NEWS UPDATE No. 119
Our monthly update straddles two months as an immense amount of activity has been happening, finishing the winter maintenance programme, re-assembly of Alice and Holy War, the opening of the new flood defences along which the BLR extension will run and much more.
Our General Manager David Jones summed up some of the recent incredible efforts of our volunteers in his missive of the 27th March.
“A big thank you to all those who rallied round for the last working weekend of the winter. One volunteer even cycled from the station at Ruabon to join us! We achieved an incredible amount over the two days to help get us ready for the season.
On the Saturday, 19 sleepers at the end of Llanuwchllyn platform were replaced and now this whole length of track is on decent softwood sleepers. On the Sunday, a further 29 sleepers were replaced in the loop. Meanwhile, most of the carriages were given a thorough external clean and internal surfaces degreased. The floors of three carriages were scrubbed to the point that you could almost eat your dinner off them, and two have received a new coat of floor-paint, in a darker shade of grey (there are so many - Ed.) and hopefully a more hardwearing type. Carriage no 8 received its winter exam whilst both Holy War and Alice progressed in the shed. (More on those later - Ed.).
So thank you to every one of you who helped over this weekend, and indeed everyone who has helped or supported us over the winter. You make a great team and we could not do it without you”.
On Friday 31st March, the official opening of the new flood defences took place in rather inclement conditions. Invitees gathered in the Leisure Centre amid an atmosphere of truly remarkable enthusiasm and were then invited to walk the length of this beautifully executed work organised by Natural Resources Wales which will stop the occasional devastating flooding and overspills of the past. All who attended were reminded of several important features, the smoothing out of the profile of the embankment which will dissipate flood surges, as well as the re-planting of a hugely increased number of trees to compensate for the tedious self-seeders which had been removed through necessity. It is worth noting that many of the new seedlings were grown by volunteers in Bala, such was the local enthusiasm .
But one universal comment amidst the short speeches was the efficiency of the contractors William Hughes who not only exhibited a mighty attention to detail but also set such high standards of competence and co-operation with NRW. At the end of the walk, the group gathered at the end of the new defences near the River Dee, BLR Trust Chairman Julian Birley spoke of his enormous appreciation of the co-operation that Natural Resources Wales had freely offered to accommodate the extension track-bed into the renovations. Councillor Dilwyn Morgan, one of the extension’s staunchest supporters, had already spoken of the prevailing air of optimism for this whole project and indeed the railway’s inclusion into it, and it was truly fitting that alongside the tasteful plaque set into the bank at the southern end, his young grandson was given the honour of cutting the ribbon to declare the embankment open and the works completed. It was noted that the field across the main road where the contractors had kept all their machinery, plant, equipment and porta-cabins etc. was empty, devoid of any rubbish and ready for nature to return. It then stopped raining.
We hope that it won’t be too long until the beautifully ballasted track-bed which is ready to receive sleepers and rail receives the necessary planning approvals.
There’s lots happening around and about the railway with a major focus at the moment being the re-assembly of Alice and Holy War.
Another batch of 50lb/yd rail arrived on the 24th March from the West Lancashire Railway in anticipation of being laid over the river one day.
But progress of the two aforementioned locos carries on apace. The boilers were lowered on to the frames and then removed so that new locating holes could be drilled as well as making sure the boilers were absolutely level in the frames. That aspect has to be exactly right as having a slightly nose-down (or up) attitude would, shall we say, not be good. During all this heavy work, Chief Engineer even saw fit to reprofile the steps on Alice to the original pattern, such is his attention to detail.
The 1st April was a very special day, although passengers on the first trains of the season may not have realised as they passed the loco shed sidings. Alice and Holy War were towed into the open and steamed for the first time, Holy War being lit first, (as befits her works number of 779, whereas Alice is number 780), much to the indignation of Alice’s owner who was watching! It almost goes without saying that both locos behaved perfectly and by the time this is read, they will be prepared for their boiler inspections and will be well on the way to being ready for testing, prior to their ‘welcome back’ party on the 29th and 30th April where we hope to have five Hunslet locos in steam!
While on the subject of future events, a week before the above-mentioned party sees the annual Race the Train event on the 22nd where paddle-boarders are taken by train to the tiny halt of Pentrepiod and then have to beat the train to the Bala Lake Sailing Club which is situated just short of the Dee bridge. Conclusions are far from foregone and conditions can seriously influence the results which can be remarkably close. But the boarders will not lack for audible enthusiasm as the train will be packed with supporters. If the wind is from the south-west, the boarders will really benefit and the supporters’ noise will probably be heard in Bala!
After this sonorous extravaganza, life settles down until the 29th July when the annual A Day with Alice, the Little Welsh Engine takes place. This day revolves around the loco of that name and the famous artist and author Pauline Hazelwood who will be on hand to read from her delightful books about Alice and other quarry locos as well as doing impromptu sketches and drawings on the platform. It is a date not to be missed.
It is a rare day when the Bala Lake Railway welcomes a new member of staff.
On the 3rd April, Thomas Haynes joined our small but dedicated team as Operations and Maintenance Assistant. Thomas is currently training as a guard although he is familiar to the railway as a volunteer for over ten years and is a qualified driver and fireman. He will be a very useful addition to our close-knit team.
Some interesting statistics came to light recently. Seizing the chance to look at passenger numbers in a different way, General Manager David Jones and IT Maestro Tim Gregson reviewed not just the number of visitors to our railway in 2022 but where they came from, and they make fascinating reading.
- North West 26.3%
- Midlands 22.8%
- South East 20.7%
- Wales 14.1%
- North East 8.3%
- South West 6.4%
- Scotland 1.2%
- Ireland 0.2%
By way of analysis, people from the north and Midlands are on holiday or having a fun day trip while the low number for Wales is perhaps simply because the Welsh are spoilt for choice of heritage railways, a lucky position to be in.
And finally….. Tim Gregson, during his driving duty week in February, snapped this delightful photo of our railway cat Marian perched on an old smokebox by the loco shed.
Who says the atmosphere does not get to animals? Incidentally, Marian was so named because she was found as a tiny stray in the shed hiding under our loco Maid Marian.