We must act now to save this beautiful line
THE response of supporters of the heritage sector, including our readers, to public appeals to counter the multiple challenges presented by the Covid-19 pandemic has been both magnanimous and magnificent. However, the parlous state of Llangollen Railway plc, which has just declared itself insolvent as a result of previous problems with the contract engineering side compounded by it being unable to generate income from public services during lockdown, presents a new mountain for the movement to climb.
Any reduction or loss of this stunningly-beautiful line would not only be a massive blow to the local tourist economy, as both the local MP and Welsh assembly member have rightly highlighted, but to the sector as a whole, especially in a year when the completion of the Corwen extension would almost certainly further heighten its appeal and boost visitor numbers along the Dee valley.
Fresh boards of directors are now in place both on the plc and the line's supporting trust, and they are determined to pull out all the stops to remedy the situation – and they deserve our full support, if they are to save the fruits of half a century of sheer effort to rebuild the line.
As a first step, as outlined in Headline News, pages 6-7, they have launched a public appeal to buy the coaching stock owned by the plc to save it from being sold off and taken elsewhere – and I urge everyone to get behind it.
We are told that staycations will by necessity be the order of the day this summer, and that many destinations that were hugely popular in the days before cheap overseas package holidays may well expect a marked resurgence. Llangollen Town Council has already voiced its support: other local authorities must take heed and do everything they can to rescue the railway, for their locality needs it.
Elsewhere, I am relieved that a gentlemanly agreement has finally been reached over the future of Locomotion No.1, and one that appears to offer much to both parties.
There are those who nonetheless have expressed their disappointment that the pioneer engine has left its permanent Darlington home, but if nothing else, the debate over the issue which has raged for the past year has had the effect of raising local public awareness and interest in railway heritage, and as a by-product, that cannot but be welcomed.
At Heritage Railway, we strive to bring you the widest news coverage of the sector, and at no time in our 22-year history is that role more vital than in the current climate, with circumstances changing by the day. With many readers shielding from coronavirus and not wanting to risk mixing with other people at the shops, here is the opportunity to order the next issue, either by telephoning our customer services team on 01507 529529 or online at mrtns.uk/pre-order-hr
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WITH the Cholsey & Wallingford Railway planning to reopen to the public from May 30, GWR Sentinel 4wVBTG No. 6515 of 1926 was given a test firing on March 6 prior to its boiler inspection.
The opportunity was taken to pose the 1926-built locomotive under the recentlycompleted Brunel broad gauge canopy from Maidenhead station to provide the first steam beneath it.
It was posed alongside the nearly-finished platform extension with Edwardian lighting and GWR benches, all designed to vastly improve the appearance of Wallingford station for visitors.
Delivered new to the GWR, the Sentinel, similar to the LNER Y1 class, was given the number 12. Trialled for three months, it was based at Swindon for use on the Malmesbury branch.
It then worked the Brentford goods yard before returning to the Sentinel works.
After a period on the LMS, it was sold to Thomas E Gray & Co Ltd in Burton Latimer, Northamptonshire, where it worked successfully until 1958 and carried the number 2 and was named Isebrook.
The restored canopy recently featured in a Michael Portillo article in the Daily Telegraph, describing the seven ‘must visit’ heritage railways once lockdown is lifted.
When the heritage line reopens, the Sentinel, which was previously based by its private owner at the Buckinghamshire Railweay Centre, will be in use on some running days.
Later in the year it is hoped to run a gala with a short freight train and at least two Sentinel lorries to recreate a 1930s working railway scenario.