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New Lynton & Barnstaple Manning Wardle now running!

The loco, which has taken 15 years and more than £300,000 to reach completion, will undergo further trials over the next few weeks in the build-up to its first public duties at the Welsh Highland Railway Superpower gala in September, followed by visits to the Launceston Steam Railway and the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway in Devon.

Later the same day, Lyd made its first trip across The Cob to the Ffestiniog’s Porthmadog Harbour station. The engine was put to good use shunting carriage stock, moving five carriages seemingly without effort. To date, no major issues have come to light with the first brand new loco to be built at Boston Lodge since David Lloyd George in 1992.

Intensive trials are continuing and visitors to the railway should keep their eyes peeled for a handsome black locomotive popping up unexpectedly over the next few weeks.

For the immediate future, the loco will stay in plain black as rectifying the inevitable snagging list will mean the risk of scratches. It's likely that the loco will receive its final livery over the winter.

Although the loco will spend most of its time working on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway between Caernarfon and Blaenau Ffestiniog, it is likely to be a frequent visitor to Devon, where the original Manning, Wardle engines worked on the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway until its closure in 1935.

The outshopping of Lyd means that Boston Lodge – the oldest operational railway works in the world – now holds the unique accolade of having built new steam locomotives in the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries, starting in 1879 with double Fairlie Merddin Emrys, which is still in regular use today. The works continues to build and maintain locomotives and carriages, not only for the FR andWHR, but for other heritage railways.