Original Route by Mkewer As requested by TheBlue4F Fowler5741. Combined with a trip on the railway it makes for a unique day out [24], The railway used steam locomotives from the start, unlike its neighbour the horse-drawn Corris Railway. A short steep climb under a road bridge follows the station, followed by a slight downhill gradient. McConnel expanded production at Bryn Eglwys to take advantage of the sudden demand, but only with the aim of maximising profits during the remainder of his lease, which was to expire in 1910. A new design for an 0-4-2 side tank locomotive was prepared by the railway's Chief Engineer John Bate, which reused the chassis and boiler from the locomotive with a new superstructure and the addition of trailing wheels, and the new locomotive, officially named Tom Rolt after the Preservation Society's first chairman, was put into service on 6 May 1991. [69] The railway has seen a steady increase in passengers carried since the turn of the millennium, with nearly 51,000 passenger bookings and 95,500 passenger journeys recorded in 2006,[70] although this figure is still only around half the peak figure carried in 1973. W. Awdry's Railway Series. [103], In 1953, the American film producer Carson "Kit" Davidson produced a documentary film entitled Railway with a Heart of Gold,[c] portraying the early days of preservation. [25] The Pendre works opened on 17 February 1867 and from then on trains began working from Pendre instead of Abergynolwyn. Public passenger trains initially ran between Abergynolwyn, Dolgoch and Pendre stations only; quarrymen were carried on unofficial trains that continued on from Abergynolwyn to the foot of the Alltwyllt incline in Nant Gwernol gorge. [12] In 1896, production at the Penrhyn Quarry in north Wales, one of the largest producers of slate, was stopped due to labour disputes, resulting in a temporary increase in demand at other quarries. "[105] Railway with a Heart of Gold was preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2012.[106]. 6 Douglas was life expired and in need of replacement. This service was discontinued in the early 1930s. [15] The standard gauge Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway was expanding rapidly from its base at Machynlleth, however, and in 1863 had reached Tywyn, so McConnel decided to build his line from the quarry to Tywyn, as the nearest point where slate could be transferred to the standard gauge railway. Some time shortly after the opening of the railway a branch to Abergynolwyn village was provided. The Society immediately began to publicise its efforts, hoping to raise funds and find further volunteers to help reopen the railway, and by May nearly 650 members had joined the society. By the early 1960s Tywyn Wharf station was in need of major improvements. [78] Since 1984 there has been an annual running event called Race the Train, which follows the railway track 7 1⁄4 miles (11.7 km) from Tywyn to Abergynolwyn and back again. A map of the route showing all the stations and halts with the facilities available at each station. [46] No. 2 was said to suffer from "horizontal oscillation". www.talyllyn.co.uk. [11] The 2 ft 3 in (686 mm) gauge of the track is unusual, and was shared by only three other public railways in the United Kingdom: the Corris Railway and the Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway both a few miles from the Talyllyn, and the Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway in Scotland. [55], From Pendre, the railway passes over a gated level crossing and runs beside an industrial estate before climbing up to Ty Mawr bridge and on to Hendy, the first of five minor halts, which serves the adjacent farm. The bridge and paths were opened on 3 May 1980 by Lord Parry, the chairman of the Wales Tourist Board. Click here to find out more about Route 82. No. Talyllyn Railway opened for goods traffic in 1865 and shortly after for passenger services, which have operated every year since between Tywyn and Nant Gwernol, in Gwynedd. Tyler agreed to this arrangement, and to this day all carriages on the Talyllyn have doors on one side only, an unusual feature for a public railway which is shared (albeit for different reasons) with the neighbouring Corris Railway. The quarries closed in 1946 but the daily passenger train carried on. Talyllyn Junction was a railway junction located 4 mi (6.4 km) east of Brecon, Powys, opened in 1863. In 1955 work started on converting the old gunpowder store at Wharf station into a temporary museum building, and in 1956 the first exhibit arrived at Tywyn.