‘Conqueror’ to join the Llanfair line loco fleet

The Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway will welcome a new member to its locomotive fleet later in the year with the arrival of an engine that has been out of public view for more than 30 years.

‘Conqueror’, an 0-6-2T built by Bagnall of Stafford in 1922, is being donated to the W&LLR by the Vale of Rheidol Railway, having been in the fellow mid-Wales line’s heritage collection since 1994.

There is some evidence that the loco was originally ordered for service overseas but if it was the order was abandoned and Bagnall delivered the loco to the Edward Lloyd paper mill at Sittingbourne in Kent. It worked there until the mill closed in 1969, notoriously suffering a ducking in 1953 when severe flooding opened up a void on a wharf-side which the loco fell into.

Following the closure of the then Bowaters paper mill Conqueror was one of four locomotives acquired by Sir William McAlpine for a new circular line he was building at Whipsnade Zoo in Bedfordshire. The loco hauled the first train on the complete line in 1973 with Princess Margaret as a passenger.

Conqueror operated on the Whipsnade line until 1983 when it was withdrawn for overhaul and stored alongside the shed. In 1994 it was acquired by enthusiast Peter Rampton and joined the large collection of locomotives from around the world stored privately at premises in Surrey.

Following Peter Rampton’s passing in 2019 responsibility for the collection passed to the Vale of Rheidol Railway and some items have since found homes in the railway’s new museum at Aberystwyth. Others have been passed to new owners in circumstances when the Vale of Rheidol directors considered they could be more useful, and this led to the offer to donate Conqueror to the Welshpool & Llanfair.

“As part of a long-term plan to consolidate and focus the Vale of Rheidol Railway’s collection of historic locomotives, the Railway are very pleased to have agreed the gift of 2ft 6in gauge Bagnall 0-6-2T ‘Conqueror’ to the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway Preservation Co. Ltd,” said chair of the Vale of Rheidol board Patrick Keef.

“Being of the wrong gauge to run on the VoR, it was felt that it was appropriate that the loco should move to a railway of the correct gauge with a long-term potential for restoration and return to service,” Patrick added.

The locomotive is not in working order and there are currently no confirmed plans to restore it to service. Its donation does, however, offer the line a future option for expansion of the working locomotive fleet.

Initially Conqueror will become an exhibit in the W&LLR’s display shed at Welshpool. Here it will be reunited with another former Bowaters locomotive, the articulated Bagnall ‘Monarch’ which was the first steam locomotive acquired by the preservation company in 1966.

Many experienced members of the W&LLR locomotive department have often said that the railway missed an opportunity when it acquired Monarch, and should have also secured Conqueror at the same time, the powerful loco considered to be potentially highly suitable for the challenging route of the line.

“We are very pleased to be able to offer a home to Conqueror as part of our ongoing commitment to the preservation of 2ft 6in gauge vehicles,” said W&LLR Chairman, Steve Clews.

“This locomotive has good connections with the W&L. It worked at Bowaters Paper Mill in Kent, home of our friends at the Sittingbourne & Kemsley Light Railway and it joins Monarch, a Bowaters loco that has been with us for decades.

“This is a powerful locomotive that should be suited to our line. Though there are currently no plans to get her operational the acquisition gives us more alternatives for the future and storage under cover will ensure that she is protected until that day comes.”