A 50-year-old Alishan Forest Railway diesel-powered locomotive on loan to the UK carried its first group of passengers in Wales over the weekend.
The DL-34 engine, on loan for an initial period of three years, is operating on the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway (W&LLR), a narrow gauge heritage line that runs about 13.7km between the towns of Welshpool and Llanfair Caereinion.
At Saturday’s launch ceremony in Wales, Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) and W&LLR chairman Steve Clews fitted a headboard onto the locomotive.
Photo courtesy of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency
The loan of the locomotive was “the culmination of four years of discussions,” and was a great opportunity for the two railways to continue building their friendship, a W&LLR post on Facebook quoted Clews as saying at the launch ceremony.
Alishan Forest Railway and W&LLR signed a sister railway agreement in September 2017, after which the loan was proposed.
Lin said at the ceremony that the DL-34 would “traverse the beautiful hills and plains of Wales gracefully” under the excellent care of the W&LLR.
Photo courtesy of the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency
Former British Trade and Cultural Office director Michael Reilly, now a company secretary at W&LLR, said that many people had been looking forward to the locomotive’s operation in Wales.
The passengers on the first trip on Sunday included local government officials and railway fans, not just from the UK, but also Malaysia, said Reilly, who had helped to make the arrangements for the loan.
The locomotive was delivered in February last year after a 9,971km journey from Alishan to Wales. Work was then carried out over 12 months to modify systems, test the locomotive and train its drivers, W&LLR said.
The Welsh line also has a sister agreement with Taiwan Sugar Corp (Taisugar), which was signed in December 2018.
Under that agreement, the Welsh railway loaned its Dougal locomotive — a narrow gauge steam engine — to Chiayi County, the W&LLR Web site says.
In 2004, Taisugar lent W&LLR a Diepholzer Maschinenfabrik Fritz Schottler GmbH (DIEMA) locomotive — a diesel engine built in 1979 in Germany for the company to haul sugar cane.
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