Press Release - ‘The Quarryman Experience’ A Success

Bad weather threatened to ruin the first of the Talyllyn Railway’s special galas to mark their 150th Anniversary, but in the end it proved a great success.


High winds and rain had battered the West Wales coast in the early hours of Saturday 2nd May, causing some damage to equipment that had been set up for the weekend.

In the event only a couple of activities had to be cancelled over the weekend, and the rest proceeded as planned. However, despite the inclement weather people turned up to ride the trains, and a good time was had by all.

The previous weekend there had been other disruption with a break-in at Abergynolwyn station over the Saturday night. This had caused significant damage and meant that the café facility was out of use on the Sunday, but all was up and running in time for the gala.

At Tywyn Wharf there was a demonstration of slate splitting by Paul Perryman, which proved very popular. Meanwhile Matthew Ward and Gill Fraser-Lee of History Needs You entertained children with an experience of a Victorian schoolroom. There were also demonstrations of both the wagon weighbridge and wagon turntable in action.

On the Saturday the railway officially unveiled their original locomotives Talyllyn and Dolgoch, which had been repainted over the winter in what could have been the livery they first carried when delivered from their manufacturer. They double-headed a train called The McConnel Special, which was in honour of 16 members of the McConnel family who were the railway’s guests over the weekend.

The McConnels were the family who had bought the Bryneglwys slate quarry in 1864 and built the railway down to Tywyn. Having ridden the line their descendents posed at Nant Gwernol station to recreate a photograph of some of their forebears at the same spot in 1895, complete with the same locomotive and carriage.

Many special trains were also run across the weekend illustrating various aspects of the railway’s early history. On the Sunday there was the launch of a new book by Sara Eade called The Talyllyn Railwaymen, featuring the stories of many of those who worked on the railway in the years leading up to preservation.

On the Monday the weather improved and a special Mini-Music Festival took place at Abergynolwyn station. This featured three local groups the Abergynolwyn Silver Band, the Dovey Singers and the male voice choir Cor Bro Dysynni, all of whom were appreciated by those attending.

A spokesman for the railway commented:

‘Early on Saturday it looked like the weekend was under threat, but due to the efforts of our great team, and also the support of those who came along, it turned into a resounding success. We want to thank everyone who attended and contributed to a superb gala’.

Now the focus turns to the railway’s next gala ‘The 150th Party’, due to be held over the weekend 3rd to 5th July 2015. This will feature two special guest locomotives, the Ffestiniog Railway’s Prince and the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway’s Russell both of which will be in steam at Tywyn Wharf station, as well as other activities. Further details will be announced soon.


Photos - thanks to Max Birchenough, Andrew Young and David Williams for sending these in

The 'Talyllyn Railway Men' by Sara Eade is available from the Talyllyn Railway Shop online and well worth a read.


For further information about this press release please e-mail: pressoffice [at] talyllyn [dot] co [dot] uk (subject: Website%20news%20query) or phone 01654 710472.