Talyllyn Railway - October 2018

A few shots filmed at the Talyllyn on October 28th. and 29th. 2018

 

Lovely shots, thanks for sharing. No. 6 looks great in the blue.

We dropped by for a ride on 27th - goes without saying but the TR really is a gem. Sure, the much discussed tea stop can be seen as a bit weird (I like it personally), but the basics are great - clean coaches, friendly & well turned out staff/volunteers, good food etc. Plus, an excellent guidebook (best value I've seen - loads of info including on stock & history - for £3) and 2019 leaflet already available.

 

Great video, I also dropped by earlier in the month before and after spending a weekend up the coast at the Ffestiniog. Spent more time on the train then filming but I did get a video out of it.



I cannot go to Wales without visiting the Talyllyn. It's certainly my favourite of the Welsh Narrow Gauge Railways.

 

The Talyllyn is the most friendly railway I have visited. They welcome visitors, no jobsworths, and give a great trip up the beautifully remote Fathew Valley. Excellent facilities, whether during the refreshment stop at Abergynolwyn (which is a nice feature) or at the Tywyn Wharf terminus. An excellent bookshop, and narrow gauge museum, make a brilliant start or end to the trip. I try to make this an annual visit.

John

 

A fascinating journey, which I thoroughly enjoyed watching. Whilst not standard gauge the line still manages to achieve the ambience and individuality of a rural branch line of days gone by. It was almost possible to smell the smoke steam and hot oil as the locos steadily progressed with their journey. A welcome change from the usual videos.

 

Do narrow gauge railways not tend to have the ambience of rural branch lines...?

 

Nice footage. I visited on 17th October, and no. 4 'Edward Thomas' was on duty. My photos weren't very successful, so I have a good excuse to return soon and try again!

John

 

Not all of them, but my comment was quite specific to the Talyllyn.

 

Thanks everyone for your kind comments

 

I think it also depends when you visit. Lots of trains with many bums on seat are great for cash flow and essential to pay the bills but it does not necessarily give staff and volunteers time to stop and chat. Away from the peak timetables then crews have much more time to spend with visitors, getting kids onto the footplate etc. There is no need to rush around and if you leave around the timetabled time that is fine, nobody is really bothered. I think the TR does that well hence the branch line feel.

Most standard gauge lines are ex branch lines and I don't fine such lines particularly appealing as you tend to have a fairly large engine pulling 7 or 8 carriage. I would much rather a small loco pulling a couple of carriages but I appreciate that is not great economics.

 

The Talyllyn certainly has more of a branch line feeling to it. Much different from the Ffestiniog, Welsh Highland or Vale of Rheidol. The trains on those lines feel much larger in scale compared to the Talyllyn's trains which is partly where that different feeling comes from I feel.

The Welshpool and Llanfair has a similar feeling to the Talyllyn but it's spoilt somewhat by the continental style rolling stock they use on most trains. I know they've got replica vintage stock too but I've yet to get a ride on this on the days it's running.

 

You're entitled to your opinion, but I think the continental stock on the W&L is utterly delightful, and a absolutely captures the feel of an eclectic and eccentric little NG branch. Don't forget for half its life the W&L was freight only anyway.
Much as the TR manages to keep the feel of an NG branch despite having a much wider variety of stock than it ever did in it's pre-preservation life.

 

I like the ex Hungarian and Austrian coaches on the Welshpool & Llanfair - and they let you ride on the balcony, which is fantastic if you are right behind the engine. I hope that I haven't alerted the elfansafety Taleban!

John

 

John - you're obsessed with health and safety! Maybe you need to speak to someone as this seems like a major psychological condition among railway enthusiasts of a certain age...