Talyllyn developments to proceed despite £1.3m lottery funding setback

ALTHOUGH Talyllyn Railway’s (TR) £1.3 million bid to the National Lottery Heritage Fund (NLHF) for grant assistance (RM, August), towards developments at Tywyn Wharf and Pendre was turned down late last year, the railway intends to proceed with some aspects of the plans.

An early priority is conversion of the house ‘Trefri’, acquired in 2019 and adjacent to Tywyn Wharf station, into volunteer accommodation. The TR has an existing volunteer facility at Llechfan, a bungalow accessed through the station yard, but a shortage of reasonably priced local accommodation affected volunteer numbers during 2021. To alleviate the situation short-term TR has committed to an April-October block rental of a property in Pier Road, Tywyn. The aim is to undertake conversion of ‘Trefri’ for it to be available in 2023.

Also to be progressed is the planned ‘Heritage Shed’ at Wharf station to house TR’s original carriages and wagons and redevelopment at Pendre utilising the adjacent ‘Orchard’ land purchased in 2019. How these developments will be funded is being explored, with submission of new NLHF applications a possibility.