Warhorse of the rails heads for York (From York Press)

Warhorse of the rails heads for York

2:12pm Thursday 17th May 2012 in News

A First World War armoured locomotive used to haul supplies to the front line will be one of the star attractions when Britain’s biggest railway exhibition kicks off in York next month.

RailFest 2012, which starts at the National Railway Museum on June 2, will fill a space the size of 11 football pitches with more than 50 locomotives, including the world-famous Flying Scotsman and Mallard. But it is the Simplex light railway engine, recently brought from Wales to Yorkshire, that could attract the most attention.

Since it was used during the Great War, the loco – one of only four remaining – has been used to transport sugar from fields to factories in St Kitts, before being repatriated to the UK in the late 1980s. Now the engine – often referred to as a Tin Turtle because of its curved armoured green shell – operates on the Ffestinlog and Welsh Highland Railway.

Paul Martin, who drives the engine in Wales, said: “Now, it’s much more a pampered toy.

“We bring it out for special events like RailFest and for galas and visitor events.”