Talyllyn Railway

The Rev. Wilbert Awdry inherited an interest in railways from his father, the Rev. Vere Awdry, and together with his brother George, became a keen railway modeller. He published his first book in what would become The Railway Series in 1945. By 1951, he had written four more. In February that year, someone sent him an article which had appeared in the Birmingham Mail entitled “Eight Miles of Railway to play with – and real trains – for £1 a year”.

The railway was the Talyllyn Railway. The article sparked Wilbert’s interest, leading him to apply for membership in the newly formed Preservation Society; he was number 79. Coincidentally, Wilbert had a distant cousin, Frank, who lived in Tywyn. They had never met, but Wilbert and George had visited Frank’s sisters in Clevedon, Somerset, and had heard stories about the ‘somewhat wayward little railway’ in Tywyn.

Having become a regular visitor and volunteer on the Talyllyn Railway, Wilbert determined to write about the Talyllyn in his books. For his tenth book in the Railway Series, Four Little Engines, he “discovered” a narrow-gauge railway on the Island of Sodor called the Skarloey Railway. By some coincidence, the engines on this railway all had “twins” on the Talyllyn: Skarloey & Talyllyn, Rheneas & Dolgoch, Sir Handel & Sir Haydn, Peter Sam & Edward Thomas. Later books introduced Engines No. 5 Rusty and No. 6 Duncan.

There is a national rail network station at Tywyn close to the Wharf station, where my journey was to begin. I arrived early and bought my ticket so I could have a look around the station. The steam locomotive ‘Tom Rolt’ was ready to go. Passengers were already filling up the chocolate brown carriages of the Corris Railway that were being used that day. The station yard really looked like a working station with mounds of coal, a large yellow digger, and a wagon full of wooden track supports or sleepers that appeared ready for use. The King’s Cafe was doing a brisk trade, and not all patrons were passengers for the train. 

The Narrow-Gauge Railway Museum is an important collection of artefacts spanning 200 years, ranging from complete locomotives to paperwork, signalling equipment, and tickets. The museum features nearly eighty narrow-gauge railways in its collection. As expected, there’s a special section devoted to the creator of “Thomas the Tank Engine” including a reconstruction of part of the Reverend Awdry’s study from his last home in Stroud, Gloucestershire.

Before heading along the Talyllyn line, keen walkers might want to look at the selection of trails from the various stations, including the Castell y Bere walk, and sightseers might want to consider looking at nearby waterfalls, including the Dolgoch Falls. It appears every station had a waiting room.

After leaving the Tywyn Wharf station, the next stop is Pendre, with the locomotive sheds and a circular walk. Next is Rhydyronen, where there are three walking options, including one that allows you to walk to the next station, Brynglas. After Brynglas comes Dolgoch with its picnic tables, toilets, waterfalls, and water tower for thirsty locomotives. At the following station, Abergynolwyn, is the Quarryman’s Caban tearoom, a picnic area and playground, a car park with a charging station, and more toilets, plus the Dysynni Gorge walk starts here. The last station is the Nant Gwernol terminus, with a waterfall nearby and a circular walk.

My new book is available here.

The book covers not only the Great Little Trains of Wales but also other methods of transport in the UK.

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. This book is what I found.