Welsh Narrow Gauge calls...

Welsh Narrow Gauge calls…

We recently managed a few days (well, a week!) in a very hot and sunny Wales, staying near Cricieth on the beautiful Cardigan Bay.  This is a well placed spot, giving ready access to both Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways plus, with a bit of driving, the Talyllyn to the south.  We doubled up on the FR rides, enjoying the 4pm departure on the summer timetable, which enables a full day of doing family stuff, then grabbing a ride up to Blaenau Ffestiniog, on this occasion behind the new build 2-6-2T ‘Lyd’, though I didn’t take any photographs that day!

Below: The imposing bulk of NGG16 No.143 eases its way onto street in Porthmadog and passes through on its way onto the famous Cob, where a pilotwill drag the train back into the platform. Also seen is No.138, taking water at Caernarfon, the northern terminus of the Welsh Highland Railway.

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Below: A rather smaller locomotive at the Talyllyn Railway’s Tywyn Wharf station.  This is No.4, Edward Thomas, a product of Kerr Stuart and originally supplied to the Corris Railway (see blog posting two years ago – search ‘Corris’). It is also shown adding additional open coach accommodation to its train which had worked in empty-coaching-stock.

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Below: Later in the day the railway’s original No.2, Dolgoch, drifts into Wharf Station with the vintage train, operated on Thursdays during the summer. The boiler for this locomotive was constructed at Bridgnorth, in the same shop as that in which Dunrobin’s is being rebuilt.

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The Welsh narrow gauge is always charming and in the sunshine is pretty much unbeatable in terms of variety, interesting motive power and scenery.  A week really isn’t enough!