Ffestiniog's Fantastic Fairlie Four: Merddin Emrys During our UK holiday we spent a week close to Porthmadog's Harbour Station where the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways meet. I made many photos over the week and rather than per day I grouped these photos in an album per locomotive.
1 Merddin Emrys, nicknamed "The Soup Dragon", is the only remaining operational Fairlie of the original Ffestiniog Railway. Merddin was built in the Festiniog Railway Company's own workshops at Boston Lodge in 1879 to the design of George Percival Spooner and has spent its entire working life on the Festiniog Railway. When the railway closed in 1946 Merddin was the only double engine still available for service, Livingston Thompson having been withdrawn for repairs. Merddin was returned to service in 1961. Since then Livingston Thompson, or a concoction of available parts carrying that name plate, has been put on display in the National Railway Museum in York. The word orginal is a relative thing. There is very little remaning of the orginal locomotive as during its working life many components have been replaced like the cab, the tanks and bunkers, the boiler etc.
2 I met Merddin on the first of my week in Wales. He was doing regular trains so it would be possible to meet him every day.
3 Coaling at Porthmadog
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6 Now I look at this photo I see much to my surprise that Merddin now has mechincally operated cylinder cocks, which was not the case before its overhaul in 2015-2016.
7 During the 2015-2016 overhaul Merddin also received a second lubricator.
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9 A lot of tidying up was done on the pipe work here. I wanted many detail photos from this area because I got stuck on building my model but to my surprise (if not horror) much of the arrangements seem to differ from before the overhaul so I suspect the photos I have taken will be of little help.
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19 On a misty Tuesday morning I saw ME again, ready to depart for Blaenau.
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22 Later in the day it was shunting its train back on the storage spurs.
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25 On Thursday I morning I made a car trip up to and down from Blaenau Ffestiniog and folowed Merddin. On her second run in the afternoon I was on that train myself.
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28 Sorry about the lamp post but despite having Merddin around (Merddin Emrys is Welsh for Merlin, King Arthur's wizard) it would not vanish.
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31 Final preparations for departure, the doors are being closed.
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33 The signal man approaching. For some last minute instructions?
34 Right away!
35 Merddin sets its train slowly in motion.
36 I rushed to Tan-y-Bwlch to see Merddin cross the down train, which was powered by Single Fairlie Taliesin, for which I have prepared a separate album.
37 I walked around the station area and completely missed the arrival of ME. By the time I got the platform the train had already come to a stand still.
38 People were thronging around ME so I could hardly get a full shot.
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40 But given some patience and time this would work out fine, not in the least because most people wanted to get on the train again where I could afford to stay and wait for its departure.
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42 I took the oppurtunity to make few more detail photos.
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46 At Blaenau
47 I rushed up to Blaenau to meet Merddin there.
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51 Uncoupled and pulling away from its train to run around.
52 The Welsh weather did not keep people from coming.
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54 New meets old.
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69 Departure from Blaenau
70 Aproaching the cob with the morning down train.
127 This is a story I love. The lady in the blue coat pointed out Merddin Emrys' name in Welsh to her youngest son. The boy started happily jumping up and down. Although my knowledge of Welsh is non-existent I got the message: "It's called Emrys, it's called Emrys"
128 The boy's name was Emrys and he was so incredibly proud to see his own name on the loco.
129 Two Emrys'. If anyone knows these boys please give the photo to their mother. Contact me for the original size.
130 Soon ME set its train in motion.
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133 That afternoon I met ME for the last time
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141 Fairlie meets Garratt. If only that would have been no 87, because I also built no 87 in OO9.
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148 And that was my last decent shot of Merddin Emrys, at least for this holiday. It will be a while before I see it again.
