To add to the first arrivals more visitors have arrived for the QUIRKS & CURIOSITIES II weekend 28th April – 1st May.
‘CHUQUITANTA’
This 0-4-0 locomotive was built by Couillet, a Belgian locomotive manufacturer, in 1885 (Works No.810) to 500mm gauge for the French pioneer of lightweight industrial railways, Decauville. The engine was sold as that company’s No.36, making this one of the oldest surviving Decauvilles in the world. It was supplied to Enrique Ayulo & Cie (Decauville’s agent in Peru) for the Rodriguez sugar cane plantation. The loco was named ‘Chuquitanta’ due to its small size and weight of only 3.5 tonnes.
The locomotive was discovered while on static display inside a restaurant, which had been built on the site of the sugar cane plant. It was brought to the UK from Peru for full restoration in 2004 and returned to steam in 2016. ‘Chuquitanta’ is now based on the Richmond Light Railway in Kent.
‘Chuquitanta’ is expected to feature in several appearances on the F&WHR main line during ‘QnC2’.
‘CAMPAGNE LOCOTRACTEUR’
This 4wPM loco was built in 1925 by the French firm E.Campagne (903) for the French War Office. It is a ‘TS class’ designed for use on the 600mm gauge system that served the front line and associated trenches during the First World War.
This example was found in a scrap-yard in France and fully restored in Spain, by a firm that specializes in the detailed restoration of Bugatti Motor Cars. The detailed work involved fabrication of a new brass fuel tank, complete engine rebuild and extensive repairs to the bodywork.
Nowadays it is based on the Richmond Light Railway in Kent, having arrived there in 2011.
