100 YEARS LATER… DOROTHY RETURNS! | Bala Lake Railway Steam Gala 2026

Join me for a fantastic day at the Bala Lake Railway as I head to the final day of the August Steam Gala, held over the Bank Holiday weekend from 29th–31st August 2026. The gala brought together all of the Bala Lake Railway's available steam locomotives, alongside visiting Ffestiniog Railway locomotive Hugh Napier, with the railway's battery electric locomotive Terminator also hauling freight trains throughout the event. But the real star of the show was Bagnall saddle tank Dorothy. After around 100 years out of service, Dorothy was due to return to steam and haul her first ever passenger trains during the gala. Unfortunately, a fault during testing meant her planned appearances on Saturday and Sunday had to be cancelled. Thankfully, the fantastic team at the Bala Lake Railway managed to repair her in time for the final day... And luckily, that's the day I was there! It was a genuinely special moment to see Dorothy finally back in steam and hauling passengers for the first time, alongside a great selection of steam and battery-electric locomotives working trains through the beautiful Bala Lake scenery. 🚂 Locomotives featured in this video: • Maid Marian • Terminator • Hugh Napier • Holy War • Alice • Dorothy A huge well done to everyone at the Bala Lake Railway for getting Dorothy back into service and for putting on a fantastic Steam Gala. If you enjoyed the video, please consider liking, commenting and subscribing to Rob's Rails. And if you'd like to support the channel even further, you can become a Railhead channel member and get access to the membership perks. Thanks for watching, and I'll see you down the line, in the next one on Rob's Rails! 🚂 #BalaLakeRailway #SteamGala #Dorothy #HughNapier #MaidMarian #HeritageRailway #SteamLocomotive #WelshRailways #RobsRails Timestamps: 00:00 Intro 01:10 Morning Trains at Llanuwchllyn 05:11 Three Trains Crossing at Llangower 08:41 Dolfawr Bank 10:11 Pentrepiod 11:24 Pant yr Hen Felin (Lakeside Embankment) 12:24 Bala Pen-y-Bont Station 15:30 Llangower 16:58 Double Header at Pentrepiod 17:31 Hugh Napier Up Dolfawr Bank 18:10 Pant yr Hen Felin (Lakeside Embankment) 19:15 Dorothy at Bala Pen-y-Bont Station 21:36 Last Crossing of Trains of the Day 23:22 Hugh Napier from Bala to Llanuwchllyn 26:53 Outro