‘Townsend Hook’ makes it five out of five at Talyllyn Railway

‘Townsend Hook’ will be coming to the Talyllyn Railway’s ‘Grand Finale Gala’ from July 1-3, providing railway enthusiasts with a once in a lifetime opportunity to see all five of the surviving Fletcher, Jennings locomotives based in the UK in one place.

Based at the Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre in West Suss, ‘Townsend Hook’ will be on static display at Tywyn Wharf Station. It will be joining its sister locomotive ‘William Finlay’, which has recently been purchased by the Narrow Gauge Museum Trust based at Tywyn Wharf Station. Both were originally supplied to the Dorking Greystone Lime Co. in 1880 and were built to the unusual gauge of 3 ft 2¼ in.

A third Fletcher, Jennings locomotive, the standard gauge ‘Captain Baxter’, will be in steam at Tywyn Wharf on a specially laid section of track. It is normally based on the Bluebell Railway in East Sussex and was also built for Dorking Greystone in 1877.

This will be the first time a standard gauge locomotive will be in steam on Talyllyn property and it is believed that this will also be the first time all three of the Dorking locomotives will be seen together since the quarry closed in 1960.

Also present will be Talyllyn Railway’s own Fletcher, Jennings locomotives, ‘Talyllyn’ built in 1864, and ‘Dolgoch’ dating from 1866. All will be participating in the ‘Grand Finale’ event, which celebrates ‘Dolgoch’s’ 150th anniversary and will also bring the railwa’s 150th birthday celebrations to a close.

The firm of Fletcher, Jennings was established at the Lowca Engineering Works in Whitehaven, Cumbria, in 1857. It produced nearly 200 locomotives before it became Lowca Engineering Company Ltd in 1884.

Now only nine locomotives made at the Lowca works survive in the world, five in the UK, one in Sweden and three in Mauritius. Of these only three are currently able to be steamed, with only ‘Talyllyn’ and ‘Dolgoch’ in regular everyday use.

Speaking about ‘The Grand Finale’ eve, a spokesperson for the Talyllyn Railway said: “Events are often described as ‘once in a lifetime’, but this can truly be said to be one. It is the first time all the surviving Fletcher, Jennings locomotives in the UK have been brought together; the first time all of the steamable Fletcher, Jennings locomotives in the world have been in action together; the first time that a standard gauge locomotive will have been in operation at Tywyn Wharf Station and the first time all the Dorking Greystone locomotives have been seen together since the quarry closed.

“This truly will make it a unique event and will indeed be a ‘Grand Finale’ to our 150th anniversary celebrations. We are grateful to those at the Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre and also the Bluebell Railway for making this possible.”

Picture caption:

‘Townsend Hook’ is currently undergoing cosmetic restoration at Amberley Museum and Heritage Centre.
(Photo: Mike Bone, Amberley Rail Group)

Editor’s notes

Talyllyn Railway is a narrow gauge railway opened for goods traffic in 1865 and shortly after for passenger services, which have operated every year since between Tywyn on the west coast of Wales and Nant Gwernol just over seven miles inland. In 1951 operation of the line was taken over by the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society and became the world’s first preserved railway.
Operation of the line is primarily by volunteers from all walks of life, with a small paid staff. It is now a major tourist attraction in the mid-Wales area, contributing significantly to the area’s economy.

For further information about this press release please e-mail: pressoffice@talyllyn.co.uk or phone either 0113 281 8235 or 01654 710472.