Railway warhorse to go on show at festival

And now the mechanical warhorse which transported supplies to the frontline during the conflict is to be showcased at Britain’s biggest rail celebration.

The Simplex WDLR has arrived at the National Railway Museum in York ahead of Railfest 2012, which will bring together more than 30 record-breaking locomotives between June 2 and 10.

But organisers admitted the Simplex is one of the most unusual engines which will be on display. It currently operates on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway, although it was originally built for the War Department Light Railways.

The narrow gauge trench railways run by the British War Department in World War I were used for the supply of ammunition and stores, the transport of troops and the evacuation of the wounded.

After the end of the conflict, the Simplex was re-built in 2ft 6ins gauge for service in the sugar industry on the West Indian island of St Kitts.

It was repatriated to England, where it was re-gauged and renovated with a diesel engine, and has remained in operation on the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway ever since.

The Railfest event will also feature Mallard, which reached 126mph in 1938 to become the fastest steam locomotive in the world, along with the first main line steam engine to be built in Britain for nearly 50 years, Tornado.

The first locomotive to reach 100mph, Flying Scotsman, is also set to attend. The iconic engine’s troubled restoration is continuing, although tests will not be completed in time to allow it to be in steam for Railfest.

As revealed by the Yorkshire Post in March, an internal investigation had been launched after it was confirmed Flying Scotsman would not be ready for the Olympic Flame celebrations.

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