Preparations are almost ready for the Corris Railway gala which is set to take place this Saturday on the 15th June.
Guest locomotive No. 3 “Sir Haydn” will be visiting from the Talyllyn Railway as it will be returning to its original working patch.
The timetables have already been published with Corris Railway locos Nos. 7 & 10 also set to run.
An outline of Saturday’s timetable is below:
| Departures from Corris | Planned Motive Power |
| 11:00 | No. 3 “Sir Haydn” |
| 11:30 | No.10 |
| 12:00 | No. 3 “Sir Haydn” |
| 12:30 | No. 7 |
| 13:10 | No. 3 “Sir Haydn”+ No. 10 (Double heading) |
| 14:15 | No. 10 |
| 14:45 | No. 3 “Sir Haydn” |
| 15:15 | No. 7 |
| 15:45 | No. 10 |
| Departures from Maespoeth Junction | Planned Motive Power |
| 11:15 | No. 3 “Sir Haydn” |
| 11:45 | No. 7 |
| 12:15 | No. 10 |
| 12:45 | No. 3 “Sir Haydn” |
| 14:00 | No. 3 “Sir Haydn” & No. 10 (Top & Tail) |
| 14:30 | No. 7 |
| 15:00 | No. 10 |
| 15:30 | No. 3 “Sir Haydn” |
| 16:00 | No. 7 |
A limited number of tickets are remaining and they are going quickly. Those wishing to attend can book their tickets online at Rheilffordd Corris Railway
Passengers are reminded that their journey cannot start their day at Maespoeth Junction. All passengers must begin their day journeys at Corris.
Locomotive Information
The only original locomotive to have survived from the original Corris Railway is No.3. It was built in 1878 in Loughborough and was one of three locomotives, built especially for the Corris Railway.
After the line closed in No.3 was saved for preservation by the Talyllyn Railway, where she was restored and began running in 1951 and has been based there since, where the locomotive has since been given the name “Sir Haydn”.
This locomotive will be making its third visit back to its original home railway.
Locomotive No.7 was the first steam engine built for the preserved Corris Railway. Having had a troubled start to its life which almost saw the locomotive becoming lost before it was even finished, as the company constructing No.7 went out of business before its completion.
Fortunately, she survived and has been based on the railway since 2005. The engine is a 21st century new build of a locomotive delivered from Kerr Stuart Ltd of Stoke-on-Trent in 1921. This will be the last summer that this locomotive will be running as its due for overhaul in 2025.
No. 10 is also a new build locomotive which was completed in August 2023, and is based on No.3 “Sir Hayden” though it is 145 years younger than its original sister.
This Engine was built by Alan Keef Ltd, at a price of £400,000. Both No. 10 and No.3 will make history in being the first two members of the Falcon class to work together double heading a train on the Corris Railway for the first time in over a century.
On Saturday, the public will have the opportunity to have a look around the workshops at Maespoeth Junction.
The museum and shop will also be open at Corris where additional information booklets on the line and the locomotives can be bought.
Light Refreshments will be on offer at the railway, but for those craving something larger, Corris station is just a few minutes walk from the village shop & cafe or the “Slaters Arms” which once had its beer barrels delivered by rolling them across the street from the railway wagons.
Another cafe is The Corris Craft Centre, this is also within walking distance of Corris station though it is accessed via a zig-zag path which might be a bit too arduous for the unfit.
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