The go-ahead has been given for Welsh Pony's restoration to traffic by the FR Company Board, and a comprehensive restoration management plan has been drawn up in conjunction with the FR Heritage Company. Funding for the work will be secured ‘in different and creative ways’, says F&WHR General Manager Paul Lewin. The decision could mean an eventual return to steam for the whole F&WHR fleet.
Welsh Pony was built as an 0-4-0ST in London in 1867 by George England. It was the fifth loco delivered to the FR and has been out of use since its firebox was condemned in 1939. It is slightly larger, more powerful and with a longer wheelbase than the four earlier England 0-4-0T engines, built in 1863.
The locomotive was a stalwart of services on the original Welsh Highland Railway, which closed to passengers in 1936, and it was at one time plinthed at Porthmadog Harbour Station as an advertisement for the FR. Over the winter of 2012-13, it was the subject of a cosmetic restoration to enable it to take part on the celebrations of 150 Years of Steam on the FR alongside its sisters Princess, Prince and Palmerston.
“As a mature railway, our aspiration is that all our locos should eventually be returned to operating condition,” adds Lewin. “We want to be in a position to be able to simply pull any one of them out of the shed and light it up. With the notable exception of Princess and Double Fairlie Livingston Thompson, which contain much original material and will be preserved as historic artefacts, the idea is that everything else should be restored to working order rather than being tucked in the back of a shed covered in dust. This will be a complete contrast to the early days of preservation, when the bare minimum of locomotives needed to run services was maintained in operable condition, the rest lying unloved in sidings and sheds. Welsh Pony will be the first and we will draw up a priority list of our remaining locos. Our hope is that everything we’ve got will eventually be able to run – Englands, Fairlies, Hunslet ‘Ladies’, Garratts and NG15 2-8-2s. It’s a simple idea, but nailing down the details of how we’ll implement and pay for it will be far more complex."
Welsh Pony will also be the first FR locomotive to be restored ‘live’ on the internet, with regular news, photo and video reports on a dedicated microsite at
http://festrail.co.uk/welshpony Some phases of the work may also be broadcast live by webcam, although details have yet to be finalised.
“We know where we’re going,” adds Lewin, “And we’re starting to fill in the details of how we get there. We believe that this long-term vision will ensure continued and growing interest in our railways around the world.”
No start date, or deadline for completion, of the work on Welsh Pony has yet been made public, but work is likely to start over the winter of 2013-14. The locomotive is due to celebrate its 150th anniversary in 2017.