Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway welcomes the locomotive from Taiwan in 2023

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Yesterday, Wednesday 23rd November, 9,971 km from its headquarters in Llanfair Caereinion in Wales, Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway agreed a loan of a 50-year-old diesel locomotive from Alishan Forest Railway in Taiwan.

The handover of the locomotive took place at an official ceremony between representatives of Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway and Alishan Forest Railway at Garage Park in Chiayi, Taiwan.

DL-34 1 — Credit: Forestry Bureau of Taiwan

The locomotive, number DL-34, was built in 1972 by Mitsubishi in Japan and has a 523 HP engine. It was designed to tackle the steep grades and tight curves of the line through the Alishan Forest in Taiwan.

The locomotive will leave Taiwan by sea later this month and is expected to arrive in the UK early in the New Year.

The two railways have been connected since 2017, when both railways share the same 2ft. 6 inches. (762 mm) and has sharp turns and steep gradients.

DL-34 at work in Taiwan. // Credit: Forestry Bureau of Taiwan

DL-34 will remain with the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway on an initial 3-year loan, and both railways hope that the loan will help promote their educational and cultural collaboration.

The Alishan Forest Railway is the highest narrow gauge line in Asia and was originally built for logging, but is now a tourist attraction with over 50 tunnels and 77 wooden bridges. It was recently listed by Taiwan’s Ministry of Culture as a potential World Heritage Site.