June 2021 Update

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…

May 2021 Update

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…

Road closure

The A494 is closed between Dolgellau and Llanuwchllyn due to a serious road traffic accident. Local diversions via Brithdir are in place or via A470 to Trawsfynydd and A4212 to Bala. Please allow extra time and check local traffic reports if you are visiting us from the west today.

April 2021 Update

With the Bala Lake Railway re-opening on the 1st May, activity has been predictably frenetic so that our first visitors of the year can be accommodated in total safety as per Government dictums. The café and shop are ready for business, with perspex shielding in place so that visitors can…

March 2021 Update

Spring is upon us at last, the season which raises the spirits with lengthening daylight and warmth after a winter of restrictions and frustrations. The great satirical song-writer, Tom Lehrer, wrote joyfully (sic) of its positivity, as well as detailing some questionable practices in which one might choose to indulge…

February 2021 Update

With the packed winter programme of loco and rolling stock refurbishment running along smoothly as we will see later, there is only one story to lead with this month, a huge success for the Trust, and ‘huge’ hardly does it justice. The Bala Lake Railway Trust has had the most…

January 2021 Update

“It’s a pity there’s nothing happening on your railway”. This unimaginative comment from an acquaintance prompted the response that one should always keep in mind the old military axiom; ‘assumption is the mother of all foul-ups’. In point of fact, there is a lot happening on the BLR in spite…

December 2020 Update

Lockdowns – nothing! With varying restrictions in December throughout the UK, the amount of work carried out by staff and volunteers during the first three weeks of the month was nothing short of staggering. As this is written post-Christmas, with newer and more stringent restrictions in place for the next…

Christmas 2020 Message

This would seem to be a very opportune time to say thank you for getting us through 2020. Thank you to everyone who visited us this year and travelled on our trains, and to everyone who has donated to our ‘Covid-19’ and ‘Sleeper’ appeals. Your support has been truly amazing!…