Jubilee 1897

Jubilee 1897 is a large sized quarry engine built by Manning Wardle of Leeds (Builder's number 1382 of 1897) with its name commemorating Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. It was built for the Cilgwyn Quarry at Nantlle, supplementing the slightly smaller Lilla on the demanding task of hauling waste via the "Cilgwyn Horseshoe" line from the quarry to remote tips near the village of Y Fron. From 1923, the Cilgwyn slate quarry was connected to the WHR through a link connecting the above line with the line that ran from Fron and Old Braich quarries to the head of the Bryngwyn incline. In 1928, the locomotive was sold to Penrhyn Quarries and travelled to Dinas Junction on its own wheels down the incline and over the WHR, being unloaded at Penryhyn from an LMSR standard gauge wagon on 21st May 1928.

The locomotive reportedly started its Penryhn working life at the port until 1929, but was then taken to Felin Fawr in 1930 for storage. ‘Jubilee’ was painted and returned to steam in 1945-46 and taken to work on Red Lion level. Withdrawn from quarry service on 9 June 1955, it sat on the Penrhyn scrap line for some years was taken to the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum in Tywyn where it was displayed in cosmetically restored condition.

On 1 October 2016, it was officially announced that the locomotive would be returning to Penrhyn in early November 2016 for restoration to working order by PQR Engineering Ltd at the Coed y Parc workshops. The intention would be to retain as much of the locomotive as possible and for it to receive an overhaul just as if it "had finished working in the quarry yesterday".

Dismantling commenced in 2017 but four months later the project collapsed, and the Vale of Rheidol Railway offered to accommodate her while the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum Trust established a way forward. Her components were relocated to Aberystwyth in 2018. Finally sold to the VoR in 2020.

See also

• Locomotives used on the original WHR or its constituents

References

Bradley, Vic (1993) [1992]. Industrial Locomotives of North Wales. London: Industrial Railway Society. ISBN 0-9010-9672-5. OCLC 27769657.