AFTER fifty years in Cornwall, ‘Velinheli’, a two-foot gauge steam locomotive left Launceston on Friday, February 9, for North Wales via King’s Cross, in London.

Built by the Hunslet Locomotive Company of Leeds in 1886 for the Dinorwic Quarry, Velinheli has finally returned home.

The name Velinheli has a unique place in history as she was built as the prototype for a new class of smaller locomotives — now known as the ‘Alice’ class — designed to be used in quarries where the standard locomotives were too large. The locomotive is owned by James Evans. After spending some years operating on the private railway in the Evans family’s garden, it was rebuilt by James at Launceston in 1980.

This type of locomotive was built originally for use in the slate quarries of North Wales, where they proved extremely effective. So closely linked with the quarries were they that the affectionate name ‘Quarry Hunslets’ was commonly used.

However, after the decline of the slate quarry industry in the 1960s they became surplus to requirements, and would probably have been scrapped en masse.

Fortunately many were bought by enthusiasts for preservation and have since been restored to working order. Being small but powerful, they have proved very popular for hauling passenger trains on narrow gauge railways around the UK.

Velinheli is now in need of a new boiler, and this is to be built by the Ffestiniog Railway at its Boston Lodge workshops in Porthmadoc.

Velinheli started the journey back to Wales on Friday, February 9. She did not head straight for Wales however, as she joined another similar locomotive from the Ffestiniog Railway ‘Hugh Napier’, together with a Victorian carriage, and was on display at King’s Cross station until February 18.

Before the locomotive departed, managing director of the Launceston Steam Railway Nigel Bowman said: “Velinheli has been at the railway for more than thirty years so it will no doubt be an emotional moment when she leaves. However, she has been to the Ffestiniog Railway before, and it will be good that she will be operational again.

”Having built two new Quarry Hunslet boilers ourselves, we have much useful experience which we have been very happy to share with our friends in Wales.”