The last photo in this collection shows a Hunslet quarry loco called Sybil Mary.
The three photos here are of the same loco. They were taken in March 1991. A friend of a friend purchased the engine after looking for one for several years. It was located on the Ffestiniog Railway and was, as can be seen, basically an incomplete derelict. He also bought a few slate wagons at the same time and on the day the loco was to be collected, myself and three others went with a large trailer to bring a couple of wagons back.
My friend had an original Range Rover, purchased new in 1973 and I remember the day well because of this vehicle. It was still fitted with the original low compression 3.5 litre V8 engine. As can be imagined, car, trailer, wagons etc. weighed quite a lot and on the hilly roads in Wales, gosh that V8 sounded so good! Every time it hit a certain rpm the hairs on the back of my neck stood up!
Sybil Mary - or what was left of it, was positioned inside a specially made workshop, ready to be restored. Sadly, it never happened. Without going into personal details, a family member became ill and that was the of the dream. It was eventually sold to Statfold Barn Railway and was fully restored.
Michael