Template:Featured picture/June 2009

Prince is (probably) the third of the first four locomotives built for use on the Festiniog Railway. It is now numbered No.2, but there is doubt about the order of building and numbering of the first four England engines. It was delivered to the FR in January 1864. The locomotive played a major role in the history of the Welsh Highland Railway, hauling the first train from Dinas to Porthmadog in 1923, and regularly performing on both lines in the 1920s and 1930s. Later, it was the first steam locomotive restored for use on the revived Festiniog Railway. It first ran in preservation on August 2nd 1955 and was the mainstay of the service for the next 2 years. It is seen here in the Aberglaslyn Pass on the Welsh Highland Railway on 21 May 2009, hauling the first train through the pass for fare paying passengers following the reopening of that section of the WHR. Earlier in the day, Prince had broken the banner at Beddgelert station to declare the route through the Aberglaslyn pass open Photo credit: Chris Jones Recently featured: Carriage 2100 – Little Wonder – David Lloyd George