Pioneering days of preservation

[bishdunster]

Anyone got any humorous tales of the early days of preservation? No need to mention the railways concerned as the health & safety bods might have a field day ! my own recolections are of working hard & playing hard, consuming vast quantities of real ale, even down to the obligatory 4pints & a ploughmans at lunchtime before returning to the job. Wouldnt dare to do it these days !!!

 

[341o2]

a good start would be where it all started - Railway adventure. several tales.

To quote a couple. On the original TR the water tank at Pendre had a tap rather than a ballcock. Came the fateful day when the person responsible for raising steam forgot to turn it on. The driver estimated enough water to reach Dogoch, but the train only got as far as Brynglas before running out of water, so it was a case of borrowing buckets from a local farm.

sand was collected from the beach, holidayumakers tended to puzzle at the antics of grimy grown men with a bucket and shovel, many rode the buffer beam sanding by hand ending soaked to the skin apart from a small area roasted dry by the loco's smokebox.

The TRPS has had its fair share of jokes, one I remember was a spoof traffic notice regarding the issue that for many years Abergnolwyn did not have any station toilets (Trains must not be delayed unless there is an emergency)

 

[barnet_fair]

a good start would be where it all started - Railway adventure. several tales.

excellent book this, definitely well worth a couple of hours of your time!

 

[QJ]

Define humerous.

I, along with two friends, were visiting an area that once had many narrow gauge railways serving the area. Nearing the end of our day's exploration we ended up in the village one of the lines served. To our amazement the sight of an operational loco and wagon greeted our arrival.

The reason for this was that the village we found ourselves in was having a fair. The preservationists hoping to re-open part of the railway decided it would bring some good publicity in laying some track from their base to the former station site whilst the fair was open.

This course of action obviously met with the approval of the villagers; especially those whose homes were along the railway line (NIMBY's take note!). Access to their property had been blocked by the temporary rails, using the Hornby method of track laying (panels bolted together and placed on blocks of wood for support), crossing in front of their drive ways.

As luck would have it the festivities had finished and the loco and wagon were about to be taken back to base. After some negotiation three desperate track bashers were heading out of the village enjoying a train's eye view of the passing scenery.

Every few minutes the train stopped as the track between village and train was recovered and put in the wagon. A fine way to travel and an excellent end to the day.

From looking at recent tourist advertisements for the area I am pleased to say that the track to the village appears to be a bit more permanent than when I last visited. I feel it is about time I ventured that way again to enjoy another trains' eye view; though hopefully not perched on a bogie bolster.

 

[Tiny Tim]

'Railway Adventure' by L.T.C. Rolt is a brilliant book. Not only lots of funny stories, but a beautifully written account of a railway being brought back to life. In my opinion, it's the book that inspired many others to get involved in heritage railways.

Rolt was quite a character, before 'Railway Adventure' he'd written 'Narrow Boat' a book that did much to inspire inland waterways restoration. He was a founder member of the Inland Waterways Association.