Trawsfynydd Railway Society

[28XX]

Colin Dale, who has been described as a "one man band preservation society" has high hopes that he will be granted permission by NR to clear and inspect the line from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Trawsfynydd in the near future. The Facebook group has over 500 members and is growing daily.

 

If he gets clearance, there will be a call to arms to get boots on the ground.

 

At present there is no charity, legal business entity or even a committee to control the project.

 

I must say I like the pioneering spirit of this particular bunch of loonies, but they will need, sadly, to conform to 21st century red tape to stand a hope of getting anywhere.

 

Watch this space.

[Gordon A]

Not being a fan of facebook, what are their aims and objectives?

 

Gordon A

[The Stationmaster]

There's not much difference between 21st century and 20th century red tape when it comes to 'minor railways' - although in many respects 21st century is considerably simpler.  The problem  - as always with such projects is getting support, permissions to access sites, and getting the necessary money.

[28XX]

The aim is to get NR to allow volunteers to clear and repair the permanent way, then to reinstate the connection to the Network, then allow through excursions / specials to Trawsfynydd, and ultimately run their own trains.

 

One bright spark suggested rebuilding through to link up with Corwen!

Edited July 25, 2016 by 28XX

[gismorail]

The aim is to get NR to allow volunteers to clear and repair the permanent way, then to reinstate the connection to the Network, then allow through excursions / specials to Trawsfynydd, and ultimately run their own trains.

 

One bright spark suggested rebuilding through to link up with Corwen!

Well I supposed there's always 'one' in a crowd........  

[Captain Kernow]

I sympathise with the view that this group seems to be essentially composed of folks who have escaped from those wearing white coats. Another example of this kind of thing comes to mind, though.

 

A few years ago I had peripheral dealings with a bunch of nutters, who had grandiose plans to reopen the Sharpness branch as a steam heritage line, but had no funding to speak of and who hadn't even obtained any kind of agreement from NR to use what was (and still is) an operational part of the national network.

 

That didn't stop them getting an erroneous and highly misleading article published in the national heritage railway press, which essentially lied about their tenure on the line (they didn't have any!).

 

Because their 'business plan' was an utter work of fantasy, nothing happened and it all went quiet for a while.

 

More recently, though, the lunatics previously in charge have gone away, and sensible people have appeared to negotiate with NR, and it now looks like agreement on a practical operating solution, at least for part of the branch, might be possible.

[28XX]

Tomorrow 31 July 2016, there is a Vintage 1940s day and classic car show in Blaenau Ffestiniog. The Trawsfynydd Railway Society will have a stand there to explain their plans to visitors.

[Joseph_Pestell]

Generally, I am against further new preservation schemes. I think it is better to use ever scarcer resources on keeping the existing ones thriving.

 

This, given its location, might be an exception though which could be viable.

[RJS1977]

There's not much difference between 21st century and 20th century red tape when it comes to 'minor railways' - 

 

It's still "strictly non-elastic" then...

Edited July 30, 2016 by RJS1977

[Quarryscapes]

Tomorrow 31 July 2016, there is a Vintage 1940s day and classic car show in Blaenau Ffestiniog. The Trawsfynydd Railway Society will have a stand there to explain their plans to visitors.

 

If someone could go along and see what these numpties are up to it would be much appreciated. I was a member of the facebook group until this week. It is basically Colin Dale and a group of his friends dreaming about playing trains on the Traws Line. There is no society - it's just the facebook group. The posts make it quite clear that they have no understanding of the task ahead, or what the local area wants and needs. They don't have a plan, just a vague ambition. They are already talking like they own the line, when they have as much to do with it as a fishmonger in essex. 

 

If done right then in theory I wouldn't be against a heritage project on the line, however I will not support this 'organisation'. 

[The Stationmaster]

Generally, I am against further new preservation schemes. I think it is better to use ever scarcer resources on keeping the existing ones thriving.

 

This, given its location, might be an exception though which could be viable.

 

The fascinating thing about your first comment is that we've been saying that kind of thing for years (with good reason in my view) but new schemes still seem to pop up with some regularity and some of them actually get off the ground and turn into working railways (of a sort in some cases).

