187-636: The Talyllyn Railway ( Welsh : Rheilffordd Talyllyn ) is a narrow-gauge railway in Wales running for 7 + 1 ⁄ 4 miles (12 km) from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn . The line was opened in 1865 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain authorised by Act of Parliament to carry passengers using steam haulage. Despite severe underinvestment,
374-539: A " Boy's Own comic spirit of adventure, involving enthusiasm, ingenuity and a fair degree of irresponsibility". On 22 May 1957 the BBC produced a live outside broadcast from the railway, during which Wynford Vaughan Thomas and Huw Weldon commentated on a trip from Dolgoch to Abergynolwyn. The publicity from this broadcast drew substantial numbers of visitors to the railway that summer, with more than 57,500 passengers carried, and this increase in revenue in turn enabled
561-477: A " one engine in steam " policy to ensure that two trains could not collide. Initially the working locomotive was housed in a wooden shed at Ty Dwr on the mineral line above Abergynolwyn station , while the main engineering works at Pendre were constructed. The Pendre works opened on 17 February 1867 and from then on trains began working from Pendre instead of Abergynolwyn. At the time of the line's opening, stations were provided at Pendre and Abergynolwyn. In 1867,
748-441: A Welsh Language Scheme, which indicates its commitment to the equality of treatment principle. This is sent out in draft form for public consultation for a three-month period, whereupon comments on it may be incorporated into a final version. It requires the final approval of the now defunct Welsh Language Board ( Bwrdd yr Iaith Gymraeg ). Thereafter, the public body is charged with implementing and fulfilling its obligations under
935-586: A Welsh-language edge inscription was used on pound coins dated 1985, 1990 and 1995, which circulated in all parts of the UK prior to their 2017 withdrawal. The wording is Pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad (Welsh for 'True am I to my country'), and derives from the national anthem of Wales, " Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau ". UK banknotes are in English only. Some shops employ bilingual signage. Welsh sometimes appears on product packaging or instructions. The UK government has ratified
1122-457: A carpenter's yard). The main branch then split to form a storage loop, with a further wagon turntable and a longer branch serving the houses and school to the north east. The main branch continued north, crossing the main road then passing between the two main terraces in the village before ending in a turntable and a final short line connecting to the Capel Jerusalem chapel. The village incline
1309-647: A census glossary of terms to support the release of results from the census, including their definition of "main language" as referring to "first or preferred language" (though that wording was not in the census questionnaire itself). The wards in England with the most people giving Welsh as their main language were the Liverpool wards of Central and Greenbank ; and Oswestry South in Shropshire . The wards of Oswestry South (1.15%), Oswestry East (0.86%) and St Oswald (0.71%) had
1496-415: A clause empowering it to build the bridge itself within ten years, though it never attempted to do so. The course of the connecting line at Aberdovey was difficult, and a proposed waterside route through the town proved unacceptable. An alternative path around the back of the town was developed, but it was operationally difficult, with steep gradients and sharp curves, as well as three tunnels. In addition,
1683-550: A complex and expensive transportation arrangement which limited the quarry's output. In 1861 the outbreak of the American Civil War cut off supplies of cotton to the mills of the north west of England and as a result a number of prosperous mill owners looked for new business opportunities to diversify their interests. One such owner was William McConnel of Lancashire who, in 1859, had purchased Hengwrt Hall near Dolgellau , north of Tywyn. In January 1864, McConnel formed
1870-428: A deliberate policy by the old company to accommodate the long wheelbase of Talyllyn . Both Talyllyn and Dolgoch had unusually wide wheel treads that allowed them to stay on the wide-of-gauge track. This problem was eventually cured by relaying the railway to its correct gauge and altering Talyllyn ' s trailing wheels to allow them to swivel horizontally, shortening the locomotive's fixed wheelbase. No. 4
2057-417: A double track section of the line, but the legend shows "Station (Great Western)" for the buildings on the northern platform, and "Station (Cambrian)" for the southern. Plate 92 shows the station and the caption states, "The canopy styles reflect the earlier different ownerships". The cliff top line at Friog was the site of two almost identical accidents, in 1883 and 1933, in which the locomotive plunged to
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#17328443251982244-602: A further mineral tramway connecting the quarry with the railway. What is now Nant Gwernol station was the terminus of the Talyllyn Railway proper. Here the line fanned out into a set of sidings where inbound trains were left and outbound slate trains assembled. The sidings were located on a narrow ledge in the side of the Nant Gwernol gorge. Rising south-east from the end of the sidings was the 633 ft (193 m) long, double track gravity operated, Alltwyllt incline , from
2431-423: A height of 612 ft (187 m) above sea level. The line has six steam locomotives for passenger trains and four diesel locomotives, which are primarily used for shunting and to haul works trains. It is unusual for all steam locomotives to be operable at the same time, as at least one is normally scheduled for overhaul. The railway also owns 23 carriages and vans, including all of the original carriages and
2618-489: A joint marketing scheme launched in 1970 that encompasses ten narrow gauge railways in the country, mostly found in north and mid Wales. The railway operates a programme of special events throughout the year. These have include in the past the Anything-Goes Gala, Have-A-Go Gala, Tom Rolt Steam and Vintage Rally and Victorian Week. Occasional events are based on locomotives masquerading as their fictional counterparts from
2805-614: A line from Pencader to Aberystwyth, opening there in August 1867, with platforms on the south-west side. The contractor Thomas Savin was undertaking all the remaining construction work for the A&;WCR section of the Cambrian Railways, as well as working the traffic. He had accepted company shares as the major part of the payment for his construction work, and he was directly financing company outlays from his own resources. By 5 February 1866 he
2992-510: A maximum gradient of 1 in 60. On the left (north) side of the cutting there was once a long siding used for gravity shunting of wagons into the sidings at Wharf station. The railway runs through the cutting for about 0.5 miles (800 m), before passing under another road bridge and passing the locomotive and carriage sheds and works at Pendre. From Pendre, the railway passes over a gated level crossing and runs beside an industrial estate before climbing up to Ty Mawr bridge and on to Hendy,
3179-490: A new cafe and booking office. Work began on the first phase of the project in January 2002. In 2003 the railway received a £682,500 Heritage Lottery grant towards the £1,170,000 cost of redeveloping Wharf station, and the new station and museum were officially opened by Prince Charles (later King Charles III) and Camilla , then Duchess of Cornwall, on 13 July 2005. The railway has seen a steady increase in passengers carried since
3366-429: A new power supply were added. Substantial improvements to Tywyn Wharf station were also made, along with continued relaying and upgrading of the track to Abergynolwyn. Passenger numbers continued to climb after the 1957 BBC broadcast; in 1960, 67,000 passenger journeys were made, increasing to 78,500 in 1964. In response to this growing popularity the railway undertook a programme of new rolling stock construction. By
3553-428: A passing loop. Each passing loop is controlled by a small signal box , known as a block-post. These house the lever frames that control the points, the token equipment and telephones. The railway has few signals; instead it has stop boards at Pendre, Brynglas, Quarry Siding and Nant Gwernol, and the blockman allows trains to proceed by use of flags. There are colour light signals located at Tywyn Wharf, operated from
3740-468: A road overbridge after which the line runs through open countryside as it starts to ascend the valley side on a ledge. After approximately 0.75 miles (1,210 m) it enters woodlands west of Dolgoch , climbing steadily, then curves to the south east and crosses the Dolgoch gorge on the Dolgoch viaduct, which carries the line 51 ft (16 m) above the Dolgoch ravine. Dolgoch station is immediately east of
3927-506: A simple short platform. On the seaward side, Butlins built a large holiday camp, but on completion in 1939 the camp was taken over by the Royal Navy as "HMS Glendower". After the War, further work was needed and the holiday camp did not open until the 1947 season. The halt station was enlarged and a wooden second platform built, with brick waiting rooms; the old halt platform was refurbished. The line
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#17328443251984114-479: A single discourse (known in linguistics as code-switching ). Welsh speakers are largely concentrated in the north and west of Wales, principally Gwynedd , Conwy County Borough , Denbighshire , Anglesey , Carmarthenshire , north Pembrokeshire , Ceredigion , parts of Glamorgan , and north-west and extreme south-west Powys . However, first-language and other fluent speakers can be found throughout Wales. Welsh-speaking communities persisted well into
4301-585: A slight downhill gradient. Unlike the Ffestiniog Railway, the Talyllyn was not designed to be worked as a gravity line, however this is the only downhill section between Pendre and Nant Gwernol. Another minor halt follows at Tynllwynhen, before the passing loop and request stop at Brynglas . Above Brynglas, the line crosses the Cwm Pandy stream and enters a shallow cutting, climbing as it goes. The cutting ends at
