45669 Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 Evening All, I visited the Brecon Beacons earlier this month and, whilst there, I had a trip on the Brecon Mountain Railway. The pictures that I took are now on Flickr and, if anyone would like to have a look, here's the first one : RD8123. No.2 at Pontsticill. by Ron Fisher, on Flickr Clicking on it will enlarge it and take you to the others. Hope that they are of interest. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
black5f Posted September 30, 2013 Share Posted September 30, 2013 Nice pics and a gorgeous Baldwin. Meant to take a visit during this lovely summer but... Tom Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bilbo Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Hadn't realised they had actually laid the track as far as Torpantau. Does it go through the tunnel or is that further on ? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointstaken Posted October 1, 2013 Share Posted October 1, 2013 Nice set of photos, Ron, thank you. Dennis Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted October 1, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 1, 2013 Very nice Ron and definitely different weather from the day we were up there some years ago! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
45669 Posted October 1, 2013 Author Share Posted October 1, 2013 Hadn't realised they had actually laid the track as far as Torpantau. Does it go through the tunnel or is that further on ? No, they have had to stop short of the original Torpantau station because the bridge across the Pontsticill to Talybont road is long gone. If they ever manage to get enough money to build a new bridge, going through the tunnel could then become a possibility. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
45669 Posted October 1, 2013 Author Share Posted October 1, 2013 Very nice Ron and definitely different weather from the day we were up there some years ago! Well, it doesn't always rain in Wales you know! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted October 1, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 1, 2013 Well, it doesn't always rain in Wales you know! Very true but it does seem to try quite hard Anyway here you are with a slight bit of correction to allow for the very poor light the day we were there in 2005 (longer ago than I thought!). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
John_Hughes Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 I gather that the BMR management are dubious about the ability of their present locos to take a train through Torpantau Tunnel (though I'd have thought that the Baldwin could do it easily enough); once that problem is fixed then they'll be ready to go, I believe. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pointstaken Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Out of idle curiosity, is the BMR just a tourist line, or was there once some commercial activity or justification for the line ? Dennis Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted October 2, 2013 Share Posted October 2, 2013 Out of idle curiosity, is the BMR just a tourist line, or was there once some commercial activity or justification for the line ? Dennis In its current form, yes, 'just' a tourist line. The formation was originally part of the Brecon and Merthyr Railway and later the GWR. the station at Torpantau which, I think, was originally a siding for a banking engine, looked like this (then and now shot on Flickr): http://www.flickr.com/photos/26475140@N05/9502859096 Adam Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold The Stationmaster Posted October 2, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 2, 2013 Out of idle curiosity, is the BMR just a tourist line, or was there once some commercial activity or justification for the line ? Dennis Just a tourist line - always has been. But it is laid on the formation of part of the old Brecon & Merthyr Railway, If they go through Torpantau Tunnel things will get very interesting as taht puts them at the top of Seven Mile Bank which apart from a bit of lesser gradient through the site of Pentir Rhiw station is all at 1 in 38. Could get very interesting indeed if they ever get to Talybont at the bottom of the bank. Incidentally does it yet go all the way to Torpantau - the timetable still refers to Pontsticill although Google Maps seems to show track as far as Dolygaer? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
45669 Posted October 2, 2013 Author Share Posted October 2, 2013 I gather that the BMR management are dubious about the ability of their present locos to take a train through Torpantau Tunnel (though I'd have thought that the Baldwin could do it easily enough); once that problem is fixed then they'll be ready to go, I believe. It's the Jung 0-6-2WT that's too small to handle trains to Torpantau. A second Baldwin, a 2-6-2, is being rebuilt in their workshops and it is hoped that this will be completed next year. They would need two big engines to cover failures or to run a two train service. However, to get to the original Torpantau station and the tunnel, they would have to replace a missing bridge over the Pontsticill to Talybont road. I was told that it was blown up by the Army as target practice! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
45669 Posted October 2, 2013 Author Share Posted October 2, 2013 Very true but it does seem to try quite hard My theory is that if you go to Wales often enough, you're bound to get good weather sometimes! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
45669 Posted October 2, 2013 Author Share Posted October 2, 2013 Just a tourist line - always has been. But it is laid on the formation of part of the old Brecon & Merthyr Railway, If they go through Torpantau Tunnel things will get very interesting as that puts them at the top of Seven Mile Bank which apart from a bit of lesser gradient through the site of Pentir Rhiw station is all at 1 in 38. Could get very interesting indeed if they ever get to Talybont at the bottom of the bank. Incidentally does it yet go all the way to Torpantau - the timetable still refers to Pontsticill although Google Maps seems to show track as far as Dolygaer? It goes as far as Dol y Gaer, but has to stop short of the original station as this is now in use as an outdoor adventure centre. The track is laid through the site, but not yet in use and there is a footbridge connecting the two sides of the site. This is the current terminus : RD8097. Baldwin No.2 on the BMR. by Ron Fisher, on Flickr The Torpantau terminus is patiently awaiting the arrival of the trains : RD8134. Torpantau. by Ron Fisher, on Flickr Talybont is a fair old way from Torpantau, but we can all dream, can't we?! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
pipparooba Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 i was there at easter and to be honest found it a little on the high side for price but still great fun enjoy Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
45669 Posted October 5, 2013 Author Share Posted October 5, 2013 i was there at easter and to be honest found it a little on the high side for price but still great fun Thanks for the links. A nice reminded of my week in the area. It probably is a bit on the dear side, but most of the trains we saw seemed to be quite well patronized. Anyway, how do you put a price on a trip behind a two foot gauge Pacific?! Also, if it helps to get the other Baldwin rebuilt and the Torpantau extension opened, it's a small price to pay. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ohmisterporter Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 I seem to recall that they owned an ex SAR Garratt that could handle trains up the gradients, but they sold it to the WHR as surplus to requirements. Their website makes no mention of this loco though. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ForestPines Posted October 5, 2013 Share Posted October 5, 2013 A couple of detail photos of the Baldwin: Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tim Hall Posted October 7, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 7, 2013 I was told by a member of staff a couple of years ago that to run to Torpantau would either require two locos and sets of coaches out (v expensive) or a very long gap between trains. Both are seen as a deterrent to their main target customer, families, for whom the longer (and presumably more expensive) journey is often bad news anyway for those (including enthusiasts) with young kids (are we there yet etc). I therefore got the impression that any extension is not a priority at present. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomag Posted October 8, 2013 Share Posted October 8, 2013 I was told by a member of staff a couple of years ago that to run to Torpantau would either require two locos and sets of coaches out (v expensive) or a very long gap between trains. Both are seen as a deterrent to their main target customer, families, for whom the longer (and presumably more expensive) journey is often bad news anyway for those (including enthusiasts) with young kids (are we there yet etc). I therefore got the impression that any extension is not a priority at present. I am not certain if they still do this but on the return journey the last time I had a ride they stop at Pontsticill uncouple the engine run it to Pant to for water run it back to Potsticill and then return to Pant. They use this as a oportunity to flog refreshments. Therefore they should have a enough time to get to the summit and back. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Tim Hall Posted October 10, 2013 RMweb Gold Share Posted October 10, 2013 I am not certain if they still do this but on the return journey the last time I had a ride they stop at Pontsticill uncouple the engine run it to Pant to for water run it back to Potsticill and then return to Pant. They use this as a oportunity to flog refreshments. Therefore they should have a enough time to get to the summit and back. They might have the time, but do they have the inclination? The uncoupling of the loco to run to Pant for water is very unusual. Usually the loco stays on the train during the refreshment flogging break, which is too long, except for those of us with young kids who want to use the playground. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.