WELSHPOOL & LLANFAIR - SIXTY YEARS ON
It’s been six decades since it closed, but the Welshpool & Llanfair Railway is still alive and kicking - and busier than ever.
Some railways are defined by their locomotives. This is especially true of narrow gauge lines where, more often than not, locomotives were designed and built to cope with a line’s specific traffic requirements, gradients and local conditions. For instance, the Lynton & Barnstaple Manning Wardle 2-6-2Ts, covered in the first half of this month’s Glorious Years, epitomise the revered 1ft 11½in-gauge line. This month marks the 60th anniversary of the closure of another narrow gauge railway defined by its motive power - the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway - a line synonymous with the pair of Beyer Peacock 0-6-0Ts, No. 1 The Earl and No. 2 The Countess. Built by the Cambrian Railways in 1903 to an unusual 2ft 6in gauge, the original WLLR connected the rural community of Llanfair Caereinion with the market town and main line station at Welshpool. The eight-mile railway closed on November 3 1956, after an operational life of only 53 years. The line never carried much traffic, but thanks to surges in freight during the First and Second World Wars, it survived, although passenger services were suspended in 1931. Despite its relatively short operational life, the WLLR came under the charge of three different owners - first the Cambrian Railways, then the Great Western Railway in 1923, and finally British Railways, upon nationalisation in 1948. Like many similar railways, the line eventually succumbed to road traffic taking away the majority of its custom. However, thanks to preservation efforts that commenced in 1963, passengers can still enjoy a ride on this unusual railway through the Powis estate, in the heart of Wales. Both The Earl and The Countess are still hard at work to this day, and busier than they have ever been.