4488-474: A small platform. The section from Cynfal to Rhydyronen was relaid in 1951 using rail purchased from the Corris Railway after the latter line's closure in 1948. Rhydyronen, a request stop , was the first intermediate station built on the line, opening in 1867. A siding at the station was shortened in 1957 and removed completely circa 1975. A short steep climb under a road bridge follows the station, followed by
4675-510: A transfer away from traditional goods traffic. After a partial closure from 13 to 17 December 1964 due to floods east of Dolgellau, the Barmouth to Dolgelly section reopened but finally closed on 18 January 1965. A proposal to close the entire coast line in 1971 was fought successfully by a pressure group. The Radio Electronic Token Block signalling system was installed over the weekend of 1 and 2 October 1988. On 13 October 1980, Barmouth bridge
4862-508: A year. In 1896, production at the Penrhyn Quarry in north Wales, one of the largest producers of slate, was stopped due to labour disputes, resulting in a temporary increase in demand at other quarries. McConnel expanded production at Bryn Eglwys to take advantage of the sudden demand, but only with the aim of maximising profits during the remainder of his lease, which was to expire in 1910. He built new trial levels without proper provision for
5049-609: Is available throughout Europe on satellite and online throughout the UK. Since the digital switchover was completed in South Wales on 31 March 2010, S4C Digidol became the main broadcasting channel and fully in Welsh. The main evening television news provided by the BBC in Welsh is available for download. There is also a Welsh-language radio station, BBC Radio Cymru , which was launched in 1977. Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway The Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway
5236-667: Is considered to have lasted from then until the 14th century, when the Modern Welsh period began, which in turn is divided into Early and Late Modern Welsh. The word Welsh is a descendant, via Old English wealh, wielisc , of the Proto-Germanic word * Walhaz , which was derived from the name of the Celtic people known to the Romans as Volcae and which came to refer to speakers of Celtic languages, and then indiscriminately to
5423-505: Is the label attached to the Welsh of the 12th to 14th centuries, of which much more remains than for any earlier period. This is the language of nearly all surviving early manuscripts of the Mabinogion , although the tales themselves are certainly much older. It is also the language of the existing Welsh law manuscripts. Middle Welsh is reasonably intelligible to a modern-day Welsh speaker. The Bible translations into Welsh helped maintain
5610-451: The Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway (General) Act 1865 ( 28 & 29 Vict. c. cclxxxiii). The act stipulated that the fares and goods rates for consignment between Aberdovey and Borth via Morben were to be the same as if the bridge were built and in operation. The GWR had planned to achieve direct access from Dolgelly to Aberystwyth by way of the bridge, and it obtained the insertion of
5797-704: The Cynfeirdd or "Early Poets" – is generally considered to date to the Primitive Welsh period. However, much of this poetry was supposedly composed in the Hen Ogledd , raising further questions about the dating of the material and language in which it was originally composed. This discretion stems from the fact that Cumbric was widely believed to have been the language used in Hen Ogledd. An 8th-century inscription in Tywyn shows
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5984-504: The Porthdinlleyn Railway (Abandonment) Act 1892 ( 55 & 56 Vict. c. xcvi). In 1913 the company obtained powers for a rail extension to Porth Dinllaen, but World War I intervened and the idea subsequently lapsed. In 1899, Barmouth viaduct was re-built , described by C. P. Gasquoine as: In 1899, the ironwork portion of [Barmouth] viaduct had become too weak for the constantly increasing loads of developing traffic, [so] it
6171-494: The 2016 Australian census , 1,688 people noted that they spoke Welsh. In the 2011 Canadian census , 3,885 people reported Welsh as their first language . According to the 2021 Canadian census , 1,130 people noted that Welsh was their mother tongue. The 2018 New Zealand census noted that 1,083 people in New Zealand spoke Welsh. The American Community Survey 2009–2013 noted that 2,235 people aged five years and over in
6358-461: The 2021 census , 7,349 people in England recorded Welsh to be their "main language". In the 2011 census, 1,189 people aged three and over in Scotland noted that Welsh was a language (other than English) that they used at home. It is believed that there are as many as 5,000 speakers of Patagonian Welsh . In response to the question 'Does the person speak a language other than English at home?' in
6545-874: The Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people . Welsh is spoken natively in Wales , by some in England , and in Y Wladfa (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province , Argentina ). It is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia ). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave
6732-481: The Carnarvonshire Railway was incorporated on 29 July 1862 with powers to build from Carnarvon to Portmadoc by way of Afon Wen . The Carnarvonshire Railway authorisation duplicated the A&WCR as between Afon Wen and Portmadoc. The duplication was ignored at first, but the position was finally resolved by an agreement of 13 December 1865 under which the Cambrian Railways (successor to the A&WCR) built
6919-525: The European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Welsh. The language has greatly increased its prominence since the creation of the television channel S4C in November 1982, which until digital switchover in 2010 broadcast 70 per cent of Channel 4's programming along with a majority of Welsh language shows during peak viewing hours. The all-Welsh-language digital station S4C Digidol
7106-476: The First World War saw production return to around 4,000 long tons (4,100 t) per year. The 1920s also saw an upsurge in holiday traffic, as Britain recovered from the war and tourism gained in popularity. The Talyllyn saw summer passenger numbers grow significantly and regularly had to supplement its formal passenger stock with slate wagons fitted with planks as seats. An unusual tourist service offered by
7293-533: The Llanidloes and Newtown Railway , was opened in 1859. At first it was not connected to any other railway, but it fostered interest in railway development, and soon, through routes to Newtown from both Chester (opened 1861) and from Shrewsbury (opened 1862) were available. Striking westward and crossing very difficult terrain, the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway was opened on 31 December 1862. Although Machynlleth
7480-610: The Oswestry and Newtown Railway (the latter still under construction), working together, had a scheme prepared for a coastal line from Aberystwyth to Pwllheli, with several branches. Davies supported the Towyn scheme, while Savin favoured the line to Pwllheli. Moreover, there was no talk of the Pwllheli line continuing to Porth Dinllaen , on the north side of the Lleyn Peninsula . Porth Dinllaen
7667-727: The Polish name for Italians) have a similar etymology. The Welsh term for the language, Cymraeg , descends from the Brythonic word combrogi , meaning 'compatriots' or 'fellow countrymen'. Welsh evolved from Common Brittonic , the Celtic language spoken by the ancient Celtic Britons . Classified as Insular Celtic , the British language probably arrived in Britain during the Bronze Age or Iron Age and
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7854-490: The Railways Act 1921 transferred most mainline railways into one of four companies, in a process referred to as the "grouping". The Cambrian Railways became a constituent of a new Great Western Railway, of which the old GWR was the largest component. The transfer took effect on 1 January 1922, from which date the Cambrian Railways ceased to exist. The layout at Aberystwyth was improved in 1925, with longer platforms taking up
8041-602: The River Dovey , and the Barmouth Bridge , over the River Mawddach . The former proved impracticable to build, so an altered route was built from Aberdovey to Dovey Junction , near Glandyfi , forming a Y-shaped network. Parliamentary powers were also obtained on multiple occasions for a line from Pwllheli to Porth Dinllaen, though this was never built. The routes were opened progressively between 1863 and 1869. The company
8228-519: The Skarloey Railway . Since 1984 there has been an annual running event called Race the Train , which follows the railway track 7 miles (11 km) from Tywyn to Abergynolwyn and back again. The challenge is for runners to complete the 14-mile (23 km) cross country route faster than the train, which takes around 1 hour 47 minutes. The Young Members Group (YMG) are members and volunteers of
8415-618: The United States spoke Welsh at home. The highest number of those (255) lived in Florida . Sources: Calls for the Welsh language to be granted official status grew with the establishment of the nationalist political party Plaid Cymru in 1925, the establishment of the Welsh Language Society in 1962 and the rise of Welsh nationalism in the later 20th century. Of the six living Celtic languages (including two revived), Welsh has
8602-681: The track is unusual, and was shared by only three other public railways in the United Kingdom: the Corris Railway and the Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway both a few miles from the Talyllyn, and the Campbeltown and Machrihanish Light Railway in Scotland . Slate quarrying began in the hills above Tywyn in the 1830s, but although many small quarries and test levels were established, only one major quarry
