This is a 50hp mines-type locomotive. The early history of the loco is still opaque, but appears to have spent most of its working life at the National Coal Board’s Thorne colliery, near Doncaster. Around 1980, it passed into the ownership of a contracting company, AMCO (Amalgamated Construction). It seems to have spent most of the following years at an AMCO depot near Barnsley. It is not known if the loco was actually used on any AMCO projects in the 1980s.
In September 1990, the loco entered preservation at the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway site at Gelert’s Farm, Porthmadog, where a considerable amount of restoration work was carried out. The loco moved to Apedale on 4 June 2025.
There is some doubt about the “true” identity of this loco; several similar locos were at Thorne, notably Hunslet 3510. However, the owner found markings indicating the loco to be 3512, so unless proved otherwise….
