Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway (W&LLR) has revealed that its smallest engine, ‘Dougal’, is to go to Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway (SKLR) on a four-year loan during which it will return to steam.

W&LLR and SKLR have agreed to the loan of Dougal, which will include an overhaul that will return it to operational condition. Dougal will make its move in early 2024.

Dougal’s boiler ticket expired in 2014, and since then, it has been on static display at Welshpool.

W&LLR, which is in Powys, Wales, will loan it to the SKLR, in Kent, and during the first two years, the SKLR workshop will work on the boiler and other parts, which will make Dougal operational again. For the following two years, it will operate on the Sittingbourne line with occasional visits back to its home in Wales for special events.

Andrew Barclay & Sons of Kilmarnock built Dougal in 1946 to work on the extensive narrow gauge system of Glasgow’s Provan Gasworks. It has a low design, which enabled to work in the restricted confines of the works’ retort houses.

W&LLR rescued Dougal in 1969, and restored it in time for its return to steam in 1975. The Railway named the locomotive after the dog character in popular children’s television show ‘Magic Roundabout’.

Dougal attracted a lot of fans with its appearance at special events over many years, but then developed boiler problems in 2014.

In 2018, Dougal travelled to Taiwan to take part in the annual sugar festival, marking the signing of a co-operation agreement between the W&LLR and Taiwan Sugar Co.

The W&LLR and SKLR are two of the only surviving 2ft 6in gauge lines in the UK, and have cooperated closely for many years. Most recently, the locomotive ‘Premier’, which had been restored to its original condition at Sittingbourne, was the star attraction at the W&LLR’s 2022 Steam Gala. The SKLR is home to several of the ‘toastrack’ carriages which operated on the Welsh line in the early years of preservation, and one of them briefly returned to the W&LLR in 2023 to take part in the line’s ’60 Years of Preservation’ event.

W&LLR Chairman Steve Clews said: “This is a great opportunity for us to work more closely with our friends at Sittingbourne whilst returning to service a much loved locomotive for both railways to make the most of. We thank the SKLR for the generous offer to our volunteers to take part in the restoration.”

SKLR Chairman Liz Fuller said: “This is a great opportunity for the W&LLR’s south-east based volunteers to come and work on one of their locos without having the long journey to Wales. Sharing the engine shed and facilities with our volunteers can only strengthen the relationship between the two railways as well as sharing specialist skills.”