Gwili 40

Hi all,

In 2018, the Gwili Railway will be celebrating it's 40th anniversary in the preservation era. To mark this milestone, there are a number of special events coming up, throughout the year...

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25th March 2017 - Anniversary of the first train in preservation
A special ‘Sunday Lunch’ dining train to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the first train in the preservation era - as close to the original date as we can! 1200 ex Bronwydd Arms - pre-booked tickets and invited guests only.

March 30th/31st - ‘Gwili 40 - The Opening Act’
A family-based event to kick off our year, over the Easter weekend. All visitors will receive a special goody-bag, whilst a busy timetable will be in operation. "Moorbarrow", "Welsh Guardsman" and D2178 will be in operation - including the return of the Cwmdwyfran Shuttle (a la 1978), as well as a double-headed non-stop run to end the day. Normal fares apply.

April 21st - ‘Gwili 40 - The Diesel Day’
Our home-based diesel fleet will take to the stage on this day, with the first advertised diesel-hauled trains to Abergwili Junction in the preservation era. Normal fares apply. More details to follow shortly...

June 9th/10th - ‘Gwili 40 - The Party’
Our biggest event of the year! A two day event to celebrate our 40th Anniversary in style. An intensive timetable will run on both days, with plenty to see and do. Come and be part of a memorable weekend.

October 6th - ‘Gwili 40 - The Finale’
Our traditional ‘end of season’ gala. Expect a busy timetable (featuring both passenger and goods trains, as well as double-heading), as well as other attractions.

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See attached 'Gwili 40' leaflet for more details. Hope to see you in West Wales at some point during 2018, to help celebrate the Gwili Railway's 40th anniversary.

Thanks,

Phil.

 

Hi all,

Our 40th anniversary year has kicked off! Last Sunday, we ran a commemorative dining train with our founder members, 40 years (to the day) since the first train ran in 1978.

Our next 'Gwili 40' event is coming up this weekend: "Gwili 40 - The Opening Act", on March 30th/31st 2018. This is a two day event to capture the spirit of our first weekend of operations in 1978, whilst also being our traditional 'family friendly' Easter event.

Both RSH No.71516 "Welsh Guardsman" and RSH No.7849 "Moorbarrow" will be in action, as well as class 03 D2178. During the event, we'll be recreating the 'Cwmdwyfan shuttle' - running a steam locomotive and DMU trailer from Bronwydd Arms to the site of Cwmdwyfran Halt and return, as was done back in 1978.

There will also be family entertainment (Easter egg hunt, face-painting, balloon modelling etc) around the railway during both days. Each day will end with a double-headed non-stop run from Abergwili Junction to Danycoed, with both "Welsh Guardsman" and "Moorbarrow".

A copy of the timetable is attached - normal fares apply. If you're around in West Wales this weekend, come and join us - hope to see you there.

Also attached is a copy of the timetable for Easter Sunday and Easter Monday - an hourly timetable, alternating between steam and DMU.

Thanks,

Phil.

 

Hi all,

Thanks to those who came to the "Gwili 40 - The Opening Act" event on March 30th/31st - it was good to put some faces to names. The event went well, with all running as planned - it seems that there is quite a bit of interest in recreating preservation history.

Moving onto our next 'Gwili 40' event - details for our upcoming diesel day are below. Hope to see some of you there.

Also, a quick reminder about the next event ("Gwili 40 - The Party" on June 9th/10th), which should be one to remember - put the date in your diaries.

Thanks,

Phil.

 

Hi all,

Just a quick update to say that the morning BLS trip ("Abigail's Outing" - 0945 ex Bronwydd Arms) is now open for booking: £10 fare for the BLS trip only, for what we think is the first passenger working of Ruston 88DM 'Abigail'.

Go to the BLS homepage (https://www.branchline.uk), click on 'fixtures', scroll down then click on "Abigail's Outing (Gwili Railway)".

