| Maid Marian | |
| Powertype: | Steam |
| Builder: | Hunslet |
| Builddate: | 1903 |
| Disposition: | Preserved |
Maid Marian is a preserved narrow-gauge steam locomotive built in 1903,[1] currently based at the Bala Lake Railway in North Wales.[2]
Maid Marian, works number 822 and subsequently named after a racehorse, was built in 1903 by the Hunslet Engine Company based in Leeds.[3]
Maid Marian spent its entire industrial life working at the Dinorwic quarry in North Wales.[4] It operated alongside many Hunslet engines, including Holy War, Dolbadarn, George B, Red Damsel, Wild Aster, Alice and Irish Mail.
The Maid Marian Locomotive Fund was established in 1965 by a group of railway enthusiasts seeking to preserve a working locomotive from the Dinorwic Slate Quarry.[5] The Quarry Manager recommended Maid Marian as the best locomotive then available.[6] MMLF purchased the loco in 1965, taking possession in 1967.[7]
Maid Marian operated at the Bressingham Steam Museum from 1967 to 1971, before going to the Llanberis Lake Railway until 1975,[8] and then to the Bala Lake Railway. It returned to Llanberis for the 2011 gala.
Israel Newton built a new boiler in 2006.[9]