Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway

Heritage Railway
name = Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway


caption = 823 "The Countess" - one of the two original W&LLR engines
locale = Mid-Wales
terminus = Welshpool
linename = Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway
originalgauge = RailGauge|30
preservedgauge = RailGauge|30
era =
owned =
operator =
stations =
length = 8.5 miles (14 km)
originalopen = 1903
closedpassengers=1931
closed=1956
years1=1963
events1=Re-opened as a heritage railway
years2 = 1981
events2 = Opening of extension to Raven SquareThe Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway (W&LLR) is a narrow gauge heritage railway in Powys, Wales. The line is around 8.5 miles (14 km) long and runs westwards from the town of Welshpool (Welsh: Y Trallwng) via Castle Caereinion to the village of Llanfair Caereinion. The track gauge is RailGauge|30.

History

The W&LLR was one of the few narrow gauge branch lines to be built under the provisions of the 1896 Light Railways Act. Noted narrow gauge promoter Everard Calthrop appeared at the Light Railway Inquiry, and proposed the use of transporter wagons. However the line ended up being built by the Cambrian Railways engineer, with consequent conservative 4-wheel wagon and other provisions.

Original operations

It was opened on 4 April 1903 to aid economic development in a remote area. It never made a profit. It was originally operated by the Cambrian Railways. The line is built through difficult country, having a great number of curves in order to reach the summit of 600ft. The original terminus at Welshpool was located alongside the main line station and trains wound their way through the town, using the locomotive bell as a warning.

In the 1923 Grouping of railway companies, Cambrian Railways, including the Welshpool to Llanfair Caereinion line, was absorbed by the Great Western Railway (GWR). On 9 February 1931 the line lost its passenger service, which was replaced by a bus service, and it became a freight-only line. It was temporarily re-opened to passengers between 6 and 11 August 1945 for the Eisteddfod. The GWR itself was nationalised in 1948 and became part of British Railways.

Freight traffic lingered on until 1956, by which time British Railways decided to close the line.

Preservation

A group of volunteers and enthusiasts took the line over and started raising money to restore it. On 6 April 1963 the western half of the line, from Llanfair Caereinion to Castle Caereinion, was re-opened as a tourist railway. The line through Welshpool however could not be reopened, so the line now has a new terminus at Raven Square on the western outskirts of the town, originally opened on 18 July 1981.

Because of the gauge, unusual for the British Isles [WLLR is the longest of only 6 railways of this gauge in the British Isles which total less than 30 miles of track in total List of Rail Gauges#Narrow gauge railways, by gauge and country] , locomotives and rolling stock to supplement the originals have had to be obtained from a cosmopolitan variety of sources including the Zillertalbahn in Austria. A major grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund permitted restoration of both original locomotives together with several coaches and original wagons, and provision of new workshop facilities, ready for the line's centenary.

Locomotives

Locomotives of the preserved railway* = Name added by WLLR

Coordinates

*Welshpool station: coord|52.6597292|N|3.1600821|W|display=inline
*Llanfair station: coord|52.651978|N|3.3221465|W|display=inline

ee also

*British narrow gauge railways

References

* ISBN 1-900622-06-8

External links

* [http://www.wllr.org.uk/ The Weshpool and Llanfair Railway's website]
* [http://www.welshpoolnarrowgauge.org.uk The Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway - an online photo album]