Template:Featured article/May 2022
.jpg)
Russell is a 2-6-2 tank locomotive operating on the WHHR. It is the only surviving locomotive of the original WHR.
Originally built for the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways (NWNGR), it was paid for by the North Wales Power and Traction Co. Ltd (NWPTC) but was placed into the possession of the NWNGR as part of a deal to restore that company's line to steam working after the NWPTC failed to complete the agreed electrification of the line. It later worked on the original Welsh Highland Railway (WHR), when the superstructure was cut down in an unsuccessful attempt to bring it within the Festiniog Railway loading gauge. After the closure of the original WHR Russell was requisitioned for industrial use during the Second World War and was subsequently purchased for preservation. It was later restored to working order at the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway. A recent overhaul has returned Russell to a condition close to that when it was when built in 1906.
Russell was named after J. C. Russell, the Chairman and Managing Director of the NWNGR.(more...)