Meanwhile, plans for "Gwili 40 - The Diesel Day" on April 21st are coming together - see above for details. The DMU will work three round trips (including the 'rare track' at Abergwili and Danycoed loops), whilst D2178 and 'Abigail' will work brakevan rides at Bronwydd Arms. There's a bus-link to Carmarthen station (times above), whilst the bar on board the DMU will be serving real ale. Normal fares apply.

Timetable here: http://www.pleg.org.uk/files_ln/Gwilipub.pdf
Working timetable here: http://www.pleg.org.uk/files_ln/Gwiliwtt.pdf

Hope to see some of you there!

Thanks,

Phil.

PS Don't forget the other 'Gwili 40' events this year - details at the top of the thread.

 

Hi all,

Thanks to those who've come to our '40th anniversary' events so far this year. Just a quick reminder of the next event coming up...

On June 9th/10th, we'll be holding an event called 'Gwili 40 - The Party' - celebrating 40 years of the railway in the preservation era. On the cards are...

- an intensive timetable both days
- visiting road steam (full size and miniature) in Bronwydd Arms carpark
- trade and display stands
- live music
- steam-hauled evening curry train (and bar) on Saturday night.

Further details (including both public and working timetables) will follow shortly. If you've got any questions, do ask. Hope to see some of you there.

Thanks,

Phil.

 

Hi all,

Some updates on our 40th anniversary weekend on June 9th/10th ("Gwili 40 - The Party")....

Fares information
We will be charging normal fares for the event. Ie...

Adult: £12.00
Child: £6
Senior Citizen: £11
Family (2+2): £31.50
Under 3s: free

Any vouchers (including HRA passes) will not be valid, due to it being a special event.

Road steam
An unusual visitor to the event will be Sentinel steam waggon "Typhoo".

Built in Yorkshire in the late 1980’s by Irvin Barraclough, 'Typhoo' combines a 1971 ERF lorry chassis and a 300psi 1950 Sentinel railway loco-type boiler and engine. By running the Sentinel engine back through a Case tractor gearbox, the steam engine’s RPM are ‘stepped up’ to match what the original lorry engine would have produced. This means that the lorry dashboard dials and indicators work as they should do! The original lorry air brakes systems and electrical supply to work the lights also still function.

‘Typhoo’ weighs in in excess of 10 tons, and on the road will run at a steady 40-50mph (although ‘flat out’ has been clocked at over 60mph). The size of its water tanks give it a range of about 80-100 miles between water stops. When bought by its current owners Mark and Frank Rozelaar in 2015, the engine was driven home to Ledbury, Herefordshire from Norwich in two and a half days. In it’s current ownership the engine has attended rallies from Cheshire to Gloucestershire and has been driven to all of them.

‘Typhoo’s’ trip to the Gwili Steam Railway will be it's first venture into Wales. The engine is of course being driven to and from the event on the days either side of the Gwili weekend: a round trip of 205 miles.

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Further details to follow in the next few days - including timetable details etc. If you've got any questions, please do ask.

Thanks,

Phil.

 

Hi all,

On the Saturday evening of our 40th anniversary weekend (June 9th/10th), we will be running a special steam-hauled curry train.

£5 for curry and rice
£7 for curry, rice and a drink from the bar.

All are welcome to join us. The food will be cooked and served on board the railway's dining train, whilst the bar-car will be open throughout the evening. There will also be an optional (non-railway!) quiz on board.

The curry train runs on Saturday 9th June, as part of our 40th anniversary weekend. It departs at 1815 (from Bronwydd Arms to Abergwili and return), and then again at 1915 (from Bronwydd Arms to Danycoed and return - with a layover at Llwyfan Cerrig, arriving back for 2115).

The evening special will be hauled by RSH No.7849 "Moorbarrow". This will be one of the last chances to enjoy a leisurely Summer's evening run behind the loco, before it comes out of traffic at the end of this year.

The curry train will be 'pay on the day' - however it is advised to pre-book, to avoid disappointment. To pre-book a seat (or a table of 4), please phone the railway office on 01267 238 213. As it will be 'pay on the day', don't forget to bring cash when you travel!

