William Aston, who had been chief engineer of the Cambrian since 1882, had already revised the six Beaconsfield class locomotives to cope with the increased train weights and tighter schedules. This concerned the express trains that transported holidaymakers to the tourist areas of Wales. From 1893, class 61 locomotives were ordered to meet the increased requirements in this task, which essentially were an enlargement of the Beaconsfield class.

Compared to their predecessors, the locomotives received larger cylinders, larger drivers and a new boiler with 20 psi higher pressure and a larger firebox with larger grate. In the years 1893 to 1895, 16 were made by Sharp, Stewart & Co., which received the numbers 61 to 72 and 81 to 84. Five more followed in 1897 from Robert Stephenson & Co., numbered 32, 47, 11, 85 and 86. Number 19 was special as it was only built in 1901 in the Cambrian Railway's own workshops in Oswestry.

The Cambrian Railways class 89 comprised 15 0-6-0 freight locomotives designed by Herbert Jones. The first five were built by Robert Stephenson & Co. in 1903. Another five came in 1908 from Beyer, Peacock & Co., which had longer cabs and a slightly larger boiler. The boiler was the same as on the 4-4-0 class 94. The last five followed in 1918 and 1919 from the same manufacturer. From 1924 the GWR began to fit the locomotives with new boilers in Swindon. After one had left service in 1922, the others followed between 1952 and 1954.

Starting in 1863, Sharp, Stewart & Co. not only delivered some goods locomotives with a 0-6-0 wheel arrangement to the newly founded Cambrian Railways, but also twelve locomotives with a 2-4-0 wheel arrangement. The driving wheels were not particularly large at 66 inches, but they were used for passenger and express trains. Although relatively small for their time and not particularly fast, the engines were richly decorated with large amounts of brass. From 1890 they were fitted with a new boiler and a driver's cab. Two locomotives were converted to tank locomotives from 1908.

One of the locomotives ordered by Thomas Savin for the construction of the Cambrian Railways network was No. 2 “Ruthin”. Delivered in 1860 by Manning, Wardle & Co., it was actually the railway's third locomotive after No. 3 “Milford” that had already been delivered by Sharp, Stewart & Co. in 1859. Designed for subsequent goods traffic, it had only two coupled axles and no leading or trailing axles. The driving wheels had a diameter of four feet and the cylinders measured 14 by 18 inches. It was withdrawn and scrapped in 1873.

No. 3 “Milford” was built by Sharp, Stewart & Co. in 1859 for the Cambrian Railways with the works number 1123. It was actually the second locomotive of this railway since No. 2 “Ruthin” was only delivered by Manning, Wardle & Co. in 1860. It was a saddle tank locomotive with two coupled axles in the front and a single trailing axle. Its main task was local passenger traffic for what it had drivers of four feet and nine inches or 1,448 mm. But in its first years of service, it was also used in the construction of the Cambrian Railway network. It was scrapped in 1895, what was much later than the other early Cambrian Railways locomotives.