News from the Bala Lake Railway
Having experienced the longest spell of warm and dry spring weather on record, plus a cruelly-timed and debilitating virus to shut the country down, you might imagine that frustration would be to the fore, but those within the BLR are always thinking of ingenious ideas, as you will read later.…
Some might expect a blank page after the heading this month but since the beginning of the nationwide Coronavirus lockdown, BLR volunteers and members have become remarkably active. The first inkling of this was the plethora of photos appearing on the BLR Volunteers Facebook page which reminisced about wonderful times…
No more needs to be added here about the critical situation in which these islands of ours find themselves and everyone, barring the sadly inevitable idiot contingent, knows what is required of them, thus with courage, tenacity and common sense, we will win. The Bala Lake Railway, with the support…
“February is always a dead month”. So it was blandly asserted recently, which prompted the reply, “Piffle”, (or a slightly more forthright and contemporary choice), as the following will attest. Amidst of a lot of activity during the month, some of it planned and other parts not, as we will…
The first working weekend of the year took place over the weekend of the 18th/19th and was well attended. Perennial BLR stalwart, Bob Greenhalgh, takes up the story. The first working weekend of the year was a bit chilly, so the first job of the day was to defrost and…
As the month crept inexorably to its end, the BLR can reflect on a distinctly good year, and rather than going into details, we include here the General Manager’s erudite resumé which encapsulates everything, addressed as it is to staff, volunteers and everyone who is involved in our railway. As…
After the end of the ‘running’ season, you might imagine that all goes quiet as the railway goes into hibernation but, if anything, life at the Bala Lake Railway over the winter invariably gets busier with lots of routine maintenance being scheduled along with mechanical upgrades in the loco shed.…
It has been quite a year for the BLR and regular readers will know that our monthly passenger figures have been consistently breaking records. October was a month of distinctly inclement weather but it seems that even this potentially unfavourable dose of ‘liquid sunshine’ did little to dampen the enthusiasm…
We lead unashamedly this month with a most encouraging email in the latest issue of Steam Railway magazine where the writer visited ‘a large railway in the Midlands’ and complained of the surly, unhelpful treatment he and his family received. His email then continued; By complete contrast, we are regular…
August 2019 was a month to remember for the BLR. The summer (sic) weather was no less varied than usual but for the Bank Holiday Gala at the end of the month, it was perfect as it had been for a few days prior. The trains were packed all weekend…
