''Russell'' is a

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 locomotive 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 ...

originally built in 1906 for the

North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways The North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways (NWNGR) was a railway company that planned to build a number of inter-connected narrow-gauge railways across North Wales. The first two of these lines - jointly known as the "Moel Tryfan Undertaking" - were ...

(NWNGR), but most famously associated with the original

Welsh Highland Railway The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) or Rheilffordd Eryri is a long, restored narrow gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations in ...

(WHR), and now based at the

Welsh Highland Heritage Railway The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway is a short reconstructed heritage railway in Gwynedd, Wales. Its main station is in Porthmadog. History The origins of the WHHR lie in a small group of railway enthusiasts, including some disgruntled volunt ...

Porthmadog Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ffest ...

History

* 1906 - ''Russell'' was 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 ...

to the order of the Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway (PB&SSR). The PB&SSR was never completed, and sold the locomotive to the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway (NWNGR), as part of a deal for a two-year delay in electrifying its line by that Company. The locomotive was named after the Chairman, Managing Director and second receiver of that company, J.C.Russell. * 1922 - The locomotive became the property of the Welsh Highland Railway (WHR), which acquired the NWNGR and the (partially completed) PB&SSR. * 1924 - After the WHR was taken over by the neighbouring

Ffestiniog Railway The Ffestiniog Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Ffestiniog) is a heritage railway based on narrow-gauge, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park. The railway is roughly long an ...

(FfR), ''Russell'' was reduced in height in order to allow it to work trains on the FfR. The Ffestiniog's bridges and tunnels were built to a restrictive

loading gauge A loading gauge is a diagram or physical structure that defines the maximum height and width dimensions in railway vehicles and their loads. Their purpose is to ensure that rail vehicles can pass safely through tunnels and under bridges, and ke ...

. The work entailed lowering Russell's chimney, steam dome and cab; however the locomotive was still too wide and could not pass through the long Moelwyn tunnel. * 1937 - The WHR closed, with ''Russell'' running the last through train. The locomotive was left in the sheds at Dinas. * 1942 - Requisitioned for war service, refurbished by the Brymbo Steel Works, and sent to the Brymbo Ironworks railway in

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. It was converted to a 0-6-2T after frequent derailments on the industrial tracks. * 1946 - Sold to

Fayle's Tramway The Purbeck Mineral and Mining Museum exists to preserve and interpret the historic extractive industries in ball clay mining in the Isle of Purbeck. The museum is located adjacent to Norden station on the Swanage Railway and is open from the e ...

, in the

Isle of Purbeck The Isle of Purbeck is a peninsula in Dorset, England. It is bordered by water on three sides: the English Channel to the south and east, where steep cliffs fall to the sea; and by the marshy lands of the River Frome and Poole Harbour to the n ...

Dorset Dorset ( ; archaically: Dorsetshire , ) is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The ceremonial county comprises the unitary authority areas of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole and Dorset (unitary authority), Dors ...

. * 1954 - Russell was purchased by the Birmingham Locomotive Club for £70 in order to secure it for preservation. * 1955 - It was put on outside display at Tywyn Wharf station on 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 ...

. * 1965 - It was donated to the company now known as Welsh Highland Railway Limited through the generosity of the Birmingham Locomotive Club and moved to that company's base at

Kinnerley Kinnerley ( Welsh: ''Chen-ar-dinlle'') is a small village in Shropshire, England. It lies between the neighbouring villages of Dovaston and Pentre and the nearest town is Oswestry. To the north is the village of Knockin. History A mile to th ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

. * 1970 - Fitted with a new boiler by its makers the

at Leeds and it returned to Kinnerley on 29 January 1971. * 1971 - Sent to Lakeside Railway Estates Co. Ltd. at

Carnforth Carnforth is a market town and civil parish in the City of Lancaster in Lancashire, England, situated at the north-east end of Morecambe Bay. The parish of Carnforth had a population of 5,560 in the 2011 census, an increase from the 5,350 reco ...

for further repairs. * 1974 - Moved from Carnforth to Hills & Bailey Ltd. at

Llanberis (; ) is a village, community and electoral ward in Gwynedd, northwest Wales, on the southern bank of the lake and at the foot of Snowdon, the highest mountain in Wales. It is a centre for outdoor activities in Snowdonia, including walking, mo ...

for further overhaul work. Subsequently the engine was moved to the Gelerts Farm Works of the WHR where the restoration work continued. * 1987 - Steamed again at the Gelerts Farm Works and has since operated trains regularly on the Welsh Highland Railway (Porthmadog). * 1988 and 1990 - Visited and operated trains on the

* 2000 - Visited the Welsh Highland Railway (Caernarfon) and operated trains on the occasion of the official reopening of the line between Dinas and

Waunfawr Waunfawr (''gwaun'' + ''mawr'', en, large moorland/meadow) is a village and community, SE of Caernarfon, near the Snowdonia National Park, Gwynedd, in Wales. Description Waunfawr is in the Gwyrfai valley, on the A4085 road from Caernarfon to ...

. * 2005 - Was withdrawn from service pending the commencement of a major overhaul, with the aim of running again between Porthmadog and Dinas, on the completed Welsh Highland Railway. * 2014 - ''Russell'' back in service on WHHR * 2015 - ''Russell'' attends the

's 150th anniversary. * 2018 - ''Russell'' completed a test run on the main Welsh Highland Railway, reaching Beddgelert for the first time in over 80 years.

Design

A steam locomotive, the design of ''Russell'' is more closely related to Hunslet No 865 of 1905 otherwise known as Leeds Number 1, although certain engineering aspects can be more readily associated with design of locomotives supplied to the

Sierra Leone Government Railway :''This article is part of the history of rail transport by country series'' The Sierra Leone Government Railway operated in Sierra Leone from 1897 to 1974. It was unusual in that it formed a national railway system constructed solely to a Narrow ...

. One of the driving wheel centres bears the initials SLR, however this has been found to have been a later replacement and not as originally supplied. Originally built with air train brakes, it was converted to vacuum train brakes following the linking of the Welsh Highland and Ffestiniog Railways.

Fiction

A character based on this locomotive (''Fearless Freddie'') appears in the children's TV series ''

Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends ''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...

''.

References

{{reflist

History

Design

Fiction

References

See also