Talyllyn Railway 2011

There is something about the Talyllyn railway in Wales which has always intrigued me. I came to know about the Talyllyn Railway through the pages of a book called 'Railway Adventure' by L.T.C.Rolt. The book, which I still have, was a gift from my mother in 1973 when I first went off to school in England.
In this video I have accomplished something which I have always wanted to do. To ride behind locomotive No.7 'Tom Rolt' named after the man who was both the author of my book and the very person who inspired the Talyllyn's preservation (and Talyllyn's first General Manager in 1951-52).
The Talyllyn Railway was the very first railway in the world to be saved by preservationist and its story is one of both inspiration and adventure.
This 2' 3" narrow gauge railway is very unusual because today not many lines of this gauge still exist.
The railway first opened in 1865. It was originally built to carry slate from Bryn Eglwys quarry to Tywyn, seven and a quarter miles away. The line also carried passengers and other freight traffic which continued uninterrupted until the late 1940s. The railway operated until it's owner, Sir Henry Haydn Jones died in 1950.
In 1951 the Talyllyn Railway preservation society ran its first train for enthusiasts and the world's first railway preservation movement was born.
This locomotive 'Tom Rolt' was re-built at the Talyllyn's Pendre Works and entered service in 1991. The locomotive was originally built by Andrew Barclay in 1949. It was a 3' gauge 0-4-2T engine built for the Irish turf board. The engine was re gauged to 2' 3" in order to run on the Talyllyn railway.
On July 25th, 2011, I revisited the Talyllyn railway for the third time (previous visits in 1987 and 1988) and made a full return run along the line. This video captures events that day. I hope you enjoy this short presentation.

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Entertainment

Tags:

• Tallyllyn Railway 2011
• Trains
• Narrow Gauge Railway
• Steam trains