In order to survive in the 21st century as a viable tourist attraction the Corris Railway needed a working steam locomotive so as to give visitors the unique experience of travelling part of the oldest narrow gauge railway in Mid-Wales aboard an early 20th century-style train. The members of the Corris Railway Society were asked if they would help to finance the building of a modern version of the Kerr Stuart “Tattoo” class locomotive, similar to loco No. 4 (now Talyllyn Railway No. 4 “Edward Thomas”). A majority of those who responded to the survey said they would support an Appeal Fund to build the engine. The Project was started officially on 1st February 1995 and with funding provided by members’ covenants plus many other fund raising initiatives. The new locomotive, numbered 7, entered service in 2005, bringing the sound of a steam engine at work back to the Dulas Valley after half a century.
2025 marks the 20th year of service on the railway for No. 7 and the second “10 year” major overhaul of the locomotive is now due, following the expiration of her boiler ticket at the end of the 2024 running season.
In the last decade No. 7 has proved a reliable locomotive suffering only one major failure whilst working Santa Trains in December 2018. Whilst taking empty coaching stock back to Corris station to collect extra passengers, a lack of lubrication caused a section of the valve gear on the driver’s side to seize. As the locomotive was working uphill with the regulator open this caused stress and damage to the valve gear as a whole. The locomotive was taken out of traffic immediately and repairs were carried out with the help from the Vale of Rheidol Railway. The “Tattoo” was ready just in time to work a photographic charter and a “Your Railway for the Day” experience package before passenger train services for 2019 were due to commence at Easter. More recently, a failed steam gasket during the 2024 gala meant that she had to be withdrawn after working the initial double header with Falcon steam locomotive No. 10.
Overall however, she has proved to be a reliable locomotive for both the Corris Railway, heading the majority of passenger trains and private charters as well as a couple of brief visits to the Talyllyn Railway where she worked alongside her sister locomotive No. 4. Since the last “10 year” overhaul she has completed 3,978.5 miles, primarily on Corris metals, although this figure does include a couple of hundred miles working from Tywyn to Nant Gwernol on the Talyllyn Railway.
An entirely volunteer force started the strip down of the locomotive between Christmas and New Year 2024, not least in an attempt to burn off some Christmas calories, although primarily in the hope to maintain a schedule of work that will see the locomotive returned to steam in time for the 2025 Corris Railway gala due to be held on Saturday 24th May.
The saddle tank, cab, coal bunker, boiler cladding, steam fittings and pipes and the motion were removed within a couple of days and have been stored indoors on a flat waggon in order to allow work to progress on the boiler and smoke box. The boiler will be re-tubed at Maespoeth and the boiler metal and welds will be inspected and measured to ensure that they meet the necessary safety requirements to pass certification for the next ten years. After the boiler is lifted from the frames, the driving wheels and pony truck will be removed and the frames will be cleaned down and repainted.
The workshops at the Vale of Rheidol Railway have been contracted to fabricate a new stainless steel smokebox for the loco as well as re-profiling the tyres and fitting new crank pins. New bearings for the driving axles will be produced in-house at Maespoeth in the newly revamped machine shop, under the auspices of engineers Phil Scott and Ian Cross. The recently acquired Huron mill has also been used to take measurements to a three decimal place accuracy of the axle centres and the motion using the digital read out.
The cancellation of the 2024 Santa Specials owing to Storm Darragh meant the total loss of the much needed revenue usually accrued at this time of year in order to ‘keep the lights on’ at the Railway outside of the running season. Anyone wishing to donate to the Railway to help with general running costs or the overhaul of No. 7 can do so via the Railway’s website – www.corris.co.uk – or cheques payable to Corris Railway can be sent to The Corris Railway, Station Yard, Corris, Machynlleth SY20 9SH.
For the full story of the construction of Locomotive No. 7 see The Tale of a “Tattoo”, written by Peter Guest and available from the Corris Railway online shop or from the museum sales counter at Corris.