8789-573: The "hugely important role", adding, "I look forward to working with the Welsh Government and organisations in Wales in developing the new system of standards. I will look to build on the good work that has been done by the Welsh Language Board and others to strengthen the Welsh language and ensure that it continues to thrive." First Minister Carwyn Jones said that Huws would act as a champion for
8976-586: The 1862 act. When the line reached Pwllheli the vision waned, and continuing across the Lleyn peninsula was not attempted. The Cambrian Railways unsuccessfully sought to revive these powers in 1876. Undeterred, the Porthdinlleyn Railway Company was incorporated in 1884 by the Porthdinlleyn Railway Act 1884 ( 47 & 48 Vict. c. ccxlviii) for a line from Pwllheli but abandoned it in 1892 by
9163-589: The 1880s identified a small part of Shropshire as still then speaking Welsh, with the "Celtic Border" passing from Llanymynech through Oswestry to Chirk . The number of Welsh-speaking people in the rest of Britain has not yet been counted for statistical purposes. In 1993, the Welsh-language television channel S4C published the results of a survey into the numbers of people who spoke or understood Welsh, which estimated that there were around 133,000 Welsh-speaking people living in England, about 50,000 of them in
9350-433: The 1880s onwards the " Grand Tour " was a popular option with tourists. This used charabancs to link the Talyllyn and Corris railways via Tal-y-llyn Lake and Cadair Idris, returning on Cambrian Railways trains. The last two decades of the 19th century saw a decline in the demand for slate and many smaller quarries fell on hard times, including Bryn Eglwys, where by 1890 production had halved to 4,000 long tons (4,100 t)
9537-415: The 1960s, the former A&WCR network was under consideration for closure or significant reduction, as goods traffic declined steeply and passenger business transferred to road transport. The threat of total closure was eventually averted, but the collapse of wagonload traffic, in particular, rendered most local goods facilities unnecessary. The national strike in the coal mining industry in 1983 also hastened
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#17328443251989724-436: The 1990s. Preliminary work on the conversion of Irish Pete for use on the Talyllyn, which had begun in the early 1970s, was put on hold in 1975 and the chassis and boiler were put into storage at Pendre. With passenger numbers falling and the line extended to Nant Gwernol, the railway entered a period of consolidation. By 1987, the boiler on locomotive No. 6 Douglas was life expired and in need of replacement. Consideration
9911-522: The 1993 Act nor secondary legislation made under it covers the private sector, although some organisations, notably banks and some railway companies, provide some of their information in Welsh. On 7 December 2010, the Welsh Assembly unanimously approved a set of measures to develop the use of the Welsh language within Wales. On 9 February 2011 this measure, the Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 ,
10098-594: The A&WCR failed to complete the Machynlleth connection by 1 August 1864, the N&;MR might take the powers over. The A&WCR took stock and made progress to secure the extension from Portmadoc to Pwllheli and Porth Dinllaen. Railway schemes supported by the Great Western Railway were being planned from Llangollen towards Barmouth , and possibly on from there to north Wales. The A&WCR wanted to head off
10285-468: The A&WCR was included in strategic discussions and plans with the Cambrian Railways. A year later, the criterion for amalgamation was achieved, and the A&WCR was incorporated in the Cambrian Railways by the passing of the Cambrian and Coast Railways (Amalgamation) Act 1865 ( 28 & 29 Vict. c. ccxci) on 5 July: the merger took effect on 5 August 1865. The Manchester and Milford Railway built
10472-692: The Aberdovey Harbour and Ynyslas wharf branches. The ten-mile (16 km) section of the Dolgellau branch, alongside the southern shore of the Mawddach estuary , is now the Llwybr Mawddach (or " Mawddach Trail "), a cycle route and bridleway . This section of the line featured in the BBC's Railway Walks series with Julia Bradbury . Stations in bold are still open. Several other railways had connections with
10659-461: The Aberdovey Harbour station would be bypassed, there was no space for a new station on the deviation line, and the new Aberdovey station was inconveniently located some way west of the town. The group of Newtown railways were now discussing amalgamation: the several small railways would be stronger if they joined forces. The A&WCR was included in the talks, but there was a standard condition imposed by Parliament in considering amalgamations, that
10846-543: The Aberdovey Slate Company, which leased the land including Bryn Eglwys from the landowner, Lewis Morris of Machynlleth . McConnel set about improving Bryn Eglwys to increase its output. He focused on providing rail transport for the isolated quarry, and in April 1864 he reached agreement with local landowners to purchase the land necessary to build a railway towards Tywyn and onwards to the port of Aberdyfi. Construction
11033-430: The Assembly which confirms the official status of the Welsh language; which creates a strong advocate for Welsh speakers and will improve the quality and quantity of services available through the medium of Welsh. I believe that everyone who wants to access services in the Welsh language should be able to do so, and that is what this government has worked towards. This legislation is an important and historic step forward for
11220-405: The Barmouth turntable would not take all types of engines working through from Dolgellau (which was less restricted than the main line) the triangle was sometimes used for turning engines. The A&WCR's Dolgelly branch had been authorised in 1862, and in the same session the Bala and Dolgelly Railway, in effect the Great Western Railway, was also approved. At the time no direction was given as to
11407-404: The Birmingham engineering firm Abelsons Ltd. This locomotive was built for the depot railway serving RAF Calshot where it worked until 1945, and, after rebuilding from its original 2 ft ( 610 mm ) gauge, it entered service in 1954. Through the 1950s the volunteers and staff members of the TRPS rebuilt the line and rescued it from its state of decay, during a period characterised by
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#173284432519811594-411: The Cambrian Railways had to erect a temporary station at a point known as Frondirion (about half a mile west of the Great Western station), opening on 21 June 1869. The extension to Dolgelly GWR station was opened on 1 August 1869. There were two separate stations here until 1872. Mitchell and Smith show a fragment of a 1911 Ordnance Survey map; Dolgellau station has the appearance of a single station on
11781-420: The Control Office and disc signals controlled from the ground frame. Abergynolwyn has colour light signals, which are operated from the blockpost. When the block-post is unmanned, it is the responsibility of the locomotive crew to change the token before proceeding. Welsh language Welsh ( Cymraeg [kəmˈraːiɡ] or y Gymraeg [ə ɡəmˈraːiɡ] ) is a Celtic language of
11968-434: The Greater London area. The Welsh Language Board , on the basis of an analysis of the Office for National Statistics Longitudinal Study, estimated there were 110,000 Welsh-speaking people in England, and another thousand in Scotland and Northern Ireland. In the 2011 census , 8,248 people in England gave Welsh in answer to the question "What is your main language?" The Office for National Statistics subsequently published
12155-441: The Nant Gwernol gorge and connecting the station with the existing path on the east side of the river. The bridge and paths were opened on 3 May 1980 by Lord Parry , the chairman of the Wales Tourist Board . By the mid-1970s, it had become clear that passenger numbers were no longer increasing. After 1973, the peak year for passengers on the Talyllyn with 186,000 passenger journeys made, numbers were to decline consistently until
12342-408: The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum are located. When the line carried traffic from the quarry, slates were transferred to the Cambrian Railways on the transhipment sidings. Leaving Wharf station, which stands at an elevation of 40 ft (12 m) above sea level, the line passes immediately under the A493 Machynlleth to Dolgellau road and enters a long cutting that climbs towards Pendre , at
12529-571: The Preservation Society agreed to start work on a formal museum, and exhibits from around the United Kingdom were acquired to form the nucleus of the collection. In 1955 work started on converting the old gunpowder store at Wharf station into a temporary museum building, and in 1956 the first exhibit arrived at Tywyn. The 1960s proved to be a decade of consolidation for the Talyllyn. Pendre works underwent several much-needed expansions, adding additional covered storage for carriages and more workshop room. Modern machine tools, along with proper lighting and
12716-475: The Rev. Wilbert Awdry , was based on the Talyllyn Railway. The preservation of the line inspired the Ealing Comedy film The Titfield Thunderbolt . The origin of the railway's name is uncertain: it may refer to the parish of Tal-y-llyn , which contains its eastern terminus, or it may come from Tal-y-llyn , a large glacial ribbon lake at the foot of Cadair Idris 3 miles (4.8 km) further east. The 2 ft 3 in ( 686 mm ) gauge of
12903-416: The Steel Steam and Stars Gala at the Llangollen Railway , running on a temporary section of narrow gauge track. This was the first time that Dolgoch had operated away from its home railway in 146 years. In June 2013 the railway was awarded the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service . 2015 was the 150th anniversary of the official opening of the railway, and this was celebrated with a series of events throughout
13090-399: The Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society who are between the ages of 14 and 25. On occasions during the peak season, the Railway has held Young Members Days in which the youngest qualified people available that day run the railway. The main terminus of the line is at Tywyn Wharf (originally known as King's Station, after a local landowner), where the railway's administrative headquarters and
