Registered Museum No. RD1433 / Amgueddfa Gofrestredig Rhif RD1433
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Petrol Loco No. 774
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Baguley petrol loco No. 774
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Baguley Petrol Locomotive No. 774
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| No. 774 on a rare outdoor appearance at Tywyn Wharf, April 2001. |
Photo of 774's engine compartment
Close-up of 774's engine
The most recent arrival in Tywyn is a historic petrol loco, Baguley No. 774 of 1919, which has been purchased from the now-closed Narrow Gauge Railway Centre at Gloddfa Ganol, Blaenau Ffestiniog. After a long period in private ownership, its future has been assured by this purchase and it is hoped that it can soon be exhibited at Tywyn, not far from where it first worked on timber production over seventy years ago.
The Trustees thank everyone who has assisted in any way with the acquision of Baguley 774 and its move to Tywyn. Further expense will be needed for restoration work which will be carried out to the high standards for which the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum has long been noted. An appeal for funds is being made and donations are invited - cheques should be made payable to The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum and sent to The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum, Wharf Station, TYWYN, LL36 9EY.
The loco moved on 21st June 2003 to the Amerton Railway near Stafford where it will be on loan for two years for cosmetic restoration before returning to Tywyn for display in the new museum.
Historical notes
Between February and April 1919, Baguley (Cars) Ltd built six 2ft-gauge petrol locomotives for the Board of Trade to be used on timber camp railways in various parts of the country. The design was a McEwan Pratt one, and these engines were the first locomotives built by Baguleys. They were given works numbers 774-79. No. 774 was delivered to Machynlleth in March 1919 and is believed to have worked on the Hendre-Ddu Tramway at Aberangell, Montgomeryshire. It was repurchased by Baguley in 1923 and exhibited at the Commercial Motor Show, London in the same year being given a special display livery which it carried until recent times. In 1924 it was shown on the Drewery stand at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley. January 1927 saw it sold to the Oakley Slate Quarries in Blaenau Ffestiniog, where it worked until 1939.
It was then stored walled up in a disused slate mill until 1966 when Rodney Weaver bought it for preservation. It was then moved to Brian Goodchild's railway at Leamington Spa in 1968, before being sold to R. P. Morris in 1970, moving to Bampton, Oxfordshire in 1973 and then Longfield, Kent before returning to Wales in 1977. It became part of the Narrow Gauge Railway Centre display at Gloddfa Ganol Mountain Tourist Centre until that attraction closed after which the engine was sold to the Trust in February 1998 and moved to Tywyn. It will now undergo a thorough examination and evaluation before a decision is made on the extent to which restoration will take place and the engine is placed on public display.
It is also the ancestor of the later steam outline locomotives which Baguleys built after 1929. While at Oakley Quarry, it was known as "Clifford" - it is also possible that this engine worked for a time on a Forestry line at Pennal. It is of interest as a loco with Welsh connections, having worked on forestry lines and in the slate industry and is also a historic early internal combustion locomotive in its own right.