The Llangollen Railway has announced that they will be welcoming GWR 0-6-2T No. 5619 for the 2022 season.

Arriving before the end of next week for the 2022 season, the locomotive will require some running repairs and an annual examination before the locomotive enters passenger service, which the Llangollen Railway says should be in time for Easter.

5619 was built in 1925 and currently resides at the Telford Steam Railway, who own the locomotive and who the locomotive visits the Llangollen Railway courtesy of.

No. 5619 is the oldest preserved member of the 56XX class, being built at Swindon Works in March 1925. The 56XXs were primarily built to replace the hundreds of engines taken over by the GWR in the 1923 grouping.

None of these engines followed standardisation practices which were established by GWR. This, therefore, lead to the GWR deciding to build a new class of tank to operate over the newly absorbed lines. The 0-6-2 wheel arrangement proved popular with most of the absorbed companies, leading to the GWR incorporating the wheel arrangement into the design of the 56XXs.

5619 was eventually withdrawn in June 1964, where the engine was then sent to the famous Barry Scrapyard. The engine was later restored and has been seen running on various heritage lines across the country.

A spokesperson for the Llangollen Railway said “We are very grateful to our friends at the Telford Steam Railway for offering this superb loco to us, which will look very much at home in the Dee Valley. Bring it on!”