As viewed in the national railway press and the FR Magazine, FR General Manager Paul Lewin has been consulting on the future of Welsh Pony with a view to returning to steam.

One of the original six Ffestiniog England locos, Welsh Pony was the third engine in line for restoration to service when the railway was reopened in the 1950s (after Prince and Livingston Thompson). Somehow other engines always managed to jump the queue and even Palmerston, thought for many years to be little more than scrap, has made its way back into service (whilst Livingston Thompson has long since been retired).

The locomotive has only left Wales once in its life when it was displayed at a model railway exhibition in Birmingham in the early 1960s. Last in traffic in 1938 the engine was withdrawn when its 1915 boiler, built by Adamson, was suffering serious firebox problems. Even as early as 1887 Welsh Pony was recorded as having achieved no fewer than 280,000 miles. By 1938 it had probably travelled a distance equivalent to going to the moon and back.

Sadly there is no one left alive that can remember working with the locomotive.

Stored at Boston Lodge close to the sea for many years and then mounted on a plinth outside Harbour Station, again exposed to the elements, the 72 years the engine has spent out of service have not been at all kind. Since removal from public display in 2002 the locomotive has been difficult to access and often stored at Glan y Pwll yard in Blaenau, not always under cover. Some cosmetic tidying and repairs to the tender allowed appearances to be made at the 2005 gala and the subsequent Vintage Weekend, where Welsh Pony appeared in the line up at Porthmadog along with Prince and Palmerston.

It is hard to imagine any heritage railway owning an original machine built for the line and not making strenuous efforts to conserve or restore it.

In 2010 members of the Ffestiniog Railway Society were asked for their opinion on the future of this locomotive. The replies were overwhelmingly in favour of restoring the loco to service.

With the 150th anniversary of narrow gauge steam due in 2013, pressure is mounting to get the loco back in traffic alongside fellow England locos Prince and Palmerston, which will put the Ffestiniog Railway in the unique position of having the world's three oldest steam locos in regular service on their original railway.

As part of the follow up to the consultation Paul Lewin, FR General Manager, is consulting with key stakeholders. An important element in all this is assessing the current state of Welsh Pony and working out just how much of what is left is conservable. A lot of research is needed before a start is made and lots of photographs of the engine right through its life are needed to work out which parts of the engine are actually original material i.e. anything that was part of the engine at the time of withdrawal.

Paul is calling for any photos of Welsh Pony and would be pleased to receive good quality electronic scans or hard copies. You can email Paul at the This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it address and photos can be posted to Harbour Station for his attention. Photos from ten years ago are as important as those of 100 years ago. Pictures from unusual angles also help considerably.

More information can be found on Welsh Pony on the FR Heritage Group wiki