| Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway |
 |
| 823 The Countess - one of the two original W&LLR engines |
| Location |
| Place |
Mid-Wales |
| Terminus |
Welshpool |
|
| Commercial Operations |
| Name |
Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway |
| Gauge |
2 ft 6 in (762 mm) |
| Preserved Operations |
| Operated by |
|
| Stations |
|
| Length |
8.5 miles (14 km) |
| Gauge |
2 ft 6 in (762 mm) |
| Commercial History |
| Opened |
1903 |
| Closed to passengers |
1931 |
| Closed |
1956 |
| Preservation History |
| 1963 |
Re-opened as a heritage railway |
| 1981 |
Opening of extension to Raven Square |
| Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway (W&LLR) |
|
|
The 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 2 ft 6 in (762 mm).
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, with services ceasing on November 51
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 Isles2, 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
Coordinates: 52°38′43″N 3°15′01″W / 52.645342, -3.250237
See also
References
External links
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Historical Welsh railway companies: |
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Great Western
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London and
North Western
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Joint
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Independent
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Industrial
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