merlodlliw
Established Member
The Traws Train
First mentioned here last year, Mr Colin Dale and his dreams for the Trawsfynydd line have resurfaced. The following is from the Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald of 7 October.
Talks to establish a new community railway linking Trawsfynydd and Blaenau Ffestiniog are at an advanced stage, with work hoped to start in the new year. Businessman Colin Dale, 62, announced his plan to reopen the disused branch line from Trawsfynydd to Blaenau Ffestiniog last year, with tourist facilities including boat cruises on Lake Trawsfynydd, and up to 20 new jobs potentially created by the not-for-profit venture. Now after months of negotiations with Network Rail over the disused trackbed, Mr Dale says he hopes to have it cleared and surveyed by spring, with trains running on the seven mile route hoped for later in 2011.
He adds: 'My team and I have been working hard behind the scenes on the project since I first announced my plans last summer. We now have an understanding with Network Rail that, subject to some advanced paperwork, we should get the lease very soon, and can start clearing the line and surveying it by the start of next year. We have also formed a railway operating company and are in the process of launching a group of friends and volunteers for the railway. We are also renovating a boat for the lake cruises and building a new community centre and cafe on the site of the old Trawsfynydd Power Station clubhouse.'
The project, provisionally called The Traws Train, will carry a mixture of heritage diesel and steam rolling stock, linking Trawsfynydd to Blaenau Ffestiniog, and then onto the Ffestiniog Railway and Cambrian Coast line in one direction, and the Conwy Valley line in the other direction. Mr Dale said the potential for the service was exciting: 'Weve had some great support from local people not to mention Arriva, the Ffestiniog Railway and local councillors. Weve had to go through a lot of paperwork and bureaucracy but hopefully we can now kick on. We hope to have all the facilities at the lake ready before Easter, and I'm also in discussions with the Nuclear Decommission Authority about building a new station in Trawsfynydd. I think the fact that it will link up with three lines in Blaenau will enhance their services, and offer locals and tourists the chance to experience even more of the breathtaking Welsh scenery.
To find out more about the project or to volunteer, visit www.onthelake.co.uk, email Colin Dale at [email protected], or call 01766 540400.
The website is one of those fancy efforts with much style and not much substance - there is also a Twitter feed which might be worth watching, as there seem to be a lot of unanswered questions about this plan. Can it really be so easy to set up a railway, even using a line which is officially 'mothballed' rather than actually closed? As far as we know, there is no connection between this Colin Dale ('director of Essex-based The Forward Focus Group') and the Colin Dale who is a leading member of the Monster Raving Loony Party and stood against Speaker John Bercow in the recent General Election, although both seem to have North Wales connections.
http://www.nwrail.org.uk/nwnews.htm
published with permission of above for information of RF members
First mentioned here last year, Mr Colin Dale and his dreams for the Trawsfynydd line have resurfaced. The following is from the Caernarfon and Denbigh Herald of 7 October.
Talks to establish a new community railway linking Trawsfynydd and Blaenau Ffestiniog are at an advanced stage, with work hoped to start in the new year. Businessman Colin Dale, 62, announced his plan to reopen the disused branch line from Trawsfynydd to Blaenau Ffestiniog last year, with tourist facilities including boat cruises on Lake Trawsfynydd, and up to 20 new jobs potentially created by the not-for-profit venture. Now after months of negotiations with Network Rail over the disused trackbed, Mr Dale says he hopes to have it cleared and surveyed by spring, with trains running on the seven mile route hoped for later in 2011.
He adds: 'My team and I have been working hard behind the scenes on the project since I first announced my plans last summer. We now have an understanding with Network Rail that, subject to some advanced paperwork, we should get the lease very soon, and can start clearing the line and surveying it by the start of next year. We have also formed a railway operating company and are in the process of launching a group of friends and volunteers for the railway. We are also renovating a boat for the lake cruises and building a new community centre and cafe on the site of the old Trawsfynydd Power Station clubhouse.'
The project, provisionally called The Traws Train, will carry a mixture of heritage diesel and steam rolling stock, linking Trawsfynydd to Blaenau Ffestiniog, and then onto the Ffestiniog Railway and Cambrian Coast line in one direction, and the Conwy Valley line in the other direction. Mr Dale said the potential for the service was exciting: 'Weve had some great support from local people not to mention Arriva, the Ffestiniog Railway and local councillors. Weve had to go through a lot of paperwork and bureaucracy but hopefully we can now kick on. We hope to have all the facilities at the lake ready before Easter, and I'm also in discussions with the Nuclear Decommission Authority about building a new station in Trawsfynydd. I think the fact that it will link up with three lines in Blaenau will enhance their services, and offer locals and tourists the chance to experience even more of the breathtaking Welsh scenery.
To find out more about the project or to volunteer, visit www.onthelake.co.uk, email Colin Dale at [email protected], or call 01766 540400.
The website is one of those fancy efforts with much style and not much substance - there is also a Twitter feed which might be worth watching, as there seem to be a lot of unanswered questions about this plan. Can it really be so easy to set up a railway, even using a line which is officially 'mothballed' rather than actually closed? As far as we know, there is no connection between this Colin Dale ('director of Essex-based The Forward Focus Group') and the Colin Dale who is a leading member of the Monster Raving Loony Party and stood against Speaker John Bercow in the recent General Election, although both seem to have North Wales connections.
http://www.nwrail.org.uk/nwnews.htm
published with permission of above for information of RF members
