Himalaya and Darjeeling Railway 19 at Launceston Station Darjeeling and Himalaya Railway locomotive No. 19 was built by Sharp Stewart & Co, Glasgow in 1889. It was withdrawn from DHR service in 1960 and after overhaul at Tindharia Works, was purchased by Elliott Donelley to run on his private railway in Illinois, USA. Following Mr Donelley's death in 1975 the locomotive was acquired by the Hesston Museum in Northern Indiana. In 2002 No 19 was purchased by Adrian Shooter, Managing Director of Chiltern Railways. The locomotive was shipped to the UK in a container in 2003 and fully overhauled at Tyseley Locomotive Works, Birmingham. No 19 and its carriages are normally based at Adrian Shooter's private garden railway but the locomotive makes occasional visits to other UK narrow gauge railways and has spent some time in 2019 on the Launceston Steam Railway. October 30 was its last operational day of the season where it headed the 13:00 and 14:00 trains from Launceston.
COVERTCOAT at Launceston Station
COVERTCOAT at Launceston Station on a very wet day! COVERTCOAT was built for the Dinorwic Slate Quarry in North Wales, where she worked until around 1959. Sold was sold in 1964, and initially preserved by John Butler. COVERTCOAT was sold to the Launceston Steam Railway in 1984. COVERTCOAT is a 0-4-0ST ‘Quarry Hunslet’ built in 1898 by the Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds as No. 679. Originally named ‘The Second’, as she was the second of a batch of two, she was later renamed after the racehorse which won the Grand National in 1913. Her cab is a replica of the type fitted to some of the ‘Quarry Hunslets’ and was fitted in 1987, whilst her tender was constructed at the LSR in 1991 to provide additional coal and water capacity.
