Sierra Leone Railway Hunslet 2-6-2 Tank Locomotive No 85
2-6-2 Tank locomotive No 85 of 1954 was the last of this class of engines built by the Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds for the Sierra Leone Railway.
It remained in operation until the railway closed in 1975, when it was purchased by the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway in mid-Wales.
It worked on the W&LLR until 2010, when its boiler certificate expired.
The locomotive was then lent to the UK National Railway Museum, and was displayed at Locomotion, the National Railway Museum at Shildon, County Durham until April 2017.
In April 2012 the Friends of the Sierra Leone National Railway Museum partnered with the W&LLR to deliver 'The Grand Tour', generously supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, displaying the locomotive to a range of public venues throughout the UK alongside an exciting programme of educational activities. The locomotive returned to Llanfair Caereinion on the W&LLR for static display at the station in September 2017.
The Friends of the Sierra Leone National Railway Museum are now working in partnership with the W&LLR to raise the funds to get the locomotive back in operation.
If you would like to see No 85 steam again, please use the attached form to make your donation or visit
