''Princess'' is an

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

built by

George England George England ( 1811–1878) was an English businessman and engineer. He founded George England and Co., a steam locomotive manufacturing business based in Hatcham, New Cross. Early life England was born around 1811, in Newcastle upon Tyne. ...

for the

Ffestiniog Railway The Ffestiniog Railway () is a heritage railway based on Narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia#Snowdonia National Park, Snowdonia National Park. The ...

in 1863. It is one of the earliest

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

steam locomotives and is one of the three oldest surviving narrow gauge locomotives still on its original railway.

History

''Princess'' was the first steam locomotive delivered to the Ffestiniog Railway. It was originally named ''The Princess'' - after Princess Alexandra of Denmark - and carried the number 1. As delivered it was an 0-4-0

side tank Side or Sides may refer to: Geometry * Edge (geometry) of a polygon (two-dimensional shape) * Face (geometry) of a polyhedron (three-dimensional shape) Places * Side, Turkey, a city in Turkey * Side (Ainis), a town of Ainis, ancient Thessaly, Gr ...

without a cab. It began hauling public trains in September 1863. From 1868, ''The Princess'' began hauling trains on the

Festiniog and Blaenau Railway The Festiniog & Blaenau Railway (F&BR) was a Narrow gauge railway, narrow gauge railway built in 1868 to connect the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog in Wales with the Slate industry, slate quarries around Tanymanod and the village of Llan Ffestinio ...

as well as the Ffestiniog Railway. In December 1882, ''The Princess'' underwent a substantial overhaul and a large cast iron weight was placed over the side tanks and boiler, giving the locomotive extra

adhesive weight Adhesive weight is the weight on the driving wheels of a locomotive, which determines the frictional grip between wheels and rail, and hence the drawbar pull which a locomotive can exert. See also *Factor of adhesion *Tractive effort References ...

and the appearance of a saddle tank. It ran a significant mileage in the 1880s and early 1890s. In 1893 it underwent another major overhaul, receiving a full cab and a true saddle tank; at the same time its name was shortened to ''Princess''. After returning from overhaul in 1923, ''Princess'' also worked trains on the

Welsh Highland Railway The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR; ) is a restored Narrow-gauge railway, narrow-gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd. It runs from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passes through a number of popular tourist destinations includi ...

which by then was being operated by the Ffestiniog Railway. It worked until the closure of the Ffestiniog Railway on 1 August 1946, hauling the last train. After the railway was preserved, ''Princess'' remained in the same condition it was withdrawn in. In 1969 it was put on public display at

Blaenau Ffestiniog Blaenau Ffestiniog () is a town in Gwynedd, Wales. Once a slate mining centre in historic Merionethshire, it now relies much on tourists, drawn for instance to the Ffestiniog Railway and Llechwedd Slate Caverns. It reached a population of 12,0 ...

. In 1981, after being repainted in a red livery, it was placed in Spooner's Bar at

Harbour Station TD Station (), formerly known as Harbour Station, is an arena located in the uptown area of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. The arena is the home of the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League. It was once the home o ...

. In 2012, ''Princess'' was moved out of Spooner's, and in 2013 it was displayed at

Paddington Station Paddington, also known as London Paddington, is a London station group, London railway station and London Underground station complex, located on Praed Street in the Paddington area. The site has been the London terminus of services provided by ...

to commemorate the 150th anniversary of its construction.

References

External links

Festipedia page on Ffestiniog Railway locomotives
Ffestiniog Railway Narrow-gauge locomotives of the United Kingdom George England and Company locomotives Railway locomotives introduced in 1863 0-4-0ST locomotives Individual locomotives of Great Britain Preserved narrow-gauge steam locomotives of Great Britain {{Ffestiniog Railway