[52]. Due to current COVID restrictions, the Railway is closed Tywyn is situated on National Cycle Route 82 running from Machynlleth via Tywyn to Dolgellau. The Route comes with custom built assets and a range of Talyllyn locomotives and rolling stock. Substantial improvements to Tywyn Wharf station were also made, along with continued relaying and upgrading of the track to Abergynolwyn. The origin of the railway's name is uncertain: it may refer to the parish of Tal-y-llyn, which contains its eastern terminus,[9] or it may come from Tal-y-llyn,[b] a large glacial ribbon lake at the foot of Cadair Idris 3 miles (4.8 km) further east. By September 1866 construction had advanced to the point where the Board of Trade inspector Captain Henry Tyler could make an initial inspection and report. Before preservation, the station had contained only a fan of sidings, which meant that there was no way for the locomotive of an arriving train to run round the carriages. The original line fanned out into a set of three sidings, used to marshal trains of loaded slate wagons coming down from the quarry and empty wagons waiting to ascend. The October 1942 Bradshaw's Guide shows two return passenger trains operating only on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, taking 45 minutes in each direction. Running continuously since 1865, and the Worlds oldest preserved railway, it's a must visit attraction in Wales - in fact the UK! Before preservation, the railway operated a "one engine in steam" policy, but with growing passenger numbers it became necessary to install passing loops and a more stringent method of single line control was introduced. A siding at the station was shortened in 1957 and removed completely circa 1975. The preservation of the line inspired the Ealing Comedy film The Titfield Thunderbolt. The main branch then split to form a storage loop, with a further wagon turntable and a longer branch serving the houses and school to the north east. The Talyllyn's rare gauge is thought to have been adopted to match that of the Corris Railway,[27] and the line's two original steam locomotives were among the earliest locomotives built for such a narrow gauge. The extension was originally sharply curved, as the line turns south east into the steeply sided Nant Gwernol gorge but these curves were eased when conversion for passenger use took place in 1976. Modern machine tools, along with proper lighting and a new power supply were added. The Talyllyn saw summer passenger numbers grow significantly and regularly had to supplement its formal passenger stock with slate wagons fitted with planks as seats. After 1973, the peak year for passengers on the Talyllyn with 186,000 passenger journeys made,[64] numbers were to decline consistently until the 1990s. [24], The line operated successfully during its early years, serving the quarry and the local district. May 2018, we take a Ride on Talyllyn Railway behind No. In 1910, local landowner Henry Haydn Jones was elected the Liberal MP for Merioneth. [91] What is now Nant Gwernol station was the terminus of the Talyllyn Railway proper. 01654 710472 [email protected] [32] The quarry re-opened in January 1911,[31] though Haydn Jones did not have capital to invest in the quarry. This practice had begun under McConnel's ownership and Haydn Jones continued it throughout his ownership of the quarry. [65] In 2003 the railway received a £682,500 Heritage Lottery grant towards the £1,170,000 cost of redeveloping Wharf station,[68] and the new station and museum were officially opened by Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall on 13 July 2005. The route has been created using real world Digital Elevation Model (DEM) terrain landscape data and the track laid to real Talyllyn profiles so that you can now experience the skills required by the Talyllyn drivers in running the trains up and down the line. [94] The line is worked by Electric Key tokens, which authorise the driver to enter a section of single line, and these are interlocked to prevent more than one token being withdrawn for a section at any one time. [104] However most of the film was simply a record of the work and incidents that took place on the railway at the time, including a dramatic shot of Sir Haydn derailing due to the poor condition of the track at the time. A Study of Volunteer Motivation", Brecon and Merthyr Tydfil Junction Railway, Coleford, Monmouth, Usk and Pontypool Railway, Lampeter, Aberayron and New Quay Light Railway, Llantrisant and Taff Vale Junction Railway, Merthyr, Tredegar and Abergavenny Railway, Newport, Abergavenny and Hereford Railway, North Pembrokeshire and Fishguard Railway, Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Railway, Pontypridd, Caerphilly and Newport Railway, Shrewsbury, Oswestry and Chester Junction Railway, Central Wales and Carmarthen Junction