Adiela

No 7/27 Adiela

Type: 2-6-2 Tender FCNDelM Prairie

Date Built: 1939

Builder: Built Bell/Burgoyne

Rebuilt 1976 Don Proudlock/Michael Henderson

Colour: Victorian Maroon

Current Status: In Service

'Adiela' was originally built in 1939/1940 by Mr Bell and Mr Burgoyne, to run on the latters Crowthorne Farm Railway in Berkshire, and looked very different to as she is seen today. She was originally completed as an 0-8-0 tender locomotive and numbered '1003'. Upon Mr Burgoynes death, she was sold to a Mr Hammet who operated a number of railways in and around London. Now named 'Austerity', she was employed initially at East Ham, where a leading truck was very quickly added during a rebuild, making her a 2-8-0 plus tender locomotive as there were issues with derailing.

She then ran for a very short time at another of Hammets lines, Danson Park, but was unfortunately not up to the job required for various reasons, one of which being a poor steaming riveted boiler. She was then cast aside and over time dismantled, with parts being used on other locos. Her tender was then used by another loco and is still in existence to this day.

The dismantled 'Austerity' was eventually bought by William Jennings, who soon began rebuilding the locomotive into a 2-6-2 plus tender but never completed the rebuild. In the early 1970s Jack Wakefield and Don Proudlock bought the part re-built chassis of 'Austerity' and through 1975-76 following Jack Wakefields retirement, Don Proudlock and new business partner Michael Henderson completed the re-build, with the loco entering service as 'FCNDelM No.27' joining then Atlantic locomotive 'Mountaineer' on the Wednesday before the Bank holiday weekend of 1976, which turned out to be the busiest Wednesday of the summer season.

From then she ran regularly up until requiring boiler repairs in the autumn of 2010. She then went away for repairs and a very heavy overhaul of her chassis, with various parts being replaced, returning to service in time for the 2014 summer season and has ran very well ever since. In 2016 she acquired a new pilot in the style of those seen on ex-Fairbourne Twinning locomotives 'Sian' and 'Katie'.