''Tom Rolt'' 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 loco ...

constructed by 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 ...

, using parts from an Andrew Barclay locomotive built in 1949 for Bord na Móna.

History

Bord na Móna

The engine began life working for the

Bord na Móna Bord na Móna (; English: "The Peat Board"), is a semi-state company in Ireland, created in 1946 by the Turf Development Act 1946. The company began developing the peatlands of Ireland with the aim to provide economic benefit for Irish Midland ...

. This is a semi-state company in Ireland, created by the Turf Development Act, 1946. The company is responsible for the mechanised harvesting of

peat Peat (), also known as turf (), is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. The peatland ecosystem covers and ...

, primarily in the Midlands of Ireland. This company uses narrow gauge railways to carry vast amounts of peat. It was one of three gauge well tank locomotives built by Andrew Barclay Sons & Co. in 1949; initially numbered 1 to 3; they were later renumbered 43 to 45. Intended to burn peat, the engines did not perform well and were put into storage after only a few years of work.

Talyllyn Railway

As passenger numbers continued to grow during the late 1960s, the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society realised that further motive power was needed, especially as the rebuilt No. 1, ''Talyllyn'' was not performing well. However, as the gauge of the Talyllyn Railway was so unusual they could not buy an engine with the correct gauge, so would either have to buy and re-gauge an engine or else make a new engine. In 1969 the Talyllyn Railway purchased an 0-4-0 well tank engine from

, unofficially named ''Irish Pete'', in order to create the new locomotive they needed. 'Tom Rolt', at Nant Gwernol - geograph

The new engine was built in 1991 at Pendre works on the Talyllyn Railway. The frames,

boiler A boiler is a closed vessel in which fluid (generally water) is heated. The fluid does not necessarily boil. The heated or vaporized fluid exits the boiler for use in various processes or heating applications, including water heating, central ...

, driving wheels, cylinders and other parts of the engine from Bord na Móna were used. The new engine became an and was named Tom Rolt after the author L. T. C. Rolt who inspired the Talyllyn's preservation. ''Tom Rolt'' is running in the standard Talyllyn Railway livery of deep bronze green lined with black borders and yellow lining.

In fiction

The character Ivo Hugh 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. T ...

'' books is based on ''Tom Rolt''. Ivo Hugh appears in '' New Little Engine''.

References

Bibliography

* * * * {{Talyllyn Railway Talyllyn Railway locomotives Individual locomotives of Great Britain Preserved narrow gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain 0-4-2T locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1991