Timetable etc to follow soon. If you have any questions, do get in touch.

Thanks,

Phil.

 

Hi all,

The working timetables for our 40th anniversary event ("Gwili 40 - The Party" on June 9th/10th) are now available. Links are here...

Saturday: http://www.pleg.org.uk/files_ln/Gwili.pdf
Sunday: http://www.pleg.org.uk/files_ln/Gwili2.pdf

I've also attached copies of the public timetable to this post. Hope to see some of you there this weekend!

Thanks,

Phil.

 

Hi all,

Just a quick reminder about our 40th anniversary event this weekend. On the cards are...

- Intensive timetable of steam, diesel, railcar and goods trains - our busiest yet. (Hourly departures from BA, plus other movements).
- All available locos in action.
- Doubleheading and 'non-stop' trains - plus unusual movements.
- Road steam display at Bronwydd Arms (both days)
- Miniature Railway rides at Bronwydd Arms (both days)
- Connecting railtour (Saturday afternoon - "The Last Invader" from Paddington -UK Railtours).
- Footplate passes on sale for both days - limited spaces still available (see details on Facebook).
- Live music at Bronwyd Arms (Saturday afternoon - the award-winning "Cathays Brass")
- Book Launch ("The Gwili At 40" by Iain McCall - special price of £10 for the launch weekend).
- Evening curry train special, with bar car (1815 + 1915 ex Bronwydd Arms - steam hauled. £5 for curry, £7 for curry, rice and a drink).
- Carriage & Wagon works open (both days), with footplate of TVR No.28 open for visits
- Loco rededication ('Welsh Guardsman') by TV presenter Arfon Haines Davies (Sunday, 2.45pm)
- Loco parade and cavalcade (Sunday afternoon - 3.10pm).

It will be a busy (and memorable) weekend. Hope to see some of you there!

Thanks,

Phil.

 

Hi all,

A quick reminder of the last of our 'Gwili 40' events (celebrating the 40th anniversary of the railway in the preservation era) - our traditional 'end of season' gala on Saturday October 6th.

"Gwili 40 - The Finale" will feature an intensive timetable of steam, diesel, railcar and goods trains throughout the day - with plenty to see and do. Trains will be crossing at both Bronwydd Arms and Llwyfan Cerrig throughout the day, as well as some unusual movements written into the timetable. A demonstration goods train will be in action, as well as some double-heading.

Locos in use will be RSH No.71516 "Welsh Guardsman", RSH No.7849 "Moorbarrow", class 03 D2178 and the railway's resident cl.117 DMU.

A copy of the working timetable will be available in the next few days. If you have any questions, do get in touch. Hope to see you there!

Thanks,

Phil.

 

Gala Finale

On Saturday 6th October, the final train of the End of Season gala day will be a special working ("Y Tren Mawr" - 'The Big Train'), formed of two coaching sets coupled together. It's believed to be the longest passenger train run on the Gwili Railway in the preservation era.

The train will be formed of six coaches (three Mk1s plus a three car DMU), and will complete two round trips between Bronwydd Arms and Abergwili Junction in the late afternoon. The first trip will be 'top-and-tailed' there and back (with a locomotive on each end), whilst the second trip will be 'top-and-tailed' down, then double-headed back up the bank to Bronwydd Arms. A copy of the timetable will follow shortly.

Don't forget that there will be an intensive timetable during the day too - featuring steam, diesel, railcar and goods trains. Come along and experience something special, to close our 40th anniversary celebrations!

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PS as an honourable mention, here's a reminder of the longest passenger train on the Gwili to date - the volunteer BBQ special on Bank Holiday Saturday 1994, when 4566 hauled 5 Mk1s and a van up the bank....

https://www.philt.org.uk/PreservationScene/GWR/i-9kMR444

 

Hi all,

Attached is a copy of both the public and working timetables for the gala this Saturday. Hope to see you there!

Thanks,

Phil.