A new story is now available on my web magazine, Railroad Glory Days.

The Talyllyn Railway
http://railroadglorydays.com/Wales/Talyllyn



Glen Brewer
Railroad Glory Days
http://railroadglorydays.com

Good work! Thanks for sharing.

Impressive, I hope to one day experience the Talyllyn. I wonder how they pulled it off. In the context of preservation, it was not the first try to have a preserved railway. One famous attempt (later used as fictionalized material for a movie) was the attempt to save the Yosemite Valley Railroad in 1945. It is too bad the railroad's trustee did not take seriously the 18 year-old J. M. McFadden.
http://www.yosemitevalleyrailroad.com/NewsPaperAccounts/1945-06-14a.html

The field of preservation was growing in the early 50s with the formation of organized museums which focused on specific equipment. All made possible by the mobile, solvent, and free time of a postwar (WW2 in this case) middle class. Prewar and wartime efforts were mostly based on corporate agenda's or charismatic individuals who had some combination of influence and money.

I wonder what was the second preserved railroad... Perhaps the Kovalchick's purchase of the EBT in Orbisonia, PA in 1956?

Look for a book called "Railway Adventure" by LTC Rolt, who led the rescue of the Talyllyn and ran it for the first two seasons and also had a hand in the formation of the Inland Waterways Association and the Vintage Car Club.

Rolt was a professional engineer turned writer, originally trained at Kerr Stuart. He recruited a small army of enthusiasts, mostly from Birmingham. The widow of the owner wanted the railway preserved and was prepared to let them have a try. Essentially, they were given the railway. They were very, very lucky that the railway held together until they could fix it.

Also look on you tube for a film, "Railway With a Heart of Gold", shot on the TR in around 1965 and earlier.

Tim

Thanks for the comments.

It is interesting to see how often events depend on personalities, timing, bureaucracy and just good or bad luck. When the Yosemite Valley was being junked, the war time lack of sentimentality was probably still predominant. Had they scrapped the Talyllyn when the mine shut down (and logically, why didn't they?), it would probably only be history now. At the time it was saved, I believe war time hardships were still pretty great in the UK.

Still, the second preserved railway may well have been the nearby Ffestiniog.

A lot depends on definitions, of course. When was the D&RGW Silverton branch "preserved"? It was never abandoned despite RR wishes to the contrary. Or when was the East Broad Top "preserved"? It was sold as scrap.

Tim, I will look for Tom Rolt's "Railway Adventure" and also for "Railway With a Heart of Gold", thanks for the tips.

Glen Brewer
http://RailroadGloryDays.com

Thanks, Glen, for this lovely story about one of the finest railways in the world.

My wife and I visited the Talyllyn Railway first in 1977 and found it a very friendly place. Subsequent visits have only reinforced that knowledge. The very strong sense of history at the railway was observed when members celebrated the 60th anniversary of its reopening on May 14, 2011. Not only was the man who fired that first trip present, they used the same locomotive and consist, not to mention the original ribbon from 1951, to mark the occasion!

Always been a fan of this little railway. It was the inspiration for the narrow gauge railway part of Thomas and Friends.

Wouldn't Strasburg fall into the category of preserved railroad? It has been around since the 1800s, if I remember correctly.

Fun fact. The Tayllyn Railway was the inspiration for the narrow gauge line that you see in the Railway Series(Thomas) books. Several characters are based on actual engines on the Talyllyn Railway.

As far back as Dec. 1955, the Talyllyn was featured in a six-page article in Railway Progress, the magazine put out by Robert Young's pro-rail agit-prop magazine. The photos of a volunteer crew digging out and restoring the right-of-way look remarkably similar to those of the WW&F track crews fifty or more years later.

The Talyllyn, to my knowledge, does qualify as the first railway line successfully acquired by preservationists/enthusiasts specifically for preservation. Other potential nominees--Edaville, Seashore, etc.--were new operations at new sites or overlapped with commercial operations (Sierra, Graham County, etc.) Strasburg was acquired in 1958.

Here's a link to a web site in Britain about Tom Rolt: LTCRolt.org.uk

Talyllyn's claim to be the oldest preserved railway might be open to dispute, however. The Branford Electric Railway (Shoreline Trolley Museum) at East Haven, Conn., took over its line from the Connecticut Company on March 9, 1947, and has been in continuous operation ever since. Perhaps the two can share the honor, as trolley line and steam railway.....