Trawsfynydd and Blaenau Ffestiniog Railway

They certainly placed the winning bid on said unserviceable 08, but without actually having the cash to hand. Their fundraising campaign then only raised a small fraction of the money they had said they would pay. At that point, I stopped paying attention, however...

 

Tidal flow maybe? I actually think the only sensible solution would be NG, but it doesn't offer anything that the FR don't already have, unless something miraculous happens at the lake, and FR don't need any more track to look after either.

 

It went to another railway, presumably the next highest bidder. And I believe it didn't have shifted cranks either. Don't believe everything you read on the internet.

 

Precisely my point. What difficulties could deciding 'right of way' possibly cause? (In the cause of sanity, that should probably best be treated as rhetorical )

Where's the point for best break of gauge gonna be then? Blaenau, Bala or Corwen? Gonna need more Garratts?

 

Bala Junction

 

Thought the Ll R would have enough to occupy them with Llangollen-Ruabon and Corwen-Denbigh. Just open up Garnedd Tunnel and....... 'scuse me a mo ..... Hello chaps.... those are nice white coats.... is that nice jacket for me? What very long sleeves it has.....

 

Wouldn't it be nice!

 

Which bit?

 

You're missing the most obvious sensible solution which is to do nothing.

Tim

 

Arguably, had everyone dome that we would have no preserved railways or locomotive, carriages, wagons etc. and this forum would be one long whinge about there being nothing surviving!

I can fully understand that people feel it a shame if a line has survived 'intact' into the 21st Century and then is lifted, but that doesn't mean that trying to say it will be viable. That needs people, money and equipment and none are easy to come by, but the first and the second could, to the right approach and people in the right places within the organisation, be less of a 'show stopper' than finding suitable locos and carriages.

Steven

 

I've said it before and I'll say it again "You can't preserve everything!". I strongly believe that it is far better for the movement overall to concentrate on quality rather than quantity and therefore sometimes you just have to let some things go. Sorry if it offends but dragging a dead EMU with an 08 from the outskirts of somewhere to the middle of nowhere represents nothing and is just 'playing trains'. O.K. so before anyone else says it I know that we're all just 'playing trains' to some degree!
Ray.

 

The cash they raised was then put toward another piece of kit. I think it just covered the cost of buying a chipper for shredding branches!!

 

It's in an area which is saturated with steam railways. Anything their going to be able to get their hands on isn't going to compete really! Look at all the other Railways in the area, and most are using locos that at local, or originally built for that line. Ffestiniog, WHR(Porthmadog), WHR (on odd occasions!), Snowdon, Talyllyn all run what was designed to run there. All within 30 - 40 mins of Blaenau. 1 hour away you have standard gauge at Llangollen, generally running what ran there in GW / BR days. Bala and Llanberis lake operating hunslet products designed for Dinorwic quarry. That's enough to keep you busy for at least 5 days! How many tourists can either afford or be allowed to do that many railway attractions?

 

You could argue that if people really wanted a scenic ride in a grubby old dmu out of Bleanau they already have that option. With the added bonus that it goes somewhere.

Tim

 

I'd agree with that argument!

 

And drags down the whole image/credibility of the heritage railway movement.

 

You can't impose a view that there are enough heritage railways in a democratic society I'm afraid.

However, market forces will prevail.

Sawdust.

 

My view is that the time is not right for this scheme, but its time might arrive in the distant future. Let's say in 20-30 years there is a big shift away from car ownership in favour of public transport, there might be an argument for a network of narrow gauge lines to complement the main line services. We could see Bangor linked with Porthmadoc, Blaenau, Bala, Llangollen and Barmouth via a collection of public/private tourist trains.

Pie in the sky at this moment, but who knows what the future holds. I hope that the surviving trackbed can be retained intact to allow possible future reinstatement.

 

As that was proposed but found unfeasible in the days of no motor transport at all, I suspect it is unlikely to become feasible in the future...