Reunited!

The Vale of Rheidol Railway recently welcomed Ann Hatherill to Aberystwyth, to renew an acquaintance with Dukedog No.9017.

Ann is no stranger to steam railways, having become the first ever volunteer female locomotive fireman at the Talyllyn Railway back in 1957. During that time, she remembers steam on the Cambrian network around West Wales, including the Dukedog class.

Ann has a specific connection with this particular locomotive: her father (Bill Carter) built a working 5″ model of No.9017, which won the prestigious Crebbin Cup at a model engineering exhibition.

His miniature engine won the highly sought-after Duke of Edinburgh trophy: a top prize for excellence in model engineering, awarded annually. It is regarded as the highest accolade in model engineering, and entrants have to have been awarded either a gold or a silver award nationally before being eligible.

Ann is pictured below driving the locomotive on a portable track at one of the exhibitions.

“It is such a pleasure to renew my acquaintance with the real No.9017, after all of these years” said Ann, whilst standing next to the Dukedog. “My father knew this loco inside out: there were no castings or drawings to speak of, when he made he built his 5″ gauge model of it. It was a real masterpiece“.

She also remembered her time on the Cambrian lines fondly. “When I was firing at the Talyllyn Railway in the late 1950s, I used to arrange footplate passes on the main line. I remember the last days of the Dukedogs, as well as the Manors and BR standards that followed them. It was great fun, and a wonderful experience“.

Ann still maintains close connections with the Talyllyn Railway today, and enjoys regular visits to narrow gauge railways in Wales.