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Talyllyn Railway, The by David J. Mitchell & Terry Eyres
The Talyllyn Railway by David J. Mitchell & Terry Eyres
A past and Present companion
Railway Heritage from the Nostalgia Collection
Soft cover Front cover has a slight bent over area at the bottom corner
Copyright Past & Present Publishing Ltd 1996 REPRINTED 2002
96 pages
CONTENTS
Introduction7
Tywyn Wharf11
Pendre to Hendy22
Rhydyronen37
Brynglas42
Dolgoch48
Quarry Siding54
Abergynolwyn60
Nant Gwernol77
Locomotives and rolling-stock82
Timetables94
Index96
The Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society was the first such organization in the world, and the inaugural society-operated train on 14 May 1951 heralded the dawn of the railway preservation movement in Britain. In the ensuing years, from its decrepit state when the TRPS took it over to its present- day role as one of the 'Great Little Trains of Wales', many changes have taken place on the railway, while some aspects remain remarkably unchanged.
The 'past and present' photographs take us on a trip up the line from Tywyn Wharf to Nant Gwernol, then take a look at rollingstock development and behind-the-scenes activities. Also included are timetables, tickets and fascinating items of ephemera. Prepared with the full co-operation of the TR, it is a fitting tribute to the pioneers of railway preservation and the challenges that they overcame.
INTRODUCTION
The Talyllyn Railway has several claims to fame. The first narrow gauge railway in Britain to be built for steam operation, it survived, unaltered, for 85 years, little known and defying the norms of engineering, until it became the first railway in the world to be taken over and run by enthusiasts. It is one of the very few railways that still runs the trains that opened the line in regular service.
The railway is 7 1/4 miles long and runs from the coastal town of Tywyn, where it terminates alongside the Cambrian Coast line. The statutory railway ended at Abergynolwyn, 6 1/2 miles from Tywyn, and passenger trains terminated there. The tracks continued as a mineral tramway for a further three-quarters of a mile to Nant Gwernol. Here the Alltwyllt incline lifted the tracks up to the three-quarter-mile-long horse-worked Galltymoelfre tramway leading to the Cantrybedd incline, which rose up to the bottom level of Bryn Eglwys Quarry.
The railway was built to enable the slate from the quarry to reach the sea, and both railway and quarry were developed by a group of Manchester businessmen seeking to diversify from their cotton businesses, then threatened by lack of raw material due to the American Civil War. The railway was simply the means of extracting the slate, and the opening of the standard gauge coastal railway in October 1863 meant that slate could be transhipped at Tywyn, and the planned continuation to Aberdovey Harbour was unnecessary.
The records are unclear, but it seems certain that the line was already under construction when the Act of Parliament was obtained on 5 July 1865, and the purpose of obtaining the Act is unclear (see the history by Boyd, listed in the Bibliography). The railway as built was laid with 44 lb wrought iron rails to a gauge of 2 ft 3 in. There were two locomotives, four four-wheeled carriages, a brake-van and some 115 wagons, mainly slate-carrying, but also ones for coal, closed vans, and gunpowder vans. This initial equipment was to last the TR until 1951.
The quarrying enterprise was not successful, and in October 1879 the quarry and railway were offered for sale by auction. They failed to sell, and in 1882 William McConnel, one of the original founders, bought both for ,000, although ,000 had been invested. McConnel ran the quarry with reasonable success, and was succeeded by his son in 1902. The strike at the great Penrhyn Quarry produced prosperity in the early 1900s, but the drop in slate prices following the end of the strike, and the fact that the quarry leases were due to expire in 1910, caused the quarry to close at the end of 1909. The stocks were cleared and the machinery at the quarry began to be dismantled.
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