ROBERT FAIRLIE
FROM THE RM AUGUST1900
ROBERT Fairlie sold his patent locomotives all over the world and they were particularly popular in countries as diverse as Mexico and New Zealand. He took over his father-in-law George England’s failing loco construction business and co-operated fully with the Ffestiniog, which he saw as a showcase for his products. Portraits show Fairlie’s especially woolly, mutton-chop sideburns, and a style of moustache to be made famous many years later by Poirot, all framing an arguably vulnerable gaze. He died early, aged 55 (many sources say 54), following a long illness stemming from a sales visit to Venezuela where he had contracted a fever.
“THE miniature line that runs between Portmadoc [as it was then spelled] and the Festiniog [sic] slate district of North Wales, though it has long since lost its exclusive prominence as an example, and is no longer the Mecca it was, still enjoys the distinction of being one the narrowest of narrow gauges.
0-4-4-0T Double Fairlie Merddin Emrys (No. 10) heads a rake of slate wagons at Porthmadog Harbour station on May 1, 2017.
CLIFF THOMAS
One of the criticisms of his work is that he had few repeat orders, but those more kindly disposed to his efforts suggest this is because of remote after-sales care through the huge distances involved and a suspicion his locomotives were not always worked and maintained in accordance with the owner’s manual.
“The mere fact of its being the first parent, as it were, of some thousands of miles of narrow gauges in other parts of the world, adds to its interest in the eyes of the visitor, who may promise himself much entertainment in seeing what this first parent is actually like.
WE are on the Ffestiniog Railway, which was constructed for delivering slate from quarry to ships by gravity and the return of empties hauled by horses. After converting to steam power in the 1860s, the company went on to demonstrate a penchant for literature, naming its locomotives after figures such as the Welsh manifestation of Arthurian Merlin, Merddin Emrys, and the sixth century poet Taliesin.