13277-432: The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011, all new signs have Welsh displayed first. There have been incidents of one of the languages being vandalised, which may be considered a hate crime . Since 2000, the teaching of Welsh has been compulsory in all schools in Wales up to age 16; this has had an effect in stabilising and reversing the decline in the language. Text on UK coins tends to be in English and Latin. However,
13464-673: The Welsh Language Scheme. The list of other public bodies which have to prepare Schemes could be added to by initially the Secretary of State for Wales, from 1993 to 1997, by way of statutory instrument . Subsequent to the forming of the National Assembly for Wales in 1997, the Government Minister responsible for the Welsh language can and has passed statutory instruments naming public bodies who have to prepare Schemes. Neither
13651-641: The Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are de jure official languages of the Welsh Parliament, the Senedd , with Welsh being the only de jure official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely de facto official. According to the 2021 census , the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 (17.8%) and nearly three quarters of
13838-515: The Welsh language, though some had concerns over her appointment: Plaid Cymru spokeswoman Bethan Jenkins said, "I have concerns about the transition from Meri Huws's role from the Welsh Language Board to the language commissioner, and I will be asking the Welsh government how this will be successfully managed. We must be sure that there is no conflict of interest, and that the Welsh Language Commissioner can demonstrate how she will offer
14025-481: The Welsh of the 16th century, but they are similar enough for a fluent Welsh speaker to have little trouble understanding it. During the Modern Welsh period, there has been a decline in the popularity of the Welsh language: the number of Welsh speakers declined to the point at which there was concern that the language would become extinct. During industrialisation in the late 19th century, immigrants from England led to
14212-654: The Welsh-speaking heartlands, with the number dropping to under 50 per cent in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire for the first time. However, according to the Welsh Language Use Survey in 2019–20, 22 per cent of people aged three and over were able to speak Welsh. The Annual Population Survey (APS) by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) estimated that as of March 2024, approximately 862,700, or 28.0 per cent of
14399-489: The addition of trailing wheels, and the new locomotive, officially named Tom Rolt after the Preservation Society's first chairman, was put into service on 6 May 1991. During this period further expansions of both Tywyn Wharf and Pendre stations were undertaken and Abergynolwyn station, which had been rebuilt as part of the Nant Gwernol extension in the 1970s, was expanded further to provide an additional attraction at
14586-423: The banking collapse of 2007, but slowly began to recover. In 2008 a large amount of equipment was purchased from the 2 ft 6 in ( 762 mm ) gauge military railway at RNAD Trecwn, including a large quantity of track components and three diesel locomotives. In 2011 the railway celebrated the 60th anniversary of its rescue by the volunteers of 1951. In April 2012 locomotive No.2 Dolgoch appeared at
14773-431: The brake van built for the railway. The railway is single track , so special measures have to be taken to prevent collisions. Before preservation, the railway operated a " one engine in steam " policy, but with growing passenger numbers it became necessary to install passing loops and a more stringent method of single line control was introduced. The line is worked by Electric Key tokens installed in 1973, which authorise
14960-456: The census. In terms of usage, ONS also reported that 14.4 per cent (443,800) of people aged three or older in Wales reported that they spoke Welsh daily in March 2024, with 5.4 per cent (165,500) speaking it weekly and 6.5 per cent (201,200) less often. Approximately 1.7 per cent (51,700) reported that they never spoke Welsh despite being able to speak the language, with the remaining 72.0 per cent of
15147-549: The companies concerned must have spent at least half of their authorised capital, and that at least half of their authorised network must have been built. The A&WCR was not yet in that position, and had to be excluded from the amalgamation bill. The other companies were authorised to amalgamate, forming the Cambrian Railways , by the Cambrian Railways Act 1864 ( 27 & 28 Vict. c. cclxii) of 25 July. Henceforward
15334-511: The company was in serious financial difficulty, and at length mortgage holders sued in the Court of Chancery . The company's Deputy Chairman, Captain R. D. Pryce, was appointed as receiver; the actions were stayed after two months, at the end of 1867. In fact, the company as a whole was in serious financial difficulty, with huge obligations and almost no profitable business activity. The Cambrian Railways Finance Act 1868 ( 31 & 32 Vict. c. clxxvii),
15521-509: The contents of the village cesspits were hauled back up for disposal along the lineside. The railway used steam locomotives from the start, unlike its neighbour the horse-drawn Corris Railway. The original two locomotives, although of entirely different design, were both purchased from Fletcher, Jennings & Co. of Whitehaven in Cumbria , and both are still in service, 150 years on, although so many of their parts have been replaced down
15708-550: The contractor who had built the line. The rest of the Aberystwyth line, from Borth to Aberystwyth, was opened for goods traffic on 23 June 1864; passenger operation had been refused by the Board of Trade inspecting officer, Captain Tyler , but after rectification work, passengers were carried from 1 August 1864. A part of the northern section of the network, from Aberdovey to Llwyngwril ,
15895-414: The course of the 20th century this monolingual population all but disappeared, but a small percentage remained at the time of the 1981 census. Most Welsh-speaking people in Wales also speak English. However, many Welsh-speaking people are more comfortable expressing themselves in Welsh than in English. A speaker's choice of language can vary according to the subject domain and the social context, even within
16082-489: The creation of Old Welsh, Davies suggests it may be more appropriate to refer to this derivative language as Lingua Britannica rather than characterising it as a new language altogether. The argued dates for the period of "Primitive Welsh" are widely debated, with some historians' suggestions differing by hundreds of years. The next main period is Old Welsh ( Hen Gymraeg , 9th to 11th centuries); poetry from both Wales and Scotland has been preserved in this form of
16269-405: The decision was taken to abandon the bridging plan. In October 1864 preparations were undertaken for a parliamentary bill to authorise the abandonment, and to substitute an extension from Aberdovey to a junction with the Aberystwyth line near Morben . The line became known as the "deviation line" and the junction location was later called Dovey Junction. The bill was given royal assent on 5 July as
16456-470: The decline in Welsh speakers particularly in the South Wales Valleys. Welsh government processes and legislation have worked to increase the proliferation of the Welsh language, for example through education. Welsh has been spoken continuously in Wales throughout history; however, by 1911, it had become a minority language, spoken by 43.5 per cent of the population. While this decline continued over
16643-399: The driver to enter a section of single line, and these are interlocked to prevent more than one token being withdrawn for a section at any one time. There is a loop at Pendre, which was used from the opening of the railway for shunting purposes, and further loops were installed at Brynglas in 1953 and Quarry Siding in 1963. When the Nant Gwernol extension opened in 1976, Abergynolwyn also became
16830-443: The early 1960s Tywyn Wharf station was in need of major improvements. Before preservation, the station had contained only a fan of sidings, which meant that there was no way for the locomotive of an arriving train to run round the carriages. As a result, trains were pushed from behind as far as Pendre, where the locomotive could be moved past the carriages to the front of the train. A loop was installed at Wharf in 1952, being used from
17017-464: The eastern end of the line. One major anomaly remained in the railway's operations: the Regulation of Railways Act 1889 had required, amongst other measures, that all British passenger trains be fitted with continuous brakes . McConnel had secured an exemption for the Talyllyn Railway, on the basis that the low speed of operation meant they were unnecessary and that the cost of compliance would bankrupt
17204-485: The enterprise, but by the end of the 1990s the Railway Inspectorate was insisting that the Talyllyn be brought into compliance with the act, a little over 100 years after it had passed. By 2001, the railway had fitted its entire passenger fleet with the necessary equipment, operated by air brake pumps mounted on the locomotives. The Preservation Society celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2001, and as part of
17391-521: The estuary of the Afon Dyfi to the south. An act of Parliament , the Talyllyn Railway Act 1865 ( 28 & 29 Vict. c. cccxv) allowing the company to operate passenger trains as a public railway was given royal assent on 5 July 1865, and the company appointed James Swinton Spooner as engineer for the construction. He laid out plans for a relatively straight line climbing steadily from Tywyn to
17578-402: The extension. Despite this official opening ceremony, minor work still remained to bring the extension to the standard required to run regular passenger trains, but regular train services began on 29 May 1976. Although the extension of the railway was completed in 1976, work in the vicinity continued with the creation of footpaths connecting to the new station. A new footbridge was built crossing
