WDLR Baldwin set to return

GRAHAM Fairhurst’s Baldwin 10-12-D 4-6-0T WDLR No. 608 is close to returning to operation. Problems became apparent during its debut appearance on the Welsh Highland Railway in late 2019 following restoration at a private site (RM, December 2019) resulting in extensive work being undertaken at Ffestiniog Railway’s Boston Lodge.

The loco was expected to make cameo appearances at Dinas during the Welsh Highland Railway Society’s September 17-18 AGM weekend and during the Ffestiniog Railway’s October 7-9 Bygones Weekend amid testing. It currently awaits the fitting of vacuum gear and full specification FR couplers.

No. 608 is the second Baldwin 10-12-D to steam in preservation, the other being Greensand Railway Museum Trust’s Leighton Buzzard-based No. 778.