News from the Bala Lake Railway
Half-term fell very handily upon the last week of the month, hence visitor numbers to the railway were impressive – just over 100% up on our previous best. Trains were very busy, and particularly the Halloween trains on the 29th and 30th which were fully booked on both days. We…
After quite a while where very little progress has happened because of the pandemic, the Penrhyn Coach received some serious attention during the month when it was moved from the carriage shed into the warmth of the loco shed. David Hale, who constructed this masterpiece next to his house in…
The BLR General Manager was almost beside himself when announcing the passenger numbers for September, the figures being 57% (no, not a misprint, fifty-seven percent) up on the previous best September, with full trains being operated almost to the end of the month. He added that the railway numbers are…
“It’s been our best summer season ever!” So said David Jones, the Bala Lake Railway’s energetic General Manager, when asked about how the passenger numbers for August had fared. He, along with everyone involved with the railway, was effervescing, particularly as the actual August figures were – wait for it…
July was the usual mixed bag of weather for visitors to the BLR and average passenger numbers might be expected, but no. Let us just say that the month’s figures were a whisker over 26% (yes, 26%) better than our previous highest numbers, those of July 2018. We started with…
The public consultation regarding the extension of the Bala Lake Railway into Bala is currently open and we would love to know what you think. Click here to view copies of the plans and provide us with your feedback. Mae’r ymgynghoriad cyhoeddus am yr estyniad i Reilffordd Llyn Tegid ymestyn…
The Bala Lake Railway is pleased to announce the arrival on the 17th July 2021 of Bagnall 0-4-0 ST locomotive ‘Dorothy’ as the latest addition to the fleet based at Llanuwchllyn. Dorothy was built by W.G. Bagnall of Stafford in 1899, works number 1568, the last of three similar steam…
2022 will be the 50th anniversary of the Bala Lake Railway. There must have been plenty of pictures taken throughout the years. We have recently created a space where pictures and scanned articles of interest can be stored securely for future access. Have you got any pictures of the Bala…
It is wholly applicable in this 100th edition of the BLR News in this format that we highlight excellence, ingenuity and success, thus the content will concentrate on these specific topics. Bala Re-Railed, the event to introduce the residents of Bala to steam railway activity for the first time since…
As everyone who knows the railway will agree, one of the delights of life at the BLR is sitting on the benches outside the station café at the end of a warm sunny day with a cup of well-earned tea, watching a puttering tractor in the field or the sheep…
