Moors Valley to mark Tinkerbell’s 50th birthday

by

IT IS 50 years since Roger Marsh built the original minimum gauge railways Type ‘F’ 0-4-2T Tinkerbell and the 7¼in-gauge Moors Valley Railway in Dorset will be holding a special celebratory event over the weekend of September 22-23.

Tinkerbell was a landmark design being a sit-in narrow gauge steam loco for the 7¼in gauge. It was not until November 1975 a batch of five such locos were ordered, and completed in 1978. Gurkha,
Sir Robert, Susan Jane and Adam went to private lines while Talos was delivered to the original Echills Wood Railway in Warwickshire in the July.

Roger Marsh’s classic Tinkerbell design is being celebrated with a 50th anniversary gala at the Moors Valley Railway on September 22-23. The MVR’s two original ‘Tinkerbells’ are seen at a previous event with Tinkerbell leading Talos, one of the production batch built by Roger Marsh & Co Ltd, Britannia Works, Hinckley in 1978. PETER NICHOLSON

A large number of similar locos have since been completed by many different builders, some similar in appearance, while others have used the same basic design and layout, but have been modified with some completed as tender locos, and even Fairlies.

Article continues below…
Advert

Enjoy more Railway reading in the monthly magazine.
Click here to subscribe & save.

Tinkerbell was bought by Jim Haylock in April 1978 and is now MVR No. 4, with Talos being MVR No. 3. Most of the extensive MVR fleet, although of greatly differing appearance, has been based on the Tinkerbell design.

It is hoped all five original 1978 locos will be present at the September event and joined by at least 15 other visitors, working passenger and freight trains.

Other MVR enthusiast events are the railway open weekend on March 17-18; visiting locos weekend May 5-6; and the grand summer gala on
June 10-11.

Article continues below…
Advert

Read more News and Features in the March issue of The RM – on sale now!


Advert
Subscribe to The Railway Magazine
Enjoy more of The Railway Magazine reading every month. Click here to subscribe.

Railway Reads

From the history of steam through to 21st century rail transport news, we have titles that cater for all rail enthusiasts. Covering diesels, modelling, steam and modern railways, check out our range of magazines and fantastic subscription offers.


Article Tags:

About the Author