[Zomboid]

I doubt it'll come to much, but without dreamers we wouldn't have any preservation scene.

I would agree that the heritage sector overall is more likely to see a retraction than an expansion over the next couple of decades though, and ultimately resources would be better placed in what is already there.

[PhilH]

After volunteering on a preserved railway for 30 odd years, and still enjoying it (sort of) I do on occasion find the fact that it has basically turned into a well run, highly regulated, paperwork driven multi million pound business somewhat boring. It is sometimes difficult to differentiate it from the organisation I used to work for, which was also boring.

 

I understand all of the needs, must haves, got tos etc., of the modern day heritage railway set up but just occasionally I miss the early days, the almost pioneering spirit, the 'can we do it, we will do it', attitude of like minded loonies who had a dream and did it, whatever it took.

 

We live in a highly cynical age of most people telling others why things can't be done instead of saying there might be a way. I strongly doubt that this project will ever get off the ground, but there is definitely a part of me that whispers "Go on boys you can do it".

[28XX]

Network Rail appear to have given permission for the society to start work. The first day is Saturday 24 Sept. It has been limited to 8 volunteers, a full compliment and several reserved have registered. See FaceBook for more info

 

https://www.facebook.com/trawsblaenaurailway/

[RJS1977]

After volunteering on a preserved railway for 30 odd years, and still enjoying it (sort of) I do on occasion find the fact that it has basically turned into a well run, highly regulated, paperwork driven multi million pound business somewhat boring. It is sometimes difficult to differentiate it from the organisation I used to work for, which was also boring.

 

I understand all of the needs, must haves, got tos etc., of the modern day heritage railway set up but just occasionally I miss the early days, the almost pioneering spirit, the 'can we do it, we will do it', attitude of like minded loonies who had a dream and did it, whatever it took.

 

We live in a highly cynical age of most people telling others why things can't be done instead of saying there might be a way. I strongly doubt that this project will ever get off the ground, but there is definitely a part of me that whispers "Go on boys you can do it".

 

Of course, there are still some established heritage railways around which haven't yet turned into multi-million pound businesses and still have 'can we do it' projects in the offing :-)

[branchie]

Never gonna happen .....

[Marshall5]

Unfortunately we can't turn the clock back to the early days of preservation. Scarily, I recently realized that I started volunteering in 1966 i.e, half a century ago!  Looking back though, many of the things that we did then couldn't be done now and some would get us thrown in jail. It was fun at the time though and some of the, then, teenagers are now senior citizens but still involved.  It is easy, now, to see those 'pioneering days' through 'rose-coloured spectacles' but it wasn't all fun like having to turn down a loco in working order (cost - just 50 quid!) and seeing it scrapped as there was no place to keep it.  My own view now is that we've reached a maintainable level in this country and a proliferation of 'crackpot' schemes like this one only serves to weaken the heritage railway movement as a whole.

Ray.

[pete_mcfarlane]

The other week I went for my annual day out to the Ecclesbourne Valley railway (just north of Derby) , which seems to have come from nowhere over the last 10 years. Every time I visit something seems to have been improved, and there's little of the semi-derelict rolling stock that blights a lot of these lines. And this in an area not exactly short of preserved lines. 

 

So sometimes these new schemes do work, given the right people. I'm not convinced about this one though - there's no sign of an actual plan, apart from removing bushes from the track (which will almost certainly need attention after 20+ years out of use).  

[Signaller69]

Not only do the group want to have trains running to Trawsfynnydd by next year, but have grander plans to reopen the line to Bala (which amongst other obstacles includes a dammed lake, requiring a deviation)!

https://www.facebook.com/trawsblaenaurailway/

 

They will not be able to run into Blaenau Ffestiniog Station as it stands, not least as the link is disconnected with rails removed and a buffer stop in place there. No mention is made of what rolling stock they may or may not have access to, but they do seem to have a keen following in fairness, and apparently NR have done a little clearance work to start them off. Not sure what agreements they have with NR, though speaking with Dave the local NR Locking Fitter, the ground frames etc are still regarded as NR assets and are still checked periodically despite being largely overgrown.

 

I really hope the Traws project gets off the ground, but have to say as others have, that so far it looks more like good intentions than a serious business model, but then I'm sure many other schemes started in a similar manner?