17765-458: The first of five minor halts , which serves the adjacent farm. The railway runs in an approximately north-easterly direction along the Fathew valley, mainly through fields of local farms on the valley floor, although this is where some of the steepest gradients on the line are to be found. The ruling gradient of the line is 1 in 60. More local halts follow at Fach Goch, and Cynfal, the latter having
17952-485: The following decades, the language did not die out. The smallest number of speakers was recorded in 1981 with 503,000 although the lowest percentage was recorded in the most recent census in 2021 at 17.8 per cent. By the start of the 21st century, numbers began to increase once more, at least partly as a result of the increase in Welsh-medium education . The 2004 Welsh Language Use Survey showed that 21.7 per cent of
18139-405: The foot of the cliff, leaving the bulk of the train remaining on the track. The locomotive crews were killed in both instances. The topography at this point is demanding, as the existing coast road at a higher level had to be accommodated, as well as a working mine. The majority of the line is open, except for the section between Morfa Mawddach and Dolgellau , which closed on 18 January 1965, and
18326-409: The halt at Rhydyronen opened, followed by Dolgoch later that year and Brynglas in 1872. Some time shortly after the opening of the railway a branch to Abergynolwyn village was provided. A steep incline dropped from the mineral line east of Abergynolwyn station to the village below, where a series of tram lines radiated. Coal, building materials and general goods were delivered down the incline and
18513-463: The highest number of native speakers who use the language on a daily basis, and it is the Celtic language which is considered the least endangered by UNESCO . The Welsh Language Act 1993 and the Government of Wales Act 1998 provide that the Welsh and English languages be treated equally in the public sector, as far as is reasonable and practicable. Each public body is required to prepare for approval
18700-469: The highest percentage of residents giving Welsh as their main language. The census also revealed that 3,528 wards in England, or 46% of the total number, contained at least one resident whose main language is Welsh. In terms of the regions of England , North West England (1,945), London (1,310) and the West Midlands (1,265) had the highest number of people noting Welsh as their main language. According to
18887-451: The history of Welsh, with rather indistinct boundaries: Primitive Welsh, Old Welsh, Middle Welsh, and Modern Welsh. The period immediately following the language's emergence is sometimes referred to as Primitive Welsh, followed by the Old Welsh period – which is generally considered to stretch from the beginning of the 9th century to sometime during the 12th century. The Middle Welsh period
19074-438: The idea of continuing to the coast, but Savin's ambitious vision of a huge investment in developing the coastal district was considered by Davies to be over-reaching, and the partnership was dissolved on 30 January 1861. The Newtown and Machynlleth Railway had preliminary designs made for a coastal line, to be known as the Machynlleth, Aberystwyth and Towyn Railway. At about the same time, the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway and
19261-487: The inner harbour, and reclamation work was carried out; an embankment was constructed by Pwllheli Corporation. As the railway station was distant from the town centre, the opportunity was taken to extend the line westwards to its present position at the Cob, as authorised by the Cambrian Railways Act 1901 ( 1 Edw. 7 . c. lxix) of 2 July. The extension and the new two-platform terminus were opened on 19 July 1909. After World War I,
19448-471: The land formerly used by a turntable. A triangle for locomotive turning was installed, using one of the Manchester and Milford sidings, though through running to Carmarthen via the triangle was not possible. A new station frontage and a big increase in the area roofed over were the improvements most appreciated by passengers. Aberdovey station, opened at the same time as the "deviation" line to Dovey Junction,
19635-587: The language already dropping inflections in the declension of nouns. Janet Davies proposed that the origins of the Welsh language were much less definite; in The Welsh Language: A History , she proposes that Welsh may have been around even earlier than 600 AD. This is evidenced by the dropping of final syllables from Brittonic: * bardos 'poet' became bardd , and * abona 'river' became afon . Though both Davies and Jackson cite minor changes in syllable structure and sounds as evidence for
19822-547: The language, its speakers and for the nation." The measure was not welcomed warmly by all supporters: Bethan Williams, chairman of the Welsh Language Society, gave a mixed response to the move, saying, "Through this measure we have won official status for the language and that has been warmly welcomed. But there was a core principle missing in the law passed by the Assembly before Christmas. It doesn't give language rights to
20009-546: The language. As Germanic and Gaelic colonisation of Britain proceeded, the Brittonic speakers in Wales were split off from those in northern England, speaking Cumbric, and those in the southwest, speaking what would become Cornish , so the languages diverged. Both the works of Aneirin ( Canu Aneirin , c. 600 ) and the Book of Taliesin ( Canu Taliesin ) were written during this era. Middle Welsh ( Cymraeg Canol )
20196-582: The line in 1949, along with the locomotive engineer David Curwen . In the summer of 1950, Rolt wrote a letter to the Birmingham Post newspaper suggesting that a rescue of the Talyllyn be undertaken. He received sufficient positive response for a meeting of interested enthusiasts to be held on 11 October 1950 at the Imperial Hotel in Birmingham. Around 70 people, including Patrick Whitehouse , attended
20383-406: The line remained open, and in 1951 it became the first railway in the world to be preserved as a heritage railway by volunteers. Since preservation, the railway has operated as a tourist attraction , expanding its rolling stock through acquisition and an engineering programme to build new locomotives and carriages. In 1976, an extension was opened along the former mineral line from Abergynolwyn to
20570-537: The line was simply forgotten by officialdom. Between 1947 and 1949 the railway ran a passenger service two days a week. In 1949 Haydn Jones, who owned the Aberllefenni Slate Quarry purchased 10 tons of rail from the recently lifted Corris Railway. On 2 July 1950 Haydn Jones died and closure of the railway seemed inevitable, but the line continued to operate for the remainder of the summer season, ending on 6 October. The author and biographer Tom Rolt visited
20757-508: The lines connecting, but this was rectified in an Act of 21 July 1863, which mandated a joint station. The A&WCR had reached Penmaenpool, two miles short, on 3 July 1865, and no progress was made for some time. The GWR line opened on 4 August 1868. On 11 June 1869, the Board of Trade Inspector passed the Cambrian extension from Penmaenpool to Dolgelly. Due to a delay in getting possession of land,
20944-423: The meeting, with Rolt proposing the formation of a committee to look into the acquisition of the railway. With the support of the meeting, the committee – with Rolt as chairman and Whitehouse as Secretary – met for the first time on 23 October and immediately entered into negotiation with Haydn Jones' executors. The transfer of ownership to the committee was legally complex, but both parties agreed that all shares in
21131-610: The modern period across the border in England. Archenfield was still Welsh enough in the time of Elizabeth I for the Bishop of Hereford to be made responsible, together with the four Welsh bishops, for the translation of the Bible and the Book of Common Prayer into Welsh. Welsh was still commonly spoken there in the first half of the 19th century, and churchwardens' notices were put up in both Welsh and English until about 1860. Alexander John Ellis in
21318-404: The narrow ledge, with the mineral line passing through it. The two-track incline dropped 150 ft (46 m) over a distance of 363 ft (111 m). At its foot, the line crossed the Nant Gwernol on a girder bridge. Immediately after the bridge, short lines branched off to the east from a wagon turntable to the coal yard and smithy of Pandy Farm and west to a writing slate factory (later
21505-473: The new station at Nant Gwernol. In 2005 a major rebuilding and extension of Tywyn Wharf station took place, including a much-expanded facility for the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum , and in 2021 the railway was designated a World Heritage Site as part of the slate landscape of north-west Wales . The fictional Skarloey Railway , which formed part of The Railway Series of children's books by
21692-448: The number of Welsh-language speakers to one million by 2050. Since 1980, the number of children attending Welsh-medium schools has increased, while the number going to Welsh bilingual and dual-medium schools has decreased. Welsh is considered the least endangered Celtic language by UNESCO . The language of the Welsh developed from the language of Britons . The emergence of Welsh was not instantaneous and clearly identifiable. Instead,
21879-536: The opening of the entire coast line four months later, when on 10 October 1867 the line was opened through to Pwllheli. The 113-span viaduct, constructed on over 500 timber piles, was driven into a stand, with a drawbridge at the northern end. Meanwhile, on 14 August 1867, the "deviation" line from Dovey Junction to Aberdovey was opened. Porth Dinllaen had once been promoted as the mail packet terminal for Dublin, but lost out in favour of Holyhead. The A&WCR still yearned to develop it, and obtained powers to do so in
