THE start of 2011 has been a busy time at Barry Rail Centre, with heritage railway projects continuing to move forward.

Barry Rail Centre has welcomed a British built 8F locomotive, No 45166, which was shipped back to Bristol Docks from Turkey just after Christmas where it will be stored awaiting restoration.

The locomotive was shipped to Turkey during the Second World War to help with the war effort and has only now been repatriated with the permission of the Turkish authorities.

John Buxton, the managing director of Cambrian Transport that now controls the Barry Rail Centre, said: “It was great to be in Barry for the arrival of the historically important 8F steam locomotive, which played and important part in the War effort.”

Cambrian Transport has a long-term lease on the 100 acre Barry Rail Centre, which includes a tourist railway and engineering operation and acts as a base for skill training.

Also this month Barry Rail Centre has taken delivery of a turntable from the Mid Hants Railway, which Cambrian intends to install at its main depot site in Barry.

Cambrian’s director of communications, Dr Mark Lang, commented: “The facility provided by the turntable when we have installed it, in conjunction with our mainline connection, is an important part of our plans for Barry Rail Centre, as it will better enable us to secure the engineering, maintenance and servicing contracts we are pursuing.”

John Buxton, added: “This is an exciting time for Barry Rail Centre, and we look forward to continuing to develop both our heritage projects, including our current work the Fowler Tender as part of the Patriot Project, and our modern engineering projects over the coming months.”