[Merfyn Jones]

Not only do the group want to have trains running to Trawsfynnydd by next year, but have grander plans to reopen the line to Bala (which amongst other obstacles includes a dammed lake, requiring a deviation)!

https://www.facebook.com/trawsblaenaurailway/

 

They will not be able to run into Blaenau Ffestiniog Station as it stands, not least as the link is disconnected with rails removed and a buffer stop in place there. No mention is made of what rolling stock they may or may not have access to, but they do seem to have a keen following in fairness, and apparently NR have done a little clearance work to start them off. Not sure what agreements they have with NR, though speaking with Dave the local NR Locking Fitter, the ground frames etc are still regarded as NR assets and are still checked periodically despite being largely overgrown.

 

I really hope the Traws project gets off the ground, but have to say as others have, that so far it looks more like good intentions than a serious business model, but then I'm sure many other schemes started in a similar manner?

 

Adding to Martyn's post. I was S&T lineman for the line until I retired. A few comments.

The rails and buffer stop at Blaenau were done in one day so could easily be replaced, if N R allowed the station to be used to terminate and run round loco hauled trains. But this would require possession of the token for the line from Llanrwst. The ground frames No.2 and 3 are still maintained regularly and are not overgrown. They were in fact used on Saturday last for a special. However No.4 frame has almost totally disintegrated (think that's what Dave meant), being beyond the buffer stop, we stopped maintaining it over 10 years ago, along with those at Maentwrog Rd and Traws.

[Signaller69]

Adding to Martyn's post. I was S&T lineman for the line until I retired. A few comments.

The rails and buffer stop at Blaenau were done in one day so could easily be replaced, if N R allowed the station to be used to terminate and run round loco hauled trains. But this would require possession of the token for the line from Llanrwst. The ground frames No.2 and 3 are still maintained regularly and are not overgrown. They were in fact used on Saturday last for a special. However No.4 frame has almost totally disintegrated (think that's what Dave meant), being beyond the buffer stop, we stopped maintaining it over 10 years ago, along with those at Maentwrog Rd and Traws.

Thanks Merfyn, yes Dave was referring to those ground frames on the Traws line, not Blaenau.

Martyn.

[russ p]

I'm surprised they haven't thought of relaying in 2ft gauge to link with the Bala lake or did I read somewhere they would like to join the Llangollen railway?

[pete_mcfarlane]

I'm surprised they haven't thought of relaying in 2ft gauge to link with the Bala lake or did I read somewhere they would like to join the Llangollen railway?

After all, this was originally a 2' gauge line for part of its length. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festiniog_and_Blaenau_Railway

[Signaller69]

I'm surprised they haven't thought of relaying in 2ft gauge to link with the Bala lake or did I read somewhere they would like to join the Llangollen railway?

An earlier post mentioned Corwen, although building a replacement bridge over the river at Bala, as well as crossing the busy A494 trunk route (due to flattening the road over rail bridge) would be rather costly whichever gauge was used. It would be a cracking journey from Blaenau to Bala though if they could pull it off.

[Steamport Southport]

No point changing it to narrow gauge when there is a large amount of track and infrastructure is still in place.

 

I believe that the intention was to eventually link up with the Llangollen at Bala, but keeping the Bala Lake Railway.

 

The scheme was proposed quite a few years ago of creating a line that could circle from Caernarvon to Llangollen using the various heritage lines. Most of the cost would have been sourced from the Welsh Assembly, National Lottery and European Union*. The missing links to Bangor and Ruabon would then be completed over time. Most of the route is still substantially complete with very little encroachment, apart from mainly at Llangollen, but nothing that couldn't be overcome with the right funding. Google Earth Maps are very useful for this.

 

 

Too many heritage lines? They were saying that in the 1970s and 1980s along with "scrap the lot" when it came to Barry Scrapyard engines. Guess what? Very few lines have failed and most of those engines have steamed since.

 

I've no involvement with any of the organisations involved. Just information gleaned from magazines and talking to people who seem to be "in the know" in North Wales over the years.

 

 

*Obviously that route to funding is now gone.

 

 

Jason