22066-468: The parliamentary deadline and was unable to proceed. The Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway Bill (in earliest documentation spelt Aberystwith and Welch Coast Railway ) alone continued the parliamentary process and was given royal assent on 22 July 1861 as the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway Act 1861 ( 24 & 25 Vict. c clxxi); the authorised share capital was £400,000 (later increased). The railway
22253-464: The people of Wales in every aspect of their lives. Despite that, an amendment to that effect was supported by 18 Assembly Members from three different parties, and that was a significant step forward." On 5 October 2011, Meri Huws , Chair of the Welsh Language Board , was appointed the new Welsh Language Commissioner. She released a statement that she was "delighted" to have been appointed to
22440-534: The people of the Western Roman Empire . In Old English the term went through semantic narrowing , coming to refer to either Britons in particular or, in some contexts, slaves. The plural form Wēalas evolved into the name for their territory, Wales. The modern names for various Romance-speaking people in Continental Europe (e.g. Walloons , Valaisans , Vlachs / Wallachians , and Włosi ,
22627-436: The population in Wales said they had no Welsh language skills. Other estimates suggest that 862,700 people (28.0%) aged three or older in Wales could speak Welsh in March 2024. Almost half of all Welsh speakers consider themselves fluent, while 20 per cent are able to speak a fair amount. 56 per cent of Welsh speakers speak the language daily, and 19 per cent speak the language weekly. The Welsh Government plans to increase
22814-471: The population not being able to speak it. The National Survey for Wales, conducted by Welsh Government, has also tended to report a higher percentage of Welsh speakers than the census, with the most recent results for 2022–2023 suggesting that 18 per cent of the population aged 3 and over were able to speak Welsh, with an additional 16 per cent noting that they had some Welsh-speaking ability. Historically, large numbers of Welsh people spoke only Welsh. Over
23001-502: The population of Wales aged 3 and over, were able to speak the language. Children and young people aged three to 15 years old were more likely to report that they could speak Welsh than any other age group (48.4 per cent, 241,300). Around 1,001,500 people, or 32.5 per cent, reported that they could understand spoken Welsh. 24.7 per cent (759,200) could read and 22.2 per cent (684,500) could write in Welsh. The APS estimates of Welsh language ability are historically higher than those produced by
23188-407: The population of Wales spoke Welsh, compared with 20.8 per cent in the 2001 census , and 18.5 per cent in the 1991 census . Since 2001, however, the number of Welsh speakers has declined in both the 2011 and 2021 censuses to about 538,300 or 17.8 per cent in 2021, lower than 1991, although it is still higher in absolute terms. The 2011 census also showed a "big drop" in the number of speakers in
23375-406: The quarry and empty wagons waiting to ascend. Nant Gwernol station , the eastern terminus of the line, was built on the site of the sidings. The village of Abergynolwyn was built to house the quarrymen of Bryn Eglwys and their families, and to serve the village an incline with winding house was laid three quarters of the way along the mineral extension. The winding house for the incline stood on
23562-605: The quarry and work quickly got underway. By September 1866 construction had advanced to the point where the Board of Trade inspector Captain Henry Tyler could make an initial inspection and report. Tyler's report led to an unusual alteration, as it was discovered that the internal width of the overbridges was only 9 ft 1 in (277 cm), but the railway's passenger carriages were 5 ft 3.5 in (161.3 cm) wide, leaving only 1 ft 10 + 3 ⁄ 4 in (57.8 cm) clearance on either side, which
23749-531: The quarry to switch to extracting softer slate from the Narrow Vein but, because Haydn Jones could not afford to open new workings into the Narrow Vein, he resorted to the dangerous practice of narrowing the columns that supported the roofs of the underground chambers. This practice had begun under McConnel's ownership and Haydn Jones continued it throughout his ownership of the quarry. A brief construction boom after
23936-505: The quarry to the wharf at Tywyn and general goods along its length. Public passenger trains initially ran between Abergynolwyn, Dolgoch and Pendre stations only; quarrymen were carried on unofficial trains that continued on from Abergynolwyn to the foot of the Alltwyllt incline in Nant Gwernol gorge. The line operated successfully during its early years, serving the quarry and the local district. By 1880, Bryn Eglwys employed 300 workers and
24123-412: The railway as long as he was alive and so, despite the closure of the quarry, the railway continued to run trains on a shoestring budget. In 1947 the British railway system was nationalised and the Talyllyn was one of the few operating railways not included. The reasons for this are unclear, but it is significant that all official mention of the railway had ceased several decades before and it is likely that
24310-475: The railway company would be transferred from Haydn Jones' estate to a new company called Talyllyn Holdings Ltd., whose board consisted of two directors from the executors and two from the committee. The transfer took place on 8 February 1951, at which point the newly formed Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society effectively took control of the railway. The Society immediately began to publicise its efforts, hoping to raise funds and find further volunteers to help reopen
24497-458: The railway following which, subject to some further minor improvements, he approved its formal opening for passenger service. The first public passenger timetable was issued in December 1866, and the first purpose-built, steam-worked, narrow gauge public railway in Britain opened for service. The railway opened with two locomotives, one carriage and several goods vehicles in use and was operated under
24684-531: The railway that month was Vic Mitchell . In the early years of preservation, the line struggled to operate using the original rolling stock. When the line was taken over in 1950 Dolgoch was the only operating locomotive and it was apparent that it was in need of a major overhaul. To enable operations to continue, two further steam locomotives, Nos. 3 and 4, were purchased from the recently closed Corris Railway in 1951 and named Sir Haydn and Edward Thomas respectively. Because both railways were built to
24871-500: The railway to continue to improve its infrastructure and provide tourists with a better experience. The following year locomotive No. 1 Talyllyn returned to steam after an extensive overhaul. An important development during this period was the establishment of the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum at Tywyn Wharf station. The first exhibit for what was to become the museum was a locomotive donated in 1952 by Guinness from their recently closed St. James's Gate Brewery railway . In 1954
25058-436: The railway was to hire a slate wagon, which would be left at Abergynolwyn. At the end of the day the tourists would return to Tywyn in the wagon, powered by gravity . This service was discontinued in the early 1930s. The additional income from the tourist trade defrayed some of the costs of operating the railway, but never enough for it to make a profit during Haydn Jones' ownership. The lease on Bryn Eglwys expired in 1942, but
25245-528: The railway, and by May nearly 650 members had joined the society. The railway re-opened under the control of the Society for the first time on the Whit Monday bank holiday, 14 May 1951, with trains running between Wharf and Rhydyronen stations. Regular trains began to run on 4 June and continued through the summer, with David Curwen acting as the first Chief Mechanical Engineer. One of the volunteers who worked on
25432-588: The railway. The south-western extremity of the Corris Railway was duplicated by the A&WCR line and was no longer useful; the Corris Railway was authorised to abandon its line west of Machynlleth, by the Corris Railway Act 1864 ( 27 & 28 Vict. c. ccxxv) of 25 July. (The Aberystwyth Harbour branch was not constructed because the Cambrian Railways as successor to the A&WCR wished such traffic to go to Aberdovey. ) The A&WCR's engineer, Benjamin Piercy,
25619-450: The rebuilt No. 1 was not performing well. The Talyllyn's unusual track gauge and restricted loading gauge meant that it was unlikely that a locomotive could be found that could work on the line unaltered, so in 1969 a 3 ft ( 914 mm ) gauge steam locomotive was purchased from the Bord na Mona (Irish Peat Board) with a view to rebuilding it for use on the Talyllyn. This locomotive
25806-464: The removal of overburden and pushed the limits of safe working in the existing chambers. As McConnel's lease drew to its close, there was no prospect of a further lessee coming forward and work began on dismantling the quarry's equipment. The Bryn Eglwys quarry was the primary employer in the Abergynolwyn district, so its closure caused significant distress. In 1910, local landowner Henry Haydn Jones
25993-409: The required fresh approach to this new role." Huws started her role as the Welsh Language Commissioner on 1 April 2012. Local councils and the Senedd use Welsh, issuing Welsh versions of their literature, to varying degrees. Road signs in Wales are in Welsh and English. Prior to 2016, the choice of which language to display first was the responsibility of the local council. Since then, as part of
26180-436: The rock from which was used for ballasting on the railway. A large permanent way and storage shed opened on the site in 2013. The line continues its ascent towards Abergynolwyn station , situated on a ledge cut into the hillside. The original terminus of the statutory railway was Abergynolwyn, beyond which the railway continued as a 0.75-mile (1.21 km) long mineral extension, now converted for passenger use. The extension
