GARRATT K1 TO RETURN TO STEAM AT STATFOLD
Published at 13:41 on Sunday 2nd February 2020
Tags: Narrow Gauge, Statfold Barn Railway, Ffestiniog Railway, Beyer-Garratt, K1
The Welsh Highland Railway's two-foot gauge Tasmanian 0-4-0+0-4-0, Beyer-Garratt No. K1, is pictured at Statfold Barn Railway having just been unloaded from a low loader on 9th December 2019. Graham Lightfoot
Ffestiniog Railway Company (FR) and Statfold Narrow Gauge Museum Trust (SNGMT) have concluded a revised loan agreement whereby Beyer-Peacock 0-4-0+0-4-0 Garratt K1 will be returned to steam at Statfold Barn Railway.
K1, which last steamed in 2014, arrived at Statfold on 9th December under a 10-year loan deal whereby the pioneer Garratt would be cosmetically restored and displayed at Statfold pending FR being able to find workshop time and resources to overhaul it, work which FR did not anticipate being able to undertake for at least four years.
After SNGMT examined the loco to assess the extent of work needed to return it to operational condition together with checking it would be able to fit Stafold’s loading gauge new talks were opened with FR. The aim was to agree a mutually beneficial deal whereby K1 would be restored and run at Statfold Railway and be available for use on Welsh Highland Railway. In what has been described as a ‘masterly piece of co-operation reflecting a can-do attitude’ it was confirmed at the end of January a revised deal had been agreed to achieve these aims.
Work has already commenced on overhauling K1 and it should return to steam during 2020. The intention is for it to appear at Statfold Barn first, although SNGMT is not yet forecasting which of its Open Days will feature K1 in steam. The loco will then be transferred to the Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) for a visit, possibly in late autumn.