12/05/2026
Pontypool buys Jessie, read more below.
📣 HUNSLET 0-6-0 1873 ‘JESSIE’ PURCHASED BY THE PONTYPOOL & BLAENAVON RAILWAY 📣
Constructed in 1937 at the Hunslet Works, locomotive No.1873 was ordered by the Guest, Keen Iron & Steel Company for their East Moors Steelworks in Cardiff. The second to be constructed of the 16 strong ‘48150’ class, a special order designed specifically for the iron and steel industries, No.1873 was delivered to the Cardiff Steelworks where it became locomotive No.18 ‘Jessie’.
The engine was put straight to work, hauling ladle wagons of molten slag to the foreshore ready for discharge into the sea. This particular job was known to the 5,000-strong workforce as ‘the Jessie’, and much like the predecessor engine of which she replaced, No.18 was given its then unofficial name of ‘Jessie’.
No.18 ‘Jessie’ was the last steam locomotive working at East Moors before its withdrawal in 1965, then destined for a new life as a children’s climbing frame in the nearby Splott Park(Cardiff) for the next 14 years. Mike Pearce, former East Moors apprentice and employee, saved ‘Jessie’ in 1979 after Cardiff City Council put the engine up for sale. Following an extensive restoration by Mike and his modest team spanning more than two decades, ‘Jessie’ finally steamed into preservation at Llangollen Railway in 2003.
The locomotive assumed the temporary guise of ‘Thomas the Tank Engine’, which proved such a success that it remained as such for nearly 15 years, entertaining families from all over the UK and Europe. In 2019 ‘Jessie’ was returned to its more familiar saddle tank arrangement at Mike’s engineering base on the Barry Tourist Railway. The locomotive was repainted in the late East Moors Steelworks livery by volunteers from Blaenavon, before relocating to its new home at the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway.
In 2023-24 the engine underwent its 10-year overhaul at both the Flour Mill and Barry workshops before returning to Blaenavon in spring 2024, where it was repainted into its original Hunslet livery.
With such strong local connections and interest, the engine has proved very popular with volunteers and visitors alike.
When Mike offered the opportunity to secure the locomotive permanently, the Railway launched a fundraising appeal to help enable the purchase of the engine. Thanks to donations raised by the public and our membership, including one particularly generous benefactor, the Railway was able to acquire the engine.
In April 2026 the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway became the proud owner of Hunslet 0-6-0ST no.1873 ‘Jessie’, giving volunteers and visitors the opportunity to enjoy the engine for many years to come.
