 |
 |
| Prior to its rebuild and in the first years of our railway - before the Barnes Atlantics were built from the 1920s - Red Dragon would have been a common sight alongside Wellington Road. At present, the locomotive is painted in a style similar to Bassett Lowke No. 11, Mighty Atom, which finished its working days on the Sutton Coldfield Miniature Railway and latterly was named Prince of Wales. | As noted above, our other special guest was Bassett Lowke No. 30, in Narrow Gauge Railways blue livery and restored to original 1912, Sand Hutton Railway, condition as Synolda. This locomotive is a direct ancestor of the Barnes 4-4-2s that were built at Rhyl and also of the later Sutton Coldfield Atlantics, each of which have starred at past Galas on our railway. |
 |
 |
| Rhyl's Town Mayor, Cllr Glyn Pickering and his consort, Cllr Geraldine Jones, visited our railway Gala during their tour of the many events taking place over the weekend as part of Rhyl Week. | Their visit provided an opportunity to "cab" the locos rostered for the official opening train of the gala and on which our civic guests had a ride. |
 |
 |
| Each morning, locomotive preparations started early; | All four operating locos were seen in these two shots. |
|
|
|
| Within Central Station building, other volunteers dispensed tickets, souvenirs and refreshments to large numbers of passengers. | Author and President of The Friends of Rhyl Miniature Railway, Rev Alan Cliff was accompanied by Jack The Station Cat as he signed copies of his books for grateful young visitors. |
|
|
|
| Our museum, in the Albert Barnes Room was open and as usual, locomotive No. 106 Billy was looking an immaculate centrepiece. | Nearby, members of Colwyn Bay Model Boat Club had an impressive display. |
 |
 |
| Throughout the three-day event, steam-hauled trains circumnavigated the lake as they have done since 1911. Here Synolda takes five De-Luxe carriages up the bank towards the end of a trip. | Some of the trains were double-headed; Synolda leads Joan on the approach to the eastern level crossing. |
 |
 |
| Red Dragon was added to demonstrate triple-heading as a train passes the site of the former - somewhat basic - shed and workshop, facilities now replaced by our purpose-built Central Station. | Synolda and Joan depart from Central Station on Bank Holiday Monday. |
 |
 |
| The same pairing take another well-filled train of passengers along the stretch of line between the Marine Lake and River Clwyd. | Resident locomotive Joan and De-Luxe carriages head back under the trees for Central Station. |
|
|
|
| Another tree-lined scene, this time with Red Dragon working a train of empty coaching stock on Bank Holiday Monday. | On the Sunday, resident Cagney locomotive, No.44 was working the same set of carriages around the final curves near the blue river bridge. |
|
|
|
| A nearside study of Cagney 44 as its train awaits clearance into the platform at Central Station. | A view across the lake as Synolda & Joan double head a train heading south towards the standard gauge Chester to Holyhead railway. |
|
|
|
| Power boats and water skiing remain popular on Marine Lake; Central Station building is now a prominent feature on its northern shores. | All sorts of skills are needed to keep our railway operating in an attractive manner; this newly-planted floral display provides a new attraction adjacent to Central Station building. Thanks go to everyone who helped to make our 2009 Little Giant Gala such a success! |
