In this important year celebrating the 70th anniversary of the resumption of services, original England loco Prince is a key player given its role in the early trains in 1955.
The Ffestiniog Railway Society was asked to fund the overhaul which was supported by many donations including the on train envelopes. This raised nearly £80,000.
The overhaul is at the closing stages and has included building a new saddle tank as a faithful copy.
As a tribute to the early days of the restoration, Prince has been painted in unlined green livery and also appears with ‘temporary’ name plates as it did in 1955. Another nice feature is the tender crest as per 1955.
There is quite a plethora of green engines appearing in 2025, with existing Linda and Blanche and newly repainted Merddin Emrys in green. The line up at the 70th anniversary weekend in June is looking good.
