''Douglas'' is a narrow gauge steam locomotive. It was built by Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. Ltd. in 1918. It was originally used by the Air Service Constructional Corps (RAF) then was bought in 1949 by Abelson & Co. (Engineers) Ltd. who then sold it to the

Talyllyn Railway The Talyllyn Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Talyllyn) is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865Drummond 2015, page 17 ...

in 1953.

History

After being handed over to the RAF on 21 February 1918 the engine was first used at Manston by the

Admiralty Air Construction Service Admiralty most often refers to: *Admiralty, Hong Kong *Admiralty (United Kingdom), military department in command of the Royal Navy from 1707 to 1964 *The rank of admiral *Admiralty law Admiralty can also refer to: Buildings *Admiralty, Trafa ...

. From October 1921 onwards ''Douglas'' spent most of its working life at

RAF Calshot Royal Air Force Calshot or more simply RAF Calshot was initially a seaplane and flying boat station, and latterly a Royal Air Force marine craft maintenance and training unit. It was located at the end of Calshot Spit in Southampton Water, Hamp ...

near Southampton. In April 1949 it was sold at auction and bought for £60 by an engineering company called Abelson & Co (Engineers) Ltd. In the early days of preservation, the Talyllyn Railway had contacted this and other similar firms, asking for redundant equipment. Abelson's offered the locomotive to the Talyllyn, and in return they named it after the donor, Douglas Abelson. After presentation in 1953 the locomotive was retubed and converted from 2ft gauge at Griffin Foundry, Oldbury (with the conversion being paid for by Abelson) before being taken by road to Tywyn. At the same time as the conversion the engine's buffers were changed from a single centred buffer at each end to pairs of buffers. The cab was also extended backwards by about 6 inches to allow the engine's lever brake to be replaced by a screw brake. Although smaller than the other locomotives on the Talyllyn Railway, it has performed well and was returned to service in 1995, with a new boiler fitted, and turned out in its old Air Ministry Works & Buildings livery. In more recent years ''Douglas'' has been painted in standard Talyllyn Railway livery of deep bronze green lined with black borders and yellow lining; however as of 2010 it was painted red, acting as ''Duncan'' from the fictional

Skarloey Railway The Island of Sodor is a fictional island featured as the setting for ''The Railway Series'' books by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry (and his son Christopher), begun in 1945, and for the popular ''Thomas & Friends'' television series since 1984, altho ...

. In February 2018, to mark the centenary of both the locomotive and the

RAF The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

, it was painted

RAF blue The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the United Kingdom's air and space force. It was formed towards the end of the First World War on 1 April 1918, becoming the first independent air force in the world, by regrouping the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and ...

In fiction

All the steam-operated engines on the Talyllyn Railway appeared many times in ''

The Railway Series ''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry. Twen ...

'' books by the Rev. W. Awdry on the

. In this case Douglas was the basis for the character “Duncan”.

References

External links

Talyllyn Railway locomotives Individual locomotives of Great Britain Preserved narrow gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain 0-4-0WT locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1918 Andrew Barclay locomotives {{UK-steam-loco-stub