Teifi Valley Railway

The new Google censorship rules means I can find nothing out about Mr Draper or why he left the SVR via that search engine. Do you have any links that explain what happened?

 

I'm not entirely sure that this is the case. The Talyllyn in 1951 and the Festiniog in 1956 were far more remote in contemporary terms than the TVR is now ( few people had cars and most worked a 5-1/2 day week with much lower disposable incomes and rationing still in force in 1951), and they managed to get plenty of volunteers.

 

The TR had the advantage of being the first, and has excellent rail links.

I can only draw comparisons between the Gwili and Teifi to prove the point. At the GR many of our volunteers travel from the east (Swansea/Bridgend/across the border). The road links involve dual carriageway to Carmarthen and then a smaller A road to Bronwydd for 2 miles. To get to the Teifi you have to travel another 15 miles on that road, which is windy and you can frequently get stuck behind something slow moving.

I've often heard it said that the Gwili is right on the limit of what people are prepared to tolerate in travelling terms (visitors and volunteers)so on this basis
I'm not surprised the Teifi have struggled. That's not to say we don't have a job on the Gwili either mind, but there does appear to be more of a willingness for volunteers to travel to us.

 

I have to agree with Matt - in the 1950s if you wanted to save a railway then the Talyllyn and the Ffestiniog were among the few choices you had!
I also feel there is some connection too to the fact that the Teifi is a NG railway with no NG history. The Talyllyn, Ffestiniog and later the WHR were all original NG railways. The Corris too has had some recent success with extension plans and a new build loco despite being as out of the way as the Teifi. I think it's instructive that many of the NG on former SG trackbeds are run more as purely tourist lines with less volunteer input (e.g. Brecon, Bala Lake; though I know they do have some volunteers). I think this was the model the Teifi was/is trying to emulate. The trouble is they don't seem to be getting enough visitors or volunteers to make that model work for them.

 

I agree particularly about the point of NG railways on SG trackbeds - unless there is a particular feature such as the lake for Bala or the mountains in Brecon then there is far less opportunity to appreciate the view from the train.

The "branch" to Newcastle Emlyn is less scenic than the main line to Aber so in this sense the Gwili has more of a draw for the visitor.

The original concept of the Teifi was SG and it was changed to NG mainly I believe as a result of the condition of a river bridge. It is a shame IMO that the Teifi didn't develop as originally conceived (NG line between Newcastle Emlyn and Llandysul) as this would have been a more substantial operation with small welsh market towns at either end with a good pub or two.

 

I tried Kidderminster Shuttle but they only go back yo 1996 and he resigmned in 1994

 

Newcastle Emlyn to Llandysul would be about 7-8 miles I guess? That would have been quite a distance to set up from scratch.

 

The issues of SVR News at the time gave the railway's account of the issue. The Railway Press reported it, and its aftermath.

Patrick

 

yes it would have been from scratch, but since then only one more mile has been added. If the full six miles had been utilised during this time then the chances of survival would have been better (IMO).

Of course the Gwili hasn't fared much better during that time, and as I've said above it is only as a result of funding (and a few other matters) that we are finally remedying that.

 

I recall a flood took out a bridge before NE

Patrick

 

You say that the TR had excellent rail links but consider the reality.

Early Talyllyn volunteers travelled overnight on a Friday night (after a full days work) - Euston to Crewe, Crewe to Whitchurch, Whitchurch to Machynlleth and Machynlleth to Towyn. Arriving in Towyn at about 9am having grabbed whatever sleep they could on the trains overnight, they started work immediately. Hardly comparable to 17 miles on a windy road and getting stuck behind something slow moving.

To update the comparison - Tywyn is still 70 windy road miles (and getting stuck behind something slow moving) from a dual carriageway at Shrewsbury.

 

Um sort of the River took out the abutments one end which resulted in one of the span falling in the river. Two. Of the spans still survive and are next to the former northern terminus.

 

Also the TR were in the media 18 months ago crying out for more volunteers so matts point is still very valid.

 

Indeed, transport links to rural Wales aren't wonderful. It takes me 3-3.5 hours to get to Porthmadog (and plenty travel from further away) from Worcester and about 2 3/4 hours from Worcester to Tywyn. Perhaps people are willing to travel further to some railways than others.

 

What I meant was that you could get off at Tywyn BR etc and be at the Tallyllyn within 2 minutes. Getting by rail to the Teifi involves a 30 minute bus trip.

Living in West Wales my definition of "excellent" rail links means that there is actually a station at the place I want to go to, rather than how tortuous the route is.....

 

Name me a railway which is not "crying out for more volunteers" (Paignton & Dartmouth or whatever it is called this week excluded)

 

I was trying to be diplomatic there.

 

I think the preservation movement would be silly not to make the most of lottery money while it is available. Many railways have managed to make good use of it. Take the SVR's carriage shed, for example: an enormous capital expense that the railway would have struggled to fund on its own, but one that will improve the railway's commercial viability in the long run by reducing expenditure on carriage repairs. If the money dries up, it might put the brakes on a number of new projects, but hopefully most preserved railways will have sufficient revenue to at least maintain what they have. If they were turning to the lottery to fund routine maintenance, then I'd be worried.

As for the question of young volunteers: I'm in my twenties myself, and I know a surprising number of other young enthusiasts, so there is hope. There are obstacles to be overcome though. Firstly, the age-old problem that our hobby is "uncool". If anyone has an answer to that, I'd dearly love to hear it!

However, there is also a more practical difficulty in that our unbalanced economy means that many graduates now move to London in search of work. Hence, I suspect preserved railways (and other voluntary organisations) outside the South East find it difficult to retain young people after they leave school.

For my part, in the last five years university and then work have taken me from the Home Counties to the South Coast, and then to Wales, and then to Herefordshire! Having been a loyal volunteer at a local miniature railway throughout my childhood, I then had to leave just at the age when I would have been eligible to start training as a diesel driver. I did a brief spell at a standard-gauge line after graduation, but that only lasted a few months because a new job required me to move.

Now admittedly my case is probably an extreme one, but I don't think it's uncommon for young people to "fly the nest" and settle somewhere different. I remember the railway press, a few years back, discussing the concept of a "volunteer passport" allowing volunteers to transfer between lines without having to restart at the bottom of the ladder. I'm aware of the enormous challenges in implementing such an idea, but if it could be done, might it help more railways to keep young volunteers within the movement?

 

Well as a volunteer I knew used to say to his wife when she protested about his weekly trip to volunteer -

"at least you'll know where I am..."

I think Railway Preservation is tolerated more by girlfriends/spouses etc. as compared to other activities such as golf weekends away! Sometimes untrendy does have advantages.