July 2014 Update
Whether it is as a result of more favourable weather, or generally increased awareness, the railway has enjoyed an 11% increase in passenger numbers over July last year, and the Llanuwchllyn Station café has seen a good increase in turnover as well, particularly from people who have just dropped by to see what is happening. To emphasise this point, we are pleased to show a sight not seen on the railway for a while, a rake of five matching coaches. It is all looking rather positive.
Hunslets
Our faithful locomotives, 'Maid Marian' and 'Alice', have been running very well, but 'Holy War' suffered two ‘hot boxes’ and has needed to have her main bearings re-metalled. For this onerous job, Rob Houghton took only a few days to complete this intricate task, a remarkable achievement.
But the big news from the loco shed is that Winifred’s chassis is now reunited with her wheels. The photo hardly does justice to the moment when the wheels finally bore the weight of the frames once again. The final moment of success was slightly delayed because of the interference of some ‘historic’ damage to one of the cross members. Rob, our engineer, modified the obstructction and all was well. Winifred’s restoration can now be said to be on the home straight.
Carriage & Wagon
The C&W team has returned from their holidays and good progress has been made with the Penrhyn Coal Wagon. Floorboards have been fitted, but only on a temporary basis, as access is required to fit the wheels. To this end, Rob has bored out the axle boxes and made new bearings. After a trial fitting, it is hoped to have one set of wheels installed very soon.
One new volunteer, Liz, has done an immaculate paint job on the iron slate wagon, and this now has a wooden floor.
The Padarn Brakeman’s Van has returned from its outing to its spiritual home of Llanberis for their Gala Weekend at the beginning of July, where it prompted much comment, not only for the brilliance of its restoration from a ‘pile of heritage firewood’ (sic), but also its authentic asymmetric stance. These vans rode on the four foot gauge transporter wagons, not behind them, hence the offset of the wheels.
Replica Penrhyn Quarry Railway Directors' Saloon
From a neat stack of timber in a previous photograph, we can now see a view of side 1, (lying on an interesting base), assembled ‘dry’ to check that everything lines up and fits correctly. The ‘cant rail’, on to which the roof will be attached, has been laid in place, but not installed as yet as it locks the whole structure together.
All the joints for side 2 have been cut, and with the current fine weather, it is hoped to have the two sides ready. The next job will then be to profile the vertical ribs to produce the ‘tumblehome, after which it will be possible to start the gluing process. Exciting times.
Miscellaneous
The railway enjoyed a visit in June from the Lanchester Owners’ Club, which was having a driving tour through the wonderful local scenery, and wanted to inspect some equally appealing vintage machinery. This is an aspect where the BLR scores highly, because we have a vast amount of parking space to accommodate visits of this nature.
One of our volunteers is a professional route planner, having carried out, over the last decade, numerous commissions for the press launches of new cars ranging from Fiat to Maserati. To this end, a pair of local routes has been devised and carefully annotated, one of 25 miles, the other of 50. Both are very easy to follow, and pass through some spectacularly varied scenery along great driving roads. It is hoped to attract owners’ clubs of all types and marques to visit Llanuwchllyn in the future, thus adding another string to our hospitable bow.
Conclusion
While the winter is a time for carrying out general maintenance, the summer season adds to the task, with train schedules to be observed, plus the never-ending chore of keeping the grass, trees etc. looking smart.
But also on our minds is the exciting development plans for the line, as outlined copiously in the latest issue of Narrow Gauge World, after the editor, Andrew Charman, spent a delightful day being shown exactly what is on the agenda. Under the heading of Project Y Ddraig Goch (The Red Dragon), it is, as some say, a brave proposal, but we will achieve our goal, not least because of the ever-increasing wave of enthusiasm from management and volunteers alike. If this inspires you, do join our team, savour the BLR atmosphere, and be part of something remarkable. If the WHR can do it, so can we!