timetable. Kerr Stuart Brazil class 0-4-2ST sisters ‘Melior’ (4219/1924) and ‘Leader’ (926/1905) were pictured raising steam outside the shed at Kemsley Down.

Photos: Steve Town The Romney, Hythe & Dymchurch Railway celebrated the return to service of its Krupp Pacific ‘Black Prince’ (1637/1937) on 4th September after the loco’s major overhaul at John Fowler Engineering in Cumbria. The Kent 15-inch gauge line also launched its new Heritage Centre, which was opened by the Major of New Romney Paul Thomas.

Photo: Chris Parry/FF&WHR n The Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways hosted a welcome return visit from the Young Rail Professionals on 14th-15th August. The group from YRP, founded to promote the rail industry as a career and inspire next-generation rail staff, was on a third visit to the FF&WHR, the 13 members travelling from all over the United Kingdom. Prime tasks completed during the visit included installing electrics in the new carriage shed at the FF&WHR’s Boston Lodge works.

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