The Penrhyn Port Class was a class of three

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

steam locomotives A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, oil or, rarely, wood) to heat water in the locomot ...

built for the

Penrhyn Quarry Railway The Penrhyn Quarry Railway was a narrow gauge railway in Caernarfonshire (now Gwynedd), Wales. It served the Penrhyn quarry near Bethesda, taking their slate produce to Port Penrhyn, near Bangor. The railway was around long and used a gaug ...

(PQR). These locomotives were built by the

Hunslet Engine Company The Hunslet Engine Company is a locomotive-building company, founded in 1864 in Hunslet, England. It manufactured steam locomotives for over 100 years and currently manufactures diesel shunting locomotives. The company is part of Ed Murray & S ...

between 1883 and 1885 and supplied specifically to work at

Port Penrhyn Port Penrhyn ( cy, Porth Penrhyn) is a harbour located just east of Bangor in north Wales at the confluence of the River Cegin with the Menai Strait. It was formerly of great importance as the main port for the export of slate from the Penrh ...

near Bangor, north

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

. They were a variant of the standard

Dinorwic Alice Class The Dinorwic Alice Class is a class of eleven narrow-gauge steam locomotives built specifically for the Dinorwic Slate Quarry. These locomotives were built by the Hunslet Engine Company between 1886 and 1904, and were designed and supplied spe ...

design.

History

The three locomotives of this class were ordered by the Penrhyn Quarry Railway to replace two vertical boilered

De Winton De Winton & Co (1854–1901) were engineers in Caernarfon, Wales. They built, amongst other things, vertical boilered narrow gauge locomotives for use in Welsh slate mines and other industrial settings. At least six De Winton locomotives have ...

locomotives. The first pair, ''Gwynedd'' and ''Lilian'' were delivered in 1883 and the final locomotive of the class, ''Winifred'' was delivered in 1885. ''Winifred'' worked until July 1964, ''Gwynedd'' until August 1954, and ''Lilian'' until August 1956.

Preservation

All three locomotives have survived: ''Gwynedd'' at the Bressingham Steam Museum, ''Lilian'' at the

Launceston Steam Railway The Launceston Steam Railway is a narrow gauge railway, in Cornwall, England. The railway operates from the town of Launceston to Newmills, where there is a farm park; it is long. The railway is built on the trackbed of the former standar ...

and ''Winifred'' spent many years in private ownership in the United States before returning to the UK in 2012 to work at the

Bala Lake Railway The Bala Lake Railway ( Welsh: ''Rheilffordd Llyn Tegid'') is a narrow-gauge railway along the southern shore of Bala Lake in Gwynedd, North Wales. The line, which is long, is built on a section of the former standard-gauge Ruabon–Barmouth ...

References

{{reflist 0-4-0ST locomotives Hunslet narrow gauge locomotives Preserved narrow gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain Railway locomotives introduced in 1883 Industrial locomotives of Great Britain Narrow gauge locomotives of the United Kingdom