Railway, Corris, Machynlleth and River Dovey Tramroad, Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway, Potteries, Shrewsbury and North Wales Railway, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Talyllyn_Railway&oldid=1003726470, Winners of the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Talyllyn Railway Company, supported by Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society, Railway celebrated 50 years of preservation, New station building and museum opened at Tywyn, Railway celebrated 60 years of preservation, This page was last edited on 30 January 2021, at 11:02. [44] No. [20] Tyler also required that improvements be made to the railway's first two steam locomotives, as locomotive No. He understood the importance of Bryn Eglwys, and at the end of the year he purchased the quarry company for just over £5000. Your very own railway adventure. The railway is single track, so special measures have to be taken to prevent collisions. This was despite the line's initial isolation from the rest of the system because of difficulties in bridging the estuary of the Afon Dyfi to the south. “The railway with a heart of gold!” The First and the Finest, celebrating 70 years of preservation in 2021. The Talyllyn Railway and its surrounding areas provide some of the best and most scenic walking routes within the Snowdonia National Park including being on the Welsh Coastal Path. The tramway ended at the foot of the Cantrybedd incline, a 440 ft (130 m) long double track, gravity operated incline. [14], McConnel set about improving Bryn Eglwys to increase its output. [34] The additional income from the tourist trade defrayed some of the costs of operating the railway, but never enough for it to make a profit during Haydn Jones' ownership. [62], Although the extension of the railway was completed in 1976, work in the vicinity continued with the creation of footpaths connecting to the new station. Click here to download. Regular trains began to run on 4 June and continued through the summer,[42] with David Curwen acting as the first Chief Mechanical Engineer. In 1867, the halt at Rhydyronen opened, followed by Brynglas and Dolgoch in 1873. Coal, building materials and general goods were delivered down the incline and the contents of the village cesspits were hauled back up for disposal along the lineside. [19], Tyler's report led to an unusual alteration, as it was discovered that the internal width of the overbridges was only 9 ft 1 in (277 cm), but the railway's passenger carriages were 5 ft 3.5 in (161.3 cm) wide, leaving only 1 ft 10 3⁄4 in (57.8 cm) clearance on either side, which was 7 3⁄4 in (19.7 cm) less than the minimum required clearance of 2 ft 6 in (76 cm). [16] An Act of Parliament (28 and 29 Vict, cap cccxv) allowing the company to operate passenger trains as a public railway was given Royal Assent on 5 July 1865,[17][18] and the company appointed James Swinton Spooner as engineer for the construction. [61] Despite this official opening ceremony, minor work still remained to bring the extension to the standard required to run regular passenger trains, but regular train services began on 29 May 1976. [23], The railway opened with two locomotives, one carriage and several goods vehicles in use and was operated under a "one engine in steam" policy to ensure that two trains could not collide. [37], The author and biographer Tom Rolt, visited the line in 1949, along with the locomotive engineer David Curwen. Find out more. On occasions during the peak season, the Railway has held Young Members Days in which the youngest qualified people available that day run the railway. The Talyllyn Railway has become well known for being the inspiration of the Skarloey Railway featured in the Rev. 1. The Young Members Group (YMG) are members and volunteers of the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society who are between the ages of 14 and 25. This is a list of the stations and halts on the Talyllyn Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Talyllyn), a 2 ft 3 in (686 mm) narrow gauge preserved railway line running for 7.25 miles (11.67 km) from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. Because both railways were built to the unusual gauge of 2 ft 3 in (686 mm) it was relatively easy to adapt the Corris locomotives to work on the Talyllyn. [79] The challenge is for runners to complete the 14 1⁄2-mile (23.3 km) cross country route faster than the train, which takes around 1 hour 45 minutes. Wharf is the railway's main terminal station and is where most passengers join the train. The reasons for this are unclear, but it is significant that all official mention of the railway had ceased several decades before and it is