Talyllyn (locomotive)

Talyllyn is a narrow gauge steam locomotive. It was built by Fletcher, Jennings & Co. in 1864 and is one of the oldest locomotives still in active service. It was delivered to the Talyllyn Railway on 24 September 1864 and continues to run on the railway.

History
The Talyllyn Railway ordered two locomotives for its opening in 1865, Talyllyn and Dolgoch. Both were built by Fletcher, Jennings & Co. of Whitehaven, although to two very different designs. Talyllyn was the first order the company had delivered to north Wales and the first narrow gauge locomotive they had built with plate frames. It was built to the company's C Class design, although it was the first member of its class to be built to a gauge less than.

The engine was originally delivered as a with an open cab. Early tests on the railway showed that the short wheelbase led to unacceptable vertical oscillation, and in January 1867 Talyllyn was returned to its manufacturer and fitted with a pair of trailing wheels, converting it into an 0-4-2ST. Unusually, the trailing axle was fixed rigidly to the frame, resulting in an overall wheelbase of 8 ft. Most 0-4-2 locomotives have trailing wheels that can swivel independently of the frame to go around corners more easily. To accommodate the long wheelbase, the railway's gauge was increased marginally to between 2 ft and 2 ft. A cab was subsequently fitted in the railway's workshops at Pendre.



The locomotive was returned to Fletcher Jennings for a second time around 1900, although the reason for this visit is not recorded. Repairs and improvements were also made at Pendre over the years, including alterations to the cab, fitting of a footplate at the front of locomotive and of a sandbox. A new set of frames supplied by W. G. Bagnall's was also fitted at Pendre, again around 1900.

Talyllyn remained in service for most of the original railway's existence. By World War II it had fallen into a very poor state of repair, as it was the more popular of the two locomotives and was used more frequently. It was retired in 1945 when its boiler and firebox were found to be degraded beyond further repair. At that time the locomotive was still carrying its original 1864 boiler.

Preservation
Following the rescue of the Talyllyn Railway in 1951, Talyllyn was inspected and found to be beyond economic repair. However, as the railway's fortunes improved, it became possible to consider a major overhaul. In 1957 the locomotive was sent away to the Gibbons Brothers' Brierley Hill engineering works at Lenches Bridge in Pensnett for a complete renewal. A new boiler, saddletank and bunker were built and Talyllyn returned to service in 1958.

The Railway Series
In August of 1952, the Reverend Wilbert Awdry, and his family would visit the Talyllyn Railway for the first time. Wilbert and his son Christopher had both volunteered as guards on their stay. These events would inspire Wilbert to introduce Talyllyn as a character in The Railway Series, a book series he had been working on since 1945. Talyllyn was introduced as the character Scarloey, who is mentioned to have been built alongside Talyllyn. In the books, Talyllyn was sent to work at the Talyllyn Railway, and Scarloey had been sent to the Island of Sodor. Talyllyn and Scarloey are brothers in the books, as they are the same model and class of locomotive.