Talyllyn Railway

Talyllyn Railway
Overview
Locale	Wales
Terminus	Tywyn Wharf
Stations	4 (8 halts)
Commercial Operations
Gauge	2'3" (686 mm, narrow gauge)
Commercial History
Year opened	1866

The Talyllyn Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Talyllyn) is a preserved narrow gauge railway line in Tywyn, Wales. Originally starting off as a line to bring down slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, the Talyllyn Railway has evolved into a tourist attraction, seeing dozens of visitors each year.

The railway served as the inspiration for the Skarloey Railway in the Railway Series. A few of the locomotives as well as the railway itself have made appearances in the books, and the line hosts special "Duncan Days" events that see the locomotives running as their fictional counterparts.

The Awdry Connection

The Talyllyn Railway has become best known for becoming the inspiration of the Skarloey Railway, a fictional railway featured in the Rev. W. Awdry's Railway Series. Awdry visited the line on a family holiday and became a volunteer soon afterwards, working as a guard. Several of the stories he wrote about the Skarloey Railway were based on incidents he experienced at the Talyllyn, and a few of the line's locomotives have made appearances in the books. Christopher, his wife Diana, and their son Richard were also volunteers.

In 1983, the Talyllyn Railway painted their No. 3, "Sir Haydn", in the guise of Sir Handel as an attraction for younger visitors. Christopher Awdry wrote this into Great Little Engines, explaining that the railway had "borrowed" Sir Handel for a short time. This became so popular that the railway began their own events called "Duncan Days", which see a few engines donning faces and running as their fictional counterparts.

The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum, located at Tywyn Wharf station, also hosts a display of Awdry's study, which was added in tribute of him. The display features many of Awdry's old belongings, such as his desk, typewriter and hundreds of books, and several of his models and his Ffarquhar layout can also be found here.

Locomotives

The Talyllyn Railway owns eleven locomotives, six steam and five diesel. Talyllyn, Dolgoch and Douglas have made appearances in the Railway Series, though the other engines have made no appearances. This section only documents the locomotives with Skarloey Railway counterparts.

Name	RWS counterpart	No.	Notes	Photo
Talyllyn	Skarloey	1	Originally built as an 0-4-0ST with no cab. The locomotive is named after the railway itself.
Dolgoch	Rheneas	2	Originally built without a cab. The locomotive is named after the intermediate station and local waterfalls.
Sir Haydn	Sir Handel	3	Ex-Corris Railway locomotive bought in 1951. The locomotive is named after Sir Haydn Jones, owner of the railway prior to preservation.
Edward Thomas	Peter Sam	4	Ex-Corris Railway locomotive bought in 1951. The locomotive is named after the former manager of the railway. It was fitted with a Giesl ejector between 1958 and 1969.
Midlander	Rusty	5	Ruston & Hornsby diesel locomotive purchased in 1957 from Jee's quarries at Hartshill. It was named after the Midlands area group of the preservation society that donated the locomotive.
Douglas	Duncan	6	Former RAF Calshot locomotive donated to the Talyllyn Railway in 1953 and regauged from 2ft to 2'3". It is named after Douglas Abelson, who donated the locomotive.	File:DouglasTR2015.jpg
Tom Rolt	Ivo Hugh	7	Built from a Bord na Móna (Irish Peat Board) Andrew Barclay locomotive. It is named after L.C.T. Rolt, one of the founders of the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society.
Alf	Fred	9	Ex-National Coal Board diesel locomotive from Huncoat colliery in Lancashire. It was named after Alf Robens, chairman of the National Coal Board.
Toby	Mark V		Small trolley used by engineers for transportation to worksites. Built from a second hand Austin 7 engine and gearbox, mounted on a custom-made chassis.

Appearances

• The Railway Series
• Other Media

The Railway Series

• The Little Old Engine
• Very Old Engines
• Great Little Engines
• New Little Engine

Annuals

External Links

• Official Website
• Wikipedia
• Twitter

United Kingdom

---

* RWS only | ** T&F only

Talyllyn Railway

---