likely that the line was simply forgotten by officialdom. Talyllyn(No. Leaving Wharf station, which stands at an elevation of 40 ft (12 m) above sea level, the line passes immediately under the A493 Machynlleth to Dolgellau road and enters a long cuttingt… About Talyllyn Railway The Talyllyn Railway is a historic narrow gauge steam railway, being the Worlds First preserved Railway!. Click HERE To Return to the Main Products page. The line was opened in 1865[3] to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain authorised by Act of Parliament to carry passengers using steam haulage. Planning began in the mid-1960s, but construction did not start until 1968 when the winding house for the Abergynolwyn village incline was demolished. Click on the place names for the relevant article. 2 were adjusted and the crank pins shortened to reduce its oscillation. The first exhibit for what was to become the museum was a locomotive donated in 1952 by Guinness from their recently closed St. James's Gate Brewery railway. [50] The following year locomotive No. It is unusual for all steam locomotives to be operable at the same time, as at least one is normally scheduled for overhaul. A selection of six walking routes using the Talyllyn Railway as a starting point are available below. [54] In response to this growing popularity the railway undertook a programme of new rolling stock construction. [65] Preliminary work on the conversion of Irish Pete for use on the Talyllyn, which had begun in the early 1970s, was put on hold in 1975 and the chassis and boiler were put into storage at Pendre. short video of the famous talyllyn railway. The Talyllyn Railway The Talyllyn Railway runs seven and a quarter miles along the beautiful Fathew Valley from the seaside town of Tywyn (on the Cardigan Bay coast) to Nant Gwernol. As we ride the Blue Bell lined railway at this time of year, we also see No. [21], At the time of the line's opening, stations were provided at Pendre and Abergynolwyn. In January 1864, McConnel formed the Aberdovey Slate Company, which leased the land including Bryn Eglwys from the landowner, Lewis Morris of Machynlleth. Until the closure of the quarries in 1946, the line east from Abergynolwyn was worked as a mineral tramway – only slate and goods trains serving Bryn Eglwys ran on this section. The lease on Bryn Eglwys expired in 1942, but was extended on an annual basis. Pendre is a small station serving the eastern end of Tywyn and the operational centre of the railway. The 1920s also saw an upsurge in holiday traffic, as Britain recovered from the war and tourism gained in popularity. Some incidents were staged for the film, such as a piece falling off the locomotive, which Carson later described as "corny". The railway has few signals; instead it has stop boards at Pendre, Brynglas, Quarry Siding and Nant Gwernol, and the blockman allows trains to proceed by use of flags. 1, Talyllyn. [48] Through the 1950s the volunteers and staff members of the TRPS rebuilt the line and rescued it from its state of decay, during a period characterised by a "Boy's Own comic spirit of adventure, involving enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility". [65], The Preservation Society celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2001, and as part of the year of celebrations a major new project was launched to once more extend and improve facilities at Tywyn Wharf station. [13] In 1861 the outbreak of the American Civil War cut off supplies of cotton to the mills of the north west of England and as a result a number of prosperous mill owners looked for new business opportunities to diversify their interests. taken in the 1960's. "The World's First Volunteer Preserved Railway – 1951” Founded in 1865 when it carried slate from the nearby quarry at Bryn Eglwys, the Talyllyn The original two locomotives, although of entirely different design, were both purchased from Fletcher, Jennings & Co. of Whitehaven in Cumbria,[26] and both are still in service, 150 years on, although so many of their parts have been replaced down the years that much of their present-day component metal is not original. [90] The winding house was demolished in 1968 to allow realignment of the railway to form the extension to Nant Gwernol.[59]. Rhydyronen, a request stop, was the first intermediate station built on the line, opening in 1867. Download the map here. [96], Each passing loop is controlled by a small signal box, known as a block-post. At the end of the day the tourists would return to Tywyn in the wagon, powered by gravity. Provided at Pendre and Abergynolwyn this period was the primary employer in the World, known as a soon! 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