102 Railway Queen

This locomotive was named Michael when new, and worked at the Woodland Park Miniature Railway; a short-lived line beside the shore of the Isle of Grain, across the water from Rochester in Kent.

Subsequently, it ran for a few years in the tea garden of a pub in Cheshire, before being sold during the winter of 1927/28 to Belle Vue Zoo, Manchester. Once there, it soon acquired the name Railway Queen, in honour of the Queen of the annual Railwaymen’s Carnivals, held at Belle Vue.

Railway Queen returned to Rhyl in the 1980s, then joined the later No.105 Michael on display at James Pringle Weavers shop, Llanfair Pwyll Gwyn on Anglesey, before being re-returned to Rhyl in 2007.

Michael, with Railway Queen was positioned outside Central Station during the 2008 Old Friends Gala weekend and when five Barnes Atlantics were seen together.

Once restoration of Michael  was completed in 2011 a few volunteers were keen to see action on Railway Queen, and commenced restoration on the tender. In December 2013 a deposit was paid on a new boiler from TRS Boilermakers, and at their October 2016 meeting the Trustees decided finally to work towards steaming Railway Queen.

The new boiler arrived on site in June 2017 and was steamed for the first time in December 2017. Railway Queen returned to active service at Rhyl in July 2018, for the first time since 1989.