Maid Marian
 | |
 Maid Marian at Bala Lake Railway | |
| Home Railway | Bala Lake Railway |
|---|---|
| Original Railway | Dinorwic Slate Quarry |
| Status | In Service |
| History | |
| Built by | Hunslet Engine Company |
| Built | 1903 |
| Technical | |
| Wheel Arrangement | 0-4-0ST |
| Locomotives | |
Maid Marian was built by the Hunslet Engine Company in 1903 (maker's number 822) for the Dinorwic Slate Quarry in North Wales. Originally identified as 'No 5' it received its name (after a racehorse) probably about 1908. Sometime after 1928 in the course of maintenance the loco acquired a set of early-type mainframes instead of the later-type originally supplied, and a considerable number of parts from King of the Scarlets, as though the footplate and everything below had been exchanged between the engines. The domed boiler originally fitted was also replaced by a standard domeless type. In this form 'she' ran until 1964[1]. It should be noted that component exchange (particularly boilers) is normal maintenance practice at Dinorwic, and elsewhere where a standardised fleet is in use.
In 1965 a group of railway enthusiasts called The Maid Marian Locomotive Fund (MMLF) purchased the locomotive for preservation. The quarry workshops overhauled the engine before handover in 1967 when the group took ownership of Maid Marian. It ran at Bressingham until 1971, then the Llanberis Lake Railway until 1975 when it moved to Bala.
Maid Marian is currently based on the Bala Lake Railway, its home since 1975.
In 2018 the entire operational fleet of locomotives at the Bala Lake Railway paid a visit to the Ffestiniog Railway for The Hunslet 125 gala.
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References[edit]
- ^ Thomas, Cliff S (2001). Quarry Hunslets of North Wales: The Great (Little) Survivors. Usk: Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-853615-75-6. OCLC 48194491.