£1.5M DEVELOPMENTS MOOTED FOR TALYLLYN
Guests at the Talyllyn Railway’s ‘Founders’ Day’ on May 14 learned about development proposals that could cost over £1.5 million. Owing to the lack of development potential at Tywyn, consideration is being given to expansion at Abergynolwyn, the railway’s eastern terminus, to encourage passengers to start their journeys there. Car parking could be increased and provision made for coach parking. A twostorey extension of the station building would cost about £1m, improving the existing catering facility as well as the railway’s capacity for hosting events. A lift to improve accessibility has also been proposed. Improved facilities for overhauling locomotives at Pendre are required. Options being considered include redeveloping the area on the town side of the line to make better use of the space, and enlarging the workshop with increased headroom for lifting locomotives. Another option would be to locate the workshop on the nearby industrial estate and convert the existing workshop into a running shed/living museum. Either would cost about £500,000. Future rolling stock projects include the overhaul of Fletcher, Jennings 0-4-2ST Talyllyn, which will be carried out in-house, replacement of four open carriages with accessible vehicles, also to be built inhouse, and refurbishing the body of the railway’s Corris bogie carriage. The annual ‘Founders Day’ event commemorates the launch of the TR as the world’s first preserved railway on May 14 1951. This year’s special train was hauled by newly overhauled Hughes 0-4-2ST ‘Sir Haydn’.