The modern 3D face of a beloved Thomas friend

SEEN approaching Forestry Crossing on July 24, No.4 Edward Thomas masquerades as Peter Sam during the Talyllyn Railway’s Awdry Extravaganza 2 event.

The locomotive was wearing a new 3D-printed face designed by Mads Kaiser and Luke Ryan to replace the previous fibreglass version – and became one of the event’s hot talking points.

Behind is No.3 Sir Haydn as Sir Handel, which was on trial after a rapid turnaround of repairs to the trailing wheelset that had failed at the start of the week; they had been sent to the Vale of Rheidol workshops for repair and returned to Wharf on the morning of July 22, with the locomotive reassembled, lit up, and ready for testing in time for a light engine run to Brynglas on the same day, where it then joined the last service train to Wharf.

The July 23/24 weekend event saw displays of original artwork from the books and models used in the making of the television programme, with the Reverend Wilbert Awdry’s model railway layout making a rare operational appearance and Tim Dunn presenting a historical lecture that was written and used to be presented by Awdry himself. Tickets for the exhibition and lecture went on sale in March and were so popular that website crashed due to the demand, with everything bar travel tickets selling out within 24 hours.

Visitors travelled from around the globe for the event, with the TR Shop reporting its best-ever two days by some margin, and Tywyn Wharf station King’s Café selling out of many items on its menu on the Sunday.