Ex WD Light Railways Baldwin 4-6-0T of 1917 as on the Welsh Highland Railway before withdrawal in 1936
The Welsh Highland Railway was formed in 1922 by merging two companies It was never a commercial success; the carriages of the 1890s were outdated & uncomfortable for so long a ride, the journey took too long & the service had a reputation for being unreliable. After 1923, it was unable to pay debenture interest & in 1927 the county council sued & put the railway into receivership. Services continued & by 1933 it was run down & the local authorities decided to close it. In 1934, the company agreed to lease the line to the Festiniog Railway Company for 42 years. It was a disaster, with the FR forced to pay rent even if the WHR made a loss. The last passenger train ran on 5 September 1936 & in February 1937 the FR decided not to run the WHR again No. 590 was a 4-6-0T locomotive of the Baldwin class 10-12-D, completed in 1917, & one of a batch of locomotives (works numbers 45133 to 45236) ordered by the W D from the Baldwin Loco Works, Philadelphia, USA, for use on the Western Front. The W D locomotives differed from the original 10-12-D locomotives as they had half instead of full cabs. The W D numbered this batch 1001 to 1104. However, during 1917, WD locomotives 1005 to 1150 were renumbered 546 to 700; thus 590 received the number by which it became known. After the war it was overhauled by Bagnalls of Stafford in 1919 & bought for the Welsh Highland Railway by Colonel Holman F. Stephens for £240 from the Govt Property Disposals Board. It arrived on 4th July 1923. Its size restricted it to use on the Welsh Highland Railway. 590 was reputedly a rough riding locomotive, perhaps linked to reverse running without a pony truck under the cab, & was later confined to freight traffic . Prior to 1934, it faced Porthmadog and carried a black livery. Then it was turned and repainted in red. In 1942, Cohen's, the contractor commissioned to scrap the permanent attempted to steam 590. However, the locomotive was in very bad condition, leaking steam, and was cut up.
Size: 3372px × 2112px
Location: Wales
Photo credit: © Digbydachshund / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: .590, 4-6-0t, baldwin, gauge, highland, light, locomotive, narrow, railway, railways, steam, wales, wd, welsh
