Teifi Valley Railway

I know that equipment is quite hard to come by these days, and it would be a tragedy if either of these locomotives were lost. I understand people's concern, but the TVR lives yet. Try not to sound like vultures waiting waiting waiting

 

Sorry, forgot the smile

 

Re: Brecon - Tony Hill hated volunteers, thought they were a nuisance, and abolished the Society. He was a professional engineer and expected everyone elae to be professional. After the TVR collapse I went to see him in the hope he could take over at Henllan. But unfortunately he was already in poor health and although sympathetic, could not consider it.
Alan George: I have Roger Penn's contact details if anyone wants them.

 

At the end of another season: contrasts between 2010 and the present day. What once was a railway, now ...

 

Good to see they are still going.

 

Not sure what point is being made there

 

Maybe it is to show that it has become a family attraction, appealing to all ages and genders rather than us sad old train fans, to expand its visitor base?

 

The same was posted to a FB group earlier. A current volunteer has since uploaded an excellent photo gallery of the Teifi Valley's goings-on this year to the same group: Alan George has been in steam over the 2/3 mile track they have at the moment, lower-end progress has been made with Sgt. Murphy, various pictures of general maintenance and the tracklaying that has been taking place. The minature gauge 'Pixie Line' has also been operating. Overall looks good with visible progress!

 

I think the point is that the lady has had her heart broken through all the shenanigans over the past few years. Yes, they are trying to bring it back from the brink, but there's a long way to go. I wish the current crew every possible success, but I do feel for Ms Perry

 

The point is, that today the only passengers they get are teddy bears. Mind you, the teddies do seem to be enjoying themselves!

 

Thanks Ross. The most disturbing thing is that any post I put on FB about the TVR evokes a stream of abuse- it seems I am the one to blame for all the disasters.

 

Sorry, but I'm afraid I have less sympathy than Ross. You are the one who keeps bringing this subject up, and making snide remarks - or at least, that how they come across - about the new regime at the TVR, without any prompting. It is only natural that this will get people's backs up.

I am trying to give you the benefit of the doubt; as Ross says, it is easy to see how your situation has left you feeling angry and disappointed. But I really don't feel that public forums are the right place to vent such frustrations. As I have argued before, railways all have their share of dirty laundry but it is usually better to avoid airing it publicly. I suspect you would probably attract more sympathy if you maintained a dignified silence; perhaps in twenty years or so, when a little more water has passed under the bridge, then it will be time to publish your memoirs and set out your side of the story.

 

This may have been covered elsewhere, but who actually owns Sgt Murphy?

 

Difficult to find out how things are going, since the Accounts are late again - as they have been since 2014.

 

I can't help but get the impression that somebody here has an axe to grind...

A quick 2 minutes of internet research tells me that, although the situation is still far from perfect, the TVR is still operating not only the 2ft gauge railway but also their miniature railway and other family-friendly activities, they're slowly replacing track where it was lifted, and some extremely positive TripAdvisor reviews continue to flow in.

That said, the visitor reviews also acknowledge that the railway is doing what it can with extremely limited funding.

Back to this thread, perhaps instead of saying woe betide the good-intentioned volunteers for maybe having very little money, maybe pay them a visit, see what they're doing and spend a little money to help them along?

 

Perhaps you should read up a little history of the TVR. Try the Wikipedia entry for a start. The Emlyn branch line was bought from BR by a small group of people funded by public donations, The Company was set up as a co-operative so that no individual should benefit from it financially. Over 20 years its extensions were funded by grants. The recession hit tourist attractions hard and local support dwindled. Frustrated, one of the Company directors tried to run the railway as a "hardhearted commercial business" and handed it over to a local businessman who turned out to be less than honest. In 2014 he gave up and the railway was left to pick over the ruins. A previous general manager took the opportunity to take over the railway himself and rejects help and advice from any previous directors.