AN industrial steam train abandoned at Colwyn Bay Station in North Wales for more than five years has been set on the road to freedom by engineers from Dartmoor Railway who will be bringing it to Okehampton Station later in the year.
The steam train has been moved to a rail depot in North Yorkshire for a full inspection before being rebuilt — in the autumn it will replace the diesel train which takes passengers from Okehampton to the Meldon Viaduct.
The steam-powered 'Dartmoor Pony' will be the first regular steam service running in Okehampton for 30 to 40 years.
Public relations manager for Dartmoor Railway Richard Beckett said the plan had always been to run the Dartmoor Pony with a steam engine but they had not been able to acquire one in time to launch the service back in April.
He said: 'They are increasingly rare these days — if you are prepared to spend a lot of money you can get hold of them but it takes a long time to recoup the cost.
'This engine was an offer we could not refuse and being quite small it is just the right size for the run by to Meldon.'
Mr Beckett said at the moment the priority was getting the engine working 100 per cent.
Built in 1952 by engine makers Hudswell Clarke of Leeds, the locomotive, named 'Firefly', had formed part of a display for a now defunct restaurant business. It had been stranded at the rear of the station after the siding it was stabled on had been removed.
It was lifted from its location in North Wales with help from industrial railway specialists RMSLocotec based in West Yorkshire and a local crane hire company.
A brief inspection of the locomotive was carried out on site and it was considered to be in reasonably good condition taking into account its period of open storage adjacent to the coast.
Mr Beckett said the only steam engines seen in Okehampton at the moment were the occasional special trains from Exeter.