26367-503: The sandbar to catch a ferry over the Mawddach estuary to Barmouth Harbour. The third bill promoted by the company was passed as the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway Act 1863 ( 26 & 27 Vict. c. cxli), on 13 July. It authorised the construction of an Aberystwyth Harbour branch as well as alteration of the Dovey viaduct and of the Mawddach bridge, to add a vehicular road as well as
26554-399: The section. The A&WCR concentrated its construction work on the Machynlleth branch, as it was clear that this offered better hopes of early income, compared with the main line crossing the Dovey estuary. In addition, the deadline set by the clause in the act had to be achieved. The line was opened from Machynlleth as far as Borth on 1 July 1863; it was initially worked by Thomas Savin,
26741-627: The shift occurred over a long period, with some historians claiming that it had happened by as late as the 9th century , with a watershed moment being that proposed by linguist Kenneth H. Jackson , the Battle of Dyrham , a military battle between the West Saxons and the Britons in 577 AD, which split the South Western British from direct overland contact with the Welsh. Four periods are identified in
26928-414: The start of the 1952 season, to avoid having to propel trains to Pendre, but in the winter of 1964/65 a major upgrade of the station was carried out. This improved the track layout and extended the original office building to provide covered accommodation for passengers and a shop. As passenger numbers continued to grow during the late 1960s it became clear that further motive power was needed, especially as
27115-502: The threat; to do so it proposed a branch line from near Barmouth to Dolgelly. The A&WCR obtained the second act on 29 July 1862, the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway Act 1862 ( 25 & 26 Vict. c. clxxvi), which authorised these extensions. The Bala and Dolgelley Railway, friendly to the GWR, had been authorised on 30 June 1862, so that when built it would complete a GWR-supported route to Dolgelly from Ruabon . Further north,
27302-525: The top of which the Galltymoelfre Tramway ran south-east towards the quarry for about 0.5 miles (800 m). The tramway was laid in light bridge rail and worked for its entire existence using horses. The tramway ended at the foot of the Cantrybedd incline , a 440 ft (130 m) long double track, gravity operated incline. This final incline rose to the north edge of Bryn Eglwys quarry, reaching
27489-446: The train stopped underneath a bridge. Tyler agreed to this arrangement, and to this day all carriages on the Talyllyn have doors on one side only, an unusual feature for a public railway which is shared (albeit for different reasons) with the neighbouring Corris Railway. Tyler also required that improvements be made to the railway's first two steam locomotives, as locomotive No. 1 suffered from excessive "vertical motion" and No. 2
27676-521: The turn of the millennium , with nearly 51,000 passenger bookings and 95,500 passenger journeys recorded in 2006, although this figure is still only around half the peak figure carried in 1973. In 2011, the railway celebrated 60 years of preservation, and received an Engineering Heritage Award from the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in recognition of its importance in Welsh industrial heritage. The railway struggled financially for several years after
27863-459: The unusual gauge of 2 ft 3 in ( 686 mm ) it was relatively easy to adapt the Corris locomotives to work on the Talyllyn. No. 3 became the first new locomotive to travel on the railway for over 80 years in 1951, but it frequently derailed , and on inspection it turned out that the Talyllyn track was laid approximately half an inch (13 mm) wider than the official gauge,
28050-518: The use of Welsh in daily life, and standardised spelling. The New Testament was translated by William Salesbury in 1567, and the complete Bible by William Morgan in 1588. Modern Welsh is subdivided into Early Modern Welsh and Late Modern Welsh. Early Modern Welsh ran from the 15th century through to the end of the 16th century, and the Late Modern Welsh period roughly dates from the 16th century onwards. Contemporary Welsh differs greatly from
28237-468: The viaduct re-opened in April 1986. There was a triangular layout at Morfa Mawddach where the Dolgelly line diverged from the main line to Pwllheli. The south curve was opened first, on 3 July 1865 as part of the direct route from Aberdovey to Dolgelly. The west and north curves were opened in 1867 as part of the main line to Barmouth, and at that time a station was then opened at the apex nearest Barmouth; it
28424-496: The viaduct was also completely renewed in the same material. The original Pwllheli station was on Abererch Road, short of the inner harbour and the River Erch. In the mid-nineteenth century, the harbour was busy with coal and agricultural products, but the railway dominated those traffics; reduced conservancy resulted in silting of the inner harbour by material brought in by the River Erch. In 1903, improvement works were carried out to
28611-426: The viaduct, situated on a left-hand curve at 187 ft (57 m) above sea level, and is the main intermediate station on the line, being popular with tourists visiting the nearby falls . The railway continues in a north easterly direction, curving through the woods and climbing the valley side. It shortly passes Quarry Siding, where a halt and passing loop are located; this is the site of a small old shale quarry,
28798-408: The winding house for the Abergynolwyn village incline was demolished. To bring the line up to passenger standards some of the curves needed to be eased, and this required blasting work, as the line runs on a narrow ledge on the hillside at this point. The extension and new station at Nant Gwernol were opened on 22 May 1976 by Wynford Vaughan Thomas who drove in the ceremonial " golden spike " to complete
28985-473: The year of celebrations a major new project was launched to once more extend and improve facilities at Tywyn Wharf station. For many years the station had been home to semi-permanent buildings housing the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum, but the new plans for the station included the construction of a new two-storey building to house the museum and the extension of the existing station building to house
29172-485: The year. In 2021, the Slate Landscape of North-west Wales, which includes the Talyllyn Railway and Bryn Eglwys Quarry, was designated a World Heritage Site. The Talyllyn Railway remains a successful and popular tourist attraction. The original 1860s locomotives and passenger stock still run regularly alongside the roster of more modern rolling stock. The railway is promoted as one of The Great Little Trains of Wales ,
29359-409: The years that much of their present-day component metal is not original. The Talyllyn's rare gauge is thought to have been adopted to match that of the Corris Railway, and the line's two original steam locomotives were among the earliest locomotives built for such a narrow gauge. No. 1 Talyllyn is an 0-4-2 ST and No. 2 Dolgoch is an 0-4-0 WT . The line carried slate from
29546-412: Was 7 + 3 ⁄ 4 in (19.7 cm) less than the minimum required clearance of 2 ft 6 in (76 cm). To alleviate this problem, McConnel proposed that the doors on one side of each carriage be permanently barred and the track slewed off-centre beneath the bridges to allow adequate clearance at least on the side with doors, which would allow passengers to get out of the carriages if
29733-479: Was a great distance west of the town, causing complaints lasting for decades. In 1933, Penhelig Halt was opened, at the east end of the town but considerably more convenient. The last of a series of coast halts was opened at Llandecwyn in 1935. At Abererch, a conditional halt with double-arm platform signals for passengers to stop trains became a full station. Penychain Halt was opened on 31 July 1933, initially with only
29920-550: Was a natural harbour on the north side of the Lleyn Peninsula, that had been proposed as a packet station for the Irish mail service. At that time, Holyhead had been selected in preference, but Porth Dinllaen still had supporters for development as a ferry port. Both schemes were to be presented to Parliament for the 1861 session, but the Machynlleth, Aberystwyth and Towyn Railway scheme failed to deposit its documentation in time for
30107-508: Was a standard gauge railway company, running a line along the west coast of Wales . The railway was planned to run between Aberystwyth and Pwllheli , and on to Porth Dinllaen , with branches to Dolgelly and Machynlleth . These branches joined the Bala and Dolgelly Railway and Newtown and Machynlleth Railway respectively. There were two major river bridges planned: the Dovey Bridge, across
30294-552: Was absorbed into Cambrian Railways in 1865. Continuous shortages of money delayed the completion of the network. The Dolgelly branch was closed in 1965 as part of the Beeching cuts , and the remainder of the line was under threat of closure in the 1970s. In 1980, serious defects were found in Barmouth Bridge due to a marine worm boring into timber piles, which took several years to fix. The first main line railway in central Wales,
30481-493: Was an important market town, its promoters were considering an extension to Aberystwyth and the Cardigan Bay coast. Due to a shortage of subscription money from general investors, the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway was in the hands of a successful partnership of railway contractors, David Davies and Thomas Savin , who put up most of the construction money and took paid-up shares as the majority of their payment. These men shared
30668-400: Was closed to rail traffic when it was discovered that about three-quarters of the 500 timber trestle piles had been damaged at river bed level by shipworm . Extensive repairs were undertaken in the mid-1980s, including replacing 48 of the piles with greenheart hardwood and strengthening 330 more piles with cementitious resin grout and glass-reinforced concrete jackets. Rail services resumed when
