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Originally part of a cross-country route from Ruabon to Barmouth, the Llangollen Railway is now a heritage line predominantly operated by steam locomotives. It runs for ten miles through the Dee Valley between Llangollen and Corwen. The line was originally opened in 1865 but fell victim to the Beeching era cuts, closing to passengers in 1965. It was re-opened section by section from 1975, reaching Carrog in 1996 and Corwen in 2014.

Although perhaps overshadowed by the hundreds of named 4-6-0s the GWR 2-6-0 Moguls were significant because they were the largest class of GW tender locomotives & could be seen on mainlines & secondary routes all over the GWR’s system & beyond. Built between 1911 & 1932 & numbered in the 43xx, 53xx, 63xx, 73xx, & 93xx series the class eventually totalled 342. There were 2 obvious versions: the last 20 built in 1932 & numbered (originally) in the 93xx series had a larger cab with side windows, rather than the spartan cabs of the earlier 322, which were typical of Churchward-designed locomotives. Sadly only 2 locomotives ended up in Barry scrapyard & so survived into the preservation era – a pity as they are an ideal size for use on many of our heritage railways. Also those enthusiasts interested in authenticity find them more typical of secondary lines motive power than the larger 4-6-0s, 4-6-2s, & 2-8-0s which have survived in greater numbers. Happily a representative of both versions has survived: 5322 & 9303 (later renumbered 7325).
Mention must also be made of 9351 which entered service on the West Somerset Railway in 2004. Not a true GWR Mogul but a rebuild of GWR 2-6-2T 5193 with a newly-built tender. The main difference is that it has a No.2 boiler, smaller and lighter than the No.4 version fitted to genuine GWR Moguls.