December 2017 Update
2017 was another record year for the Bala Lake Railway, with overall numbers of passengers up by 5% over those of 2016, itself a record year for the railway. On top of that, much progress has happened with the Red Dragon Project, our ambitious plan to extend the railway into down-town Bala, details of which can be found on theBLR Trust website.
In December, thanks to the support of theHeritage Lottery Fund, work on our extension to the carriage shed and development of an interpretation centre at Llanuwchllyn got under way, with track already laid and now being concreted, the framework being erected and, by the end of the month, the roof had been installed with only the brick and cladding sides to be completed, as can be seen towards the end of one of our videos below. As we have previously commented, this will give us a greatly increased amount of covered storage for our heritage rolling stock and carriage stock, as well as enhancing our ability to interpret and explain about our historic vehicles and allowing visitors to see what we are doing.
The main events in December were our Santa Specials, which were totally sold out long before the weekend and, this year, featured the magical ingredient so often missing, namely SNOW. It snowed heavily, and viewers of the BLR website station webcam were delighted that the Met Office had for once obliged. Visitors came from far and wide, in spite of the challenging conditions, from as far away as Ruthin, Wrexham and even Manchester. It is a credit to the local authorities that all of the main roads were passable with care. However, many who had booked seats erred on the side of caution and did not attend on the prescribed days, thus we laid on an additional day of Specials the following weekend to accommodate them, but sadly, by this time, the snow had rapidly disappeared.
In view of the rarity of snowfall at the correct moment, we round off the year with a montage of superb photos and videos which capture the magic of the occasion. The station webcam may have provided a flavour from the comfort (and warmth) of home, but for those who attended and indeed worked over that snowy weekend, there was nothing like it.
In conclusion, the management and staff of the BLR would like to wish everyone, volunteers, visitors and all who visit or help with the railway the very best for 2018. It is going to be a memorable year.