Maid Marian is a preserved narrow-gauge steam locomotive

Steam locomotive

A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...

 built in 1903, currently based at on the Bala Lake Railway

Bala Lake Railway

The Bala Lake Railway is a preserved railway at Bala Lake, in Gwynedd, north Wales, which runs for a distance of using gauge rolling stock....

 in North Wales

North Wales

North Wales is the northernmost unofficial region of Wales. It is bordered to the south by the counties of Ceredigion and Powys in Mid Wales and to the east by the counties of Shropshire in the West Midlands and Cheshire in North West England...

.

Construction

Maid Marian, works number 822 and subsequently named after a racehorse, was built in 1903 by the Hunslet Engine Company based in Leeds.

Working Life

Maid Marian spent its entire industrial life working at the Dinorwic Slate Quarry in North Wales. It operated alongside many Hunslet engines, including Holy War

Holy War (locomotive)

Holy War is a preserved narrow gauge steam locomotive built in 1902, currently based at the Bala Lake Railway in North Wales. It was the last steam locomotive to operate in a Welsh slate quarry.- Construction :...

, Dolbadarn, George B, Red Damsel, Wild Aster, Alice

Alice (locomotive)

Alice, a Hunslet , used to work in the Dinorwic slate quarries at Llanberis, in North Wales. Built in 1902, as Works No. 780, the locomotive was originally called ‘No. 4’. There was an earlier Alice which was built in 1889 Alice, a Hunslet , used to work in the Dinorwic slate quarries at Llanberis,...

and Irish Mail.

Preservation

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. The Quarry Manager recommended Maid Marion as the best locomotive then available. MMLF purchased the loco in 1965, taking possession in 1967.

Maid Marian operated at the Bressingham Steam Museum from 1967 to 1971, before going to the Llanberis Lake Railway

Llanberis Lake Railway

The Llanberis Lake Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway that runs for along the northern shore of Llyn Padarn in north Wales in the Snowdonia National Park. The starting point is the town of Llanberis at the eastern end of the lake , with the western terminus at Pen Llyn in the Padarn...

 until 1975, and then to the Bala Lake Railway. It returned to Llanberis for the 2011 gala.

Israel Newton built a new boiler in 2006.