Great Little Trains of Wales – Blog 1

I was eight years old when my interest in steam trains began. My parents and I lived close to someone who worked at Doncaster train station. The Flying Scotsman was the most famous train of the time, and for some reason it was at Doncaster for a few days. I was asked whether I’d like to see the train and go on the footplate. Of course I did. What I remember most was the enormous size of the train and that the driver’s cab seemed as big as my bedroom. Everything about the train, the colours, the gleaming metal, the gorgeous carriages, the mountain of coal, made a lasting impression – I wanted to go to places, and I wanted to go on a train like this one.

My father wanted to travel, and the plan was for my parents to see the world when he retired. Cancer cut short his life and their plan died with him. Once I had the finances, I felt duty bound to travel to the places he wanted to go, and if possible, go by steam train.

In early 2018, I travelled on the Great Central Railway near my mum’s home in Leicestershire and the smoke of the steam trains, the ambience of the stations, and the joy of watching the countryside go by at a leisurely pace made me realise it was time I went on a holiday that was dedicated to travelling on steam trains. The Covid Crisis intervened, and those plans were put on hold. Five years later, I did some research and discovered the steam trains of Wales. 

The Great Little Trains of Wales (Welsh: Trenau Bach Arbennig Cymru) is the name of a joint marketing scheme formed in 1970 to promote some of the narrow-gauge railways of Wales and to encourage visitors. As well as marketing the railways, the scheme allows visitors to purchase a discount card, allowing reduced rates on all the lines. 

I contacted Shropshire Tours in Shrewsbury, and they provided me with a tremendous itinerary. All the journeys, apart from four, described in this book were undertaken in the first week of July 2024. The exceptions are the aforementioned Great Central Railway, the Corris Railway (please see the chapter for an explanation), the West Highland Line and the Brecon Mountain Railway. I went on the latter two in April 2025 and May 2025 respectively.

My new book is available here