Two saviours of The Great Little Trains must not be forgotten

ITWAS good to read of the Corris Railway's expansion plans and plans to build a further steam locomotive. One hopes everyone connected with the Corris will do all they can to keep the memory alive of the Corris Railway hero, Campbell Thomas. Maybe they could name their new locomotive after him?

The visionary former stationmaster at Machynlleth in 1948, when the Corris Railway closed, at a time of a national scrap drive, hid Corris locomotives Nos. 3 and 4 at the lower yard at Machynlleth. Accidently, he overlooked instructions to send the locomotives to Swindon for scrapping.

Campbell Thomas knew the Talyllyn needed his locomotives. Without realising it, he became a pioneer of railway preservation as the Talyllyn would have been in a very difficult position without the Corristwo.

Another railwayman, Oliver Veltom, district superintendent at Oswestry, w as inspired by Campbell Thomas and he saved the Vale of Rheidol from closing in the 1950s by revitalising it to such an extent that the local railwaymen called it ' Veltom's own Railway.

Oliver's greatest achievement was saving the Welshpool & Llanfair by keeping locomotives Nos. 822/ 823 in Oswestry Works for six years, so enabling the railway to reopen. He also saved Dukedog No. 9017 in Oswestry Works.

Oliver cared for his men. When the Ruabon to Barrnouth line closed, he wrote to all the firms in the area served by the railway asking them to employ redundant railwaymen.

Chris Magner, email