Ffestiniog Railway has announced that its popular Hunslet 2-4-0 Linda has returned to steam after an overhaul.

Linda is the sister locomotive to Blanche, which is also at the Ffestiniog Railway, while a third Hunslet 2-4-0 locomotive, Charles, is in the museum around twenty miles away at Penrhyn Castle.

Originally built as an 0-4-0ST by the Hunslet Engine Company in Leeds, and named after Linda Blanche Douglas-Pennant (1889-1965), the daughter of Edward Sholto and Blanche Georgina Douglas-Pennant, Linda arrived at the Ffestiniog Railway in July 1962.

Linda was fitted with a new boiler in April 1936, returned to traffic in 1937, stored at Port shed from 1940 to 1950, and received a welded tank in January 1951. The loco worked its last trip at Penrhyn on 11 July 1962.

After starring in the successful ‘Hunslet 125’ gala in 2018, the Railway withdrew Linda from service in 2019 for a ten-year overhaul, and in 2020 launched a sixty-thousand-pound appeal to fund the work.

The first part of the work was on the boiler, which was completed quickly, but the next stage – work on the chassis – was held up by pandemic restrictions. The staff at Boston Lodge, the Railway’s engineering workshop, worked hard on Linda, while at the same time also overhauling ‘David Lloyd George’ and constructing new-build Double Fairlie ‘James Spooner’.

The Railway had intended to return Linda to steam in 2022, to coincide with celebrations of the loco’s sixty years there. However, delays meant that the return was not possible until now.

The comprehensive overhaul saw a lot of attention focused on the heavy rebuild of Linda’s tender and work on the smokebox after ten years of high mileage use.

Recently, Linda took part in running-in turns on shuttle trains between Porthmadog and Minffordd. The loco is now in the paint shop, where the tender has already been painted and the rest of the locomotive is now receiving similar treatment.

Linda will begin hauling trains again in March 2024, and will regularly pull the Quarryman service starting in Blaenau Ffestiniog. The Ffestiniog Railway is considering offering a limited number of opportunities to drive and fire Linda during the year.

The eventual cost of the overhaul was over £80,000, funded by donations and fundraising efforts by members of the Ffestiniog Railway Society.

General Manager Paul Lewin ,said “Here at the railway we all love our Hunslets, and Linda is the favourite of many people. Linda’s overhaul was made possible by the generosity of our members, and of course we are eternally grateful to them for their support. Despite the recent years being financially challenging for everyone, the members have continued to dig deep. I can’t emphasise enough how grateful we all are. I hope everyone gains as much pleasure from travelling behind this loco as I do.

“Getting the ball rolling with the new cylinders for Linda allows us to get ahead of the game and ensure that replacements are available in good time. Once again, our members have stepped up to the plate and made this possible which is wonderful.”

RailAdvent’s online shop stocks several products depicting Linda, including a mouse mat, greetings card and various prints.