Welshpool’s new 104-year-old resident!
The 0-6-2T locomotive, built by Bagnall of Stafford in 1922, has been gifted to the W&LLR by fellow mid-Wales line the Vale of Rheidol Railway, custodian of a remarkable variety of narrow-gauge locomotives and rolling stock collected over many years by the enthusiast Peter Rampton.
Conqueror will be on static display in the W&LLR’s display shed at Welshpool for visitors to see when the railway reopens for its 2026 season on March 14 – timetable details are at www.wllr.org.uk.
“We were delighted and grateful to the Vale of Rheidol Railway when Conqueror was offered to us and thank them for their assistance with its transfer,” said W&LLR General Manager James Brett.
“There are no current plans to restore the locomotive to operational condition, work that would be costly both in terms of finances and volunteer resource, but we are pleased to be able to give Conqueror a home where it is protected under cover and can be enjoyed on display by our visitors for the immediate future.”
Peter Rampton travelled all over the world to acquire locomotives and principally save them from the scrapman’s torch. He eventually intended to open his own museum and stored his acquisitions on a farm in Surrey, away from public view which led enthusiasts to refer to them as ‘Collection X’.
He also owned the Vale of Rheidol Railway and following his passing in 2019 the railway took responsibility for the collection. Most of the items have since been transferred to the VoR with some already on display in the railway’s recently-established museum in Aberystwyth, while others have been passed to new owners in circumstances when the Vale of Rheidol directors considered they could be more useful – this led to the offer to donate Conqueror to the Welshpool & Llanfair.
Conqueror did not have the well-travelled status of fellow Collection X members, never leaving the UK though it was reputedly built for an overseas order that was cancelled.
The loco was instead delivered by Bagnall 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 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, and operated at Whipsnade until 1983 when it was withdrawn for overhaul and stored alongside the shed. In 1994 it was acquired by Peter Rampton and moved to the Surrey farm, where it had been ever since.
Conqueror was the very last Collection X loco to leave the Surrey farm – it is not in working order and for the forseeable future will be reunited on display with another former Bowaters locomotive, the articulated Bagnall ‘Monarch’, which was the first additional 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.
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