Edward Sholto

Edward Sholto was built in 1909 by Hunslet for Penrhyn slate quarry. The original cost was £600. It is named after Edward Sholto Douglas-Pennant who inherited the Penrhyn estates upon the death of his father in 1907. Laid up in 1956 it was sold in 1961 and exported to Canada in October of that year. It never steamed there and changed hands several times before being purchased by Andrew Neale and repatriated in July 2006. Andrew and his small team have since done a marvellous restoration job which resulted in the locomotive returning to steam in 2010.

It is seen here in action with two quarry trucks at its base at the Moseley Railway Trust, Apedale Heritage Centre. This was a special event in conjunction with the AGM of the Industrial Railway Society which was held in one of the locomotive sheds.

Andrew Neale, seen here on the far left, is particularly proud of the fact that the locomotive still comprises most of the original metalwork from when it was delivered by Hunslet in 1909; even the firebox wrapper is original. He puts this down to the workshop practice at Penrhyn where locomotives were repaired one at a time and therefore there was less opportunity for swapping parts than at Dinorwic where two locomotives could be under heavy repair at the same time and the good bits of both would be used to get one back in service as quickly as possible.