August 19th, 2011 (Posted in: Welsh Highland Railway News)
UPDATED: The Statfold Barn Mallet and Adrian Shooter's Darjeeling B Class are heading for North Wales ahead of the Superpower gala on September 9th - 11th.
Mallet No. 9 is making a welcome return following modifications after its proving runs earlier this year, when it ran a hot box. The loco will arrive at Dinas on Tuesday August 23rd and make its way under its own steam to Boston Lodge. It will then be rostered on the Pont Croesor shuttle trains and work as Porthmadog station pilot.
This is a few days later than originally planned due to problems with the haulage company responsible for moving the loco from Statfold Barn to Dinas.
The Darjeeling 19B will arrive at Dinas later in the week and run to Porthmadog to share pilot and shuttle duties with the Mallet.
In October, the B Class - complete with its two replica Darjeeling carriages built at Boston Lodge - will undertake a run over the full 40 miles of the F&WHR offering the nearest thing to a trip on the Darjeeling Himalaya Railway without travelling to the subcontinent.
The special trains will travel from Caernarfon to Blaenau Ffestiniog on Saturday 8th October and in the reverse direction on Sunday 9th.
These trips are private charters, but a limited number of tickets will be available to the public on what promises to be a unique experience. More details will be published when timings are finalised.
Watch this space.
Source:http://www.festrail.co.uk/content/publish/whrnews/Mallet_and_Darjeeling_B_Class_head_for_North_Wales.shtml