30855-608: Was complete by around AD 550, and labelled the period between then and about AD 800 "Primitive Welsh". This Primitive Welsh may have been spoken in both Wales and the Hen Ogledd ('Old North') – the Brittonic-speaking areas of what are now northern England and southern Scotland – and therefore may have been the ancestor of Cumbric as well as Welsh. Jackson, however, believed that the two varieties were already distinct by that time. The earliest Welsh poetry – that attributed to
31042-418: Was completely renewed with a modern steel structure of four spans, one of which was a swing span, revolving on the centre pier and giving two clear openings. The piers carrying the girders are formed of columns 8ft. in diameter sunk through the sand down to the solid rock, which was reached at a depth of about 90 feet below the high water mark... In 1906, and the following two or three years, the timber portion of
31229-470: Was developed in the region, the Bryn Eglwys quarry , 7 miles (11 km) north east of the town. Underground working began in the early 1840s, and by 1847 the quarry was being worked by local landowner John Pughe. The finished slates were sent by packhorse to the wharf at Pennal , transferred to boats for a river trip to Aberdyfi (also spelled as Aberdovey ), and then finally loaded into seagoing vessels,
31416-459: Was dismissed early in 1864 as part of a power struggle between Thomas Savin and other factions on the board. He had been progressing the design of the Dovey bridge, but practical and financial difficulties with it had been emerging. In particular, finding a good foundation stratum was proving extremely difficult. Piercy's expulsion gave an opportunity to revisit the plan to bridge the estuary, and in May 1864
31603-669: Was doubled to Afon Wen (commissioned on 3 April 1947), since most of the Butlins traffic would be coming via Bangor and the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (successor to the Carnarvonshire Railway). The layout at Afon Wen was enhanced at this time, as the holiday trains reversed there; the running lines at Penychain were reversible. By the 1970s, the use of the station had declined as most holidaymakers came by road. The railways were nationalised in 1948, becoming British Railways. In
31790-405: Was effectively bankrupt, putting the Cambrian Railways into difficulty. On 10 May 1866, the financial house of Overend, Gurney and Company failed, plunging money markets throughout the United Kingdom into turmoil and making railway investments hazardous for the public. Many investors were unwilling or unable to respond to calls on shareholdings, and borrowing became very difficult. For some years
31977-608: Was elected the Liberal Member of Parliament (MP) for Merioneth . He understood the importance of Bryn Eglwys, and at the end of the year he purchased the quarry company for just over £5000. The quarry re-opened in January 1911, though Haydn Jones did not have capital to invest in the quarry. The first workings reopened were on the Broad Vein , which yielded relatively hard slate that was less popular and therefore difficult to sell. The lack of an available market for this output forced
32164-460: Was extended on an annual basis. The October 1942 Bradshaw's Guide shows two return passenger trains operating only on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, taking 45 minutes in each direction. No passenger service was provided on other days. Overnight on 26 December 1946, several weakened support columns in the quarry gave way, resulting in a significant collapse; the quarry was deemed unsafe and closed immediately. Haydn Jones had promised to continue operating
32351-421: Was given to reviving the project to build a new locomotive from the components of Irish Pete instead of purchasing a new boiler for Douglas and in early 1988 work recommenced on the rebuilding of the ex-Bord na Mona locomotive. A new design for an 0-4-2 side tank locomotive was prepared by the railway's Chief Engineer John Bate, which reused the chassis and boiler from the locomotive with a new superstructure and
32538-560: Was in use into the 1950s, and was rebuilt in 2022. After passing the site of Ty Dwr the railway bends around 'Amen' corner and soon after the Village Incline is reached. From here the line runs into the gorge, high above the river on a narrow ledge, ending at the foot of the first incline leading to the Bryn Eglwys quarry. The original line fanned out into a set of three sidings, used to marshal trains of loaded slate wagons coming down from
32725-527: Was lifted during the early years of preservation, to provide much needed rail to replace the existing track. The winding house was demolished in 1968 to allow realignment of the railway to form the extension to Nant Gwernol. Until the closure of the quarries in 1946, the line east from Abergynolwyn was worked as a mineral tramway – only slate and goods trains serving Bryn Eglwys ran on this section. The quarry lay about one mile (1.6 km) south-east of Nant Gwernol station and 300 ft (91 m) above it, with
32912-439: Was named Barmouth Junction until 1960 when it was renamed Morfa Mawddach. No platform was ever built on the south curve; it was singled around 1900 and then used as a siding. The station originally had three platforms, two on the main line and one on the branch, but about 1890 a down platform on the Dolgellau line was added. There was also a bay platform at the end of the up Dolgellau platform, used from 1934 for camping coaches. As
33099-477: Was originally sharply curved, as the line turns south east into the steeply sided Nant Gwernol gorge but these curves were eased when conversion for passenger use took place in 1976. The whole section is within woods, now owned by the Natural Resources Wales . Shortly after crossing over the forestry road the line reaches Tŷ Dŵr, where the original locomotive shed stood from 1865 until it was demolished after Pendre works opened in 1867. A slate water tower at this point
33286-518: Was passed and received Royal Assent, thus making the Welsh language an officially recognised language within Wales. The measure: The measure required public bodies and some private companies to provide services in Welsh. The Welsh government's Minister for Heritage at the time, Alun Ffred Jones , said, "The Welsh language is a source of great pride for the people of Wales, whether they speak it or not, and I am delighted that this measure has now become law. I am very proud to have steered legislation through
33473-416: Was passed on 31 July 1868 and authorised a financial reconstruction, as well as preventing for a period the activation of claims against the company; this averted an immediate disaster but did not abate the problem. Barmouth Bridge was first tested in July 1866 by a steam engine, though service did not start until 3 June 1867, and then only of horse-drawn carriages. Steam trains did not use it regularly until
33660-399: Was probably spoken throughout the island south of the Firth of Forth . During the Early Middle Ages the British language began to fragment due to increased dialect differentiation, thus evolving into Welsh and the other Brittonic languages. It is not clear when Welsh became distinct. Linguist Kenneth H. Jackson has suggested that the evolution in syllabic structure and sound pattern
33847-446: Was producing 8,000 long tons (8,100 t) of finished slate per year, all shipped via the railway. Passenger traffic was substantial, rising from 11,500 passengers carried in 1867 to over 23,000 (roughly equivalent to 40,000 passenger journeys) in 1877. In 1879, McConnel bought out the other shareholders of the Aberdovey Slate Company, and became the sole owner of the railway, the quarry and much of Abergynolwyn village. From
34034-498: Was said to suffer from "horizontal oscillation". No. 1 was returned to its manufacturer where a set of trailing wheels was added to reduce the rear overhang, and the springs on No. 2 were adjusted and the crank pins shortened to reduce its oscillation. Tyler did not approve the opening until his listed improvements were completed, although slate trains and unofficial passenger trains were running in 1865. During November of that 1866, Tyler returned to Tywyn and re-inspected
34221-448: Was the next to be opened, on 24 October 1863. The Aberdovey station was at the harbour, and was initially connected with a ferry from Ynyslas . The line from Llwyngwril to Barmouth Junction, and from there to Penmaenpool on the Dolgelly line, followed on 3 July 1865. There was an intermediate station called Barmouth Ferry , at the place where Fairbourne station was later built. Passengers for Barmouth alighted there and walked on across
34408-423: Was to extend from Aberystwyth to Portmadoc , an important harbour at the time. There was also to be a branch from Ynyslas to Machynlleth to connect to the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway. The main line would bridge the Dovey estuary with a viaduct from Ynyslas to Aberdovey. Seeing a connection to its own line as essential, the Newton and Machynlleth Railway succeeded in getting a clause in the A&WCR Act that, if
34595-408: Was unofficially known as Irish Pete , a nod to its original use. The preservation society had long held ambitions to extend the railway along the former mineral extension from Abergynolwyn to the foot of the Alltwyllt incline, and as early as 1959 work had begun to trace the owners of the land that the extension traversed. Planning began in the mid-1960s, but construction did not start until 1968 when
34782-404: Was unserviceable when it arrived, but John Alcock, the chairman of the Hunslet Engine Company , was a member of the Preservation Society and had No. 4 overhauled free of charge at his works. No. 4 then began service on the railway in 1952 and worked the majority of the trains that season. Another early addition to the locomotive fleet was No. 6 Douglas , donated to the society by
34969-439: Was well underway by July 1864. The standard gauge Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway was expanding rapidly from its base at Machynlleth, however, and in 1863 had reached Tywyn, so McConnel decided to build his line from the quarry to Tywyn, as the nearest point where slate could be transferred to the standard gauge railway. This was despite the line's initial isolation from the rest of the system because of difficulties in bridging
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