Haulwen is a Hunslet Austerity 0-6-0 saddle tank built to a wartime design for the Ministry of Supply, one of hundreds of locomotives built to this simple design between 1943 and 1964 by various manufacturers. Haulwen was built in 1945 by Vulcan Foundry in Newton Le Willows with works number 5272 and was sent to the Longmoor Military Railway in June 1945 and numbered WD75252. It was given the name “Insein” and moved to the Woolmer Military railway where it served until 1959 and was then sold to Hunslet of Leeds, who rebuilt it as No 3879/1961. Hunslet sold the locomotive to the National Coal Board who sent it to south Wales to work at No 3 Cambrian Colliery, then at Garw Mine and finally at Mountain Ash where it was named Haulwen, after the Mountain Ash Colliery manager’s grand-daughter. It was placed in the care of the Caerphilly Railway Society in 1981 and worked briefly at their Van Road railway centre before being stored. Following the Caerphilly Railway Society’s move to the Gwili Railway in 1996, Haulwen was restored to traffic and worked for many years, proving a reliable and powerful performer. It is currently under overhaul and we hope to have her back in traffic in 2023.

Information

Built: Vulcan Foundry, Newton le Willows

Year Built: 1945

Cylinders: 2 (18”x26”)

Boiler pressure: 170psi

Driving wheels: 4”3’

Weight 48t 5cwt