County Donegal Railway 2-6-4T No. 4 Meenglas returned to Derry during snowfall after a £45,000 year-long cosmetic facelift at the Railway Preservation Society of Ireland workshops at Whitehead.
It will now be displayed again outside the Foyle Valley Railway Museum at a new, more prominent location beside Letterkenny Road, in an attempt to attract visitors.
The 1907-built Nasmyth Wilson locomotive has undergone much work, including replating of the tanks sides, cab and bunker, fitting of a new smokebox, door handles, new boiler cladding, replacement dome cover, replica chimney and a full painting in CDR red and yellow lining.
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It was welcomed home by Coun John Boyle, Mayor of Derry and Strabane District Council, on Wednesday, January 30.
The museum is now run by Destined, a charity for action for people with learning disabilities. Destined’s Dermot O’Hara said: “The return of Meenglas is a significant event in our seven-year plan to return the Foyle Valley Railway to operating condition as a tourist attraction.
“The RPSI has done a superb job and my thanks go to the society and to the Heritage Lottery Fund.”
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