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The story of the Corris Railway's last two
steam locomotives is well known - disused since the line's closure,
effective after the bridge washout in August 1948, they were bought by the
newly re-opened Talyllyn Railway in 1951 and have since put in
 many
years of service as that railway's "Sir Haydn" and "Edward Thomas". In the
meantime, the Corris passed into history - until the formation of the
preservation group in 1966. A long hard slog eventually saw diesel-hauled
passenger services reintroduced three years ago, on the stretch of line
from Corris to Maespoeth.
 Some
years before the reopening, the group decided it needed a steam
locomotive, and began the project to build from scratch a replica of the
original no. 4, built by Kerr Stuart in 1921 to their "Tattoo" design. It
 was
originally anticipated that it would take ten years - and perhaps uniquely
for such a project, that's what it took! It should be mentioned that the
two coaches in use (a third is under construction) are replicas of the
unique central-entry design, so the whole train is now truly a Corris
replica.
No. 7 was delivered in May, but
introduction to passenger service would await commissioning, driver
training etc. I kept an eye on the Corris website - until eventually it
was announced that the loco had entered service - on 20th August, 57th
anniversary of the last goods train. I thought perhaps we'd better pay a
visit.
 There
is no run-round facility at Corris - instead, the loco remains coupled at
the downhill end of the two-coach train, hauling down to Maespoeth and
propelling back. The journey is short - however, an informative talk
and visit to the shed / depot makes the trip worthwhile, and the shop and
museum at
 Corris
are well worth a visit. The train we travelled on - the 2pm departure -
was very lightly filled however, though there were a few more passengers
on the 3pm. Many more passengers are needed to help raise funds for the
planned extension - next time you're in that part of the world, make a
point of paying a visit to this friendly little line.
Links:
Further reading:
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