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The Gwili Railway thread

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by Matt78, Jan 28, 2012.

  1. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    The DMU would normally substitute, unfortunately this had a mechanical problem. This has now been repaired.

    We’ve not had the best of luck with locos this year as in addition our standby hire (Jennifer) had to return to Llangollen.

    Regards

    Matt
     
  2. thb17

    thb17 Member

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    Hi there,

    I saw this on wales online and it made me wonder as parking is so tight at glangwili whether it was worth approaching the hospital/trust and seeing if they could pay for the access road and car park in abergwili junction in return for a load of staff permits in the car park? The problem with the car parking space in mainly on the week days, so for special events the whole car park may be available for the railway? Probably a really stupid idea but I thought I would share it!!!

    Tom

    https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/...ook&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=wales_carm
     
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  3. gwilialan

    gwilialan Well-Known Member

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    They have been talking about this for ages, including options for using the car park not just for the hospital but for things like overnight HGV parking and as an additional weekday park and ride in December for shoppers. I think it all comes down to money. Remember the access is off a 70 MPH dual carriageway and quite a few years ago the cost of just getting the the slip roads and signage up to the site entrance (not including laying the car park) was estimated to be around the £200,000 to £250,000 mark.
    Then you have the problem of sharing the parking. It's not only the hospital staff but lots of visitors as well and that is for 7 days a week, whether the railway is running or not. How would you ensure that there are enough spaces left for the railways customers? Have a separate cordoned off area with controlled access for hospital staff? But then what stops them parking on the 'Gwili' spaces anyway?
    When we were looking at developing the Abergwili site I estimated we'd need about 200 spaces for the really busy times like Santa's. The best number of spaces I could fit into the area proposed for the car park was 209 plus 14 disabled and 6 coaches, the original planning application plans only show about 160 spaces. I have a horrible suspicion that once hospital staff and visitors realised they could park there (for free) there wouldn't be much room left for the railway's visitors.
    There was a (tongue in cheek?) suggestion that we should forget about developing the Abergwili site for the railway and make as much of a car park as we could. Charging just £1 - £2 a day it would generate a significant income for the railway even when nothing' s running...
     
    Last edited: Sep 13, 2019
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  4. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    Not at all, it’s a very sensible idea and one we have explored. The parking at Glangwili is getting worse, no doubt about it.

    There are a number of practical problems, not least finding the funds to pay for it. The railway itself needs better parking as the yard at Bronwydd can’t cope on busy days. Making money on the parking is sensible. There is a business down the road which charges £1.50 a day to park and has 300 cars a day so it’s basically a license to print money if we could only build the thing in the first place...

    Regards

    Matt
     
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  5. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    Update

    Pit nearing completion

    Regards

    Matt
     

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  6. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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  7. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    More good news, after a mere 42 years we finally have an operational engine shed! The pit road has been finished and we have capacity for two 0-6-0ST’s or equivalent.

    The first recipient is the chassis of “Moorbarrow” which is receiving a bottom end overhaul while the boiler is away.

    She is due to be joined by the chassis of “Haulwen” in the near future which is due to have the boiler lifted out next week ahead of assessment.

    The shed project represents a three-year, £40,000 investment. There remains some work to do on the shed, including the installation of the concrete floor to complete the works but for now we can at least get under cover.

    Stay tuned as there might be a couple more surprises in the near future...

    Regards

    Matt
     

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  8. thb17

    thb17 Member

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    The news about tvr 28 is the greatest news ever. With those four wheeler carriages it will be one of the best heritage train sets in the uk. It will make the gwili valley come to life with welsh heritage and really put it on the map ! I am so excited.

    Tom
     
  9. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    Update

    Haulwen’s boiler has been lifted from the frames ready to be inspected so the extent of work can be determined for overhaul.

    Regards

    Matt
     

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  10. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    Press release

    "The Welsh Railway Trust are pleased to announce the arrival of Peckett 5014 at Bronwydd Arms on the Gwili Railway. The loco is the last ever manufactured by Peckett & Sons of Bristol and also their only 0-6-0 diesel. Manufactured in 1959, the locomotive was supplied to the Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) for its power station at Aberthaw. The loco spent its entire life at Aberthaw, including the final years as the gate guardian to the plant. We are extremely grateful to RWE Npower for their kind donation and the opportunity to preserve this important piece of welsh industrial and railway history. We would also like to say a big thank you to the Aberthaw team for assistance in preparing and arranging the movement of the loco. A full engineering assessment will be carried out over the coming months to develop a scope of work to return the loco to operating condition
     

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  11. thb17

    thb17 Member

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    Wow the last ever pecket and one of a kind! Very rare indeed, good work!
     
  12. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    It’s a great acquisition for us, and we are really grateful to RWE for their generosity. The departure of the loco from Aberthaw today after many years in residence was somewhat symbolic, the last coal fired power station in Wales on a handful of days of use remaining with total closure next March. The end of an era indeed....

    Regards

    Matt
     
  13. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    Update

    Class 03 D2069 has arrived just in time to help with Santa’s visit, from the Vale of Berkeley railway via the Dean Forest.

    Regards

    Matt
     

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  14. thb17

    thb17 Member

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    Hey matt, good news on the 03. How long will it be staying? What happens with the Santa specials if Welsh guardsman were to fail? Is there any news on olwen?

    Cheers for keeping us updated.

    Tom
     
  15. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    Hi Tom

    Work is presently focused on Moorbarrow, picture of the frames in the shed attached.

    The 03 has been hired as a second loco for the Santa season and will top and tail with “Welsh Guardsman”.

    regards

    Matt
     

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  16. thb17

    thb17 Member

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    Awesome. What you guys do in a sparsely populated area without the millionaires of the south east or big cities near by is phenomenal. Looking forward to riding on a manor to llanpumsaint! And before that a pannier to cynwyl, but we are very lucky the hard work of those at the gwili have given us a really great heritage railway running regular steam with a great heritage pedigree thanks to the vintage carraige group and tvr 28! Well done all.
     
  17. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    duplicate post deleted
     
  18. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    All ready for Santa...


    Regards

    Matt
     

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  19. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    Like many railways we have finished the Santa season yesterday, but we have a busy winter programme of works coming up and there may be a surprise or two in 2020 so stay tuned...

    merry Christmas to all on Natpres,

    regards

    Matt
     
  20. Matt78

    Matt78 Well-Known Member

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    Update

    we’ve had a busy week or so since Christmas, lots of activity at Abergwili Junction as we are remodelling the south end of the station and contractors are due to move in shortly to complete groundworks for extra sidings and the carriage shed location. The shed itself is not funded yet but it’s all forward steps...

    meanwhile work continues on “Moorbarrow” and we are also planning to install a concrete floor in the loco shed in the next few weeks.

    we should have an announcement about a visiting steam loco for 2020 shortly, so stay tuned...

    regards

    Matt
     

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