FEBRUARY RUNS AT WELSHPOOL RECREATE 1963

In a bid to expand its operating season, the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway ran trains on ten days during the February half term. Owing to track renewals taking place at Welshpool, the services operated just the four miles from Llanfair Caereinion to Castle Caereinion, effectively recreating the service offered by the railway when it first operated as a preserved line in 1963. Services over the full length of the railway resume on March 24. In January, one of the railway’s Hungarian carriages, No. 418, was sent to Barrow Hill-based Rampart Engineering for modifications to its bodywork and interior to improve accessibility for disabled passengers. With the schedule of works including repainting, the vehicle is expected to be returned during March. No. 418 was first run in Wales in 2005 after receiving attention at the Ffestiniog Railway’s Boston Lodge works. Fellow carriage No. 430 will be dealt with when it can be released from traffic.