Ruston And Hornsby 237914
This Ruston & Hornsby Model 30DL 4wDM (Builder's number 237914 of 1946) came to Porthmadog from DSF Refractories at Friden in Derbyshire in June 1982.
New to Guest Keen and Baldwin Iron and Steel Company at their Pantmawr Quarry at South Cornelly, Galmorgan, it was used until displaced by a comaplete modernisation of the limestone quarry in 1948 as part of the Steel Company of Wales Project. Sold to DSF at Friden, it then worked there as one of the main opeating locomotives in the latter years of this site. Purchased by John Ewing in 1982, it arrived in the company of RH191658 direct from Friden. Sometime between September 1984 and July 1989, both locomotives (and Orenstein & Koppel Fojo, otherwise known as Nantmor) were dumped off the WHR (Porthmadog) property, and were removed from site by John Quentin to Worcestershire in August 1991. Stripped for restoration, 237914 was later purchased by a Moseley Railway Trust member and removed to Warrington for reassembly. It was rebuilt to the point where it would run by August 1997 and was removed to the MRT site at Cheadle, Stockport. With closure of that site in 1998, the loco has remained in a part-restored state since although some progress has continued, notably on the cab. 237914 moved from the MRT storage site at Buxworth to the MRT Apedale site on 3rd July 2008. Two weeks later, the loco moved to the owner's house in North Staffordshire, where restoration has continued sporadically.
Several photographs of the locomotive at Friden can be seen on the Moseley Railway Trust's pages.