T.R.P.S. Report of the Council for 2002

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T.R.P.S. Report of the Council for 2002

THE SOCIETY'S YEAR commenced with the receipt of the Peter Manisty Award, presented to us by the Heritage Railway Association for Fifty years of continued excellence. This honour almost concluded our Golden Jubilee commemorations, although a celebratory special beer arrived somewhat later, delayed by the Wolverhampton and Dudley Breweries' successful battle against a take-over bid.

Significant progress was achieved in 2002, and continued hard work laid the foundations for greater things to come. The rebuilt Booking Hall and Traffic Office at Wharf were handed over by the builders on 1st. June, just in time for the Spring Bank Holiday week, although some internal work was not completed until much later. The result has been warmly praised by members and visitors alike. Meanwhile, much effort went into the Stage Two application for grant aid from the Heritage Lottery Fund to rebuild the other end of the station, and shortly after the close of the year it was rewarded with success, and a further series of labours to perform before building work can commence.

Lord Faulkner of Worcester, of the Foundation for Sport and the Arts which had made a financial contribution, opened the children's playground at Abergynolwyn on 8th. June. It was an immediate success and provides a facility long thought desirable in general terms but only given substantial form by the efforts of a few. An additional benefit is its visibility from the road.

The Welsh Assembly's Minister for Rural Development, Mike German, unveiled an oak bench at Nant Gwernol on 26th. October. This gave official recognition to the fruitful partnership between the Railway, the Woodland Trust and Forest Enterprise in maintaining access to the scenic beauty of the Gwernol ravine whilst drawing attention to its industrial heritage.

Traffic & Operating

After foot-and-mouth disease and the Golden Jubilee events in 2001, the Railway settled to a quieter existence in 2002. Passenger bookings were down 0.3% at 49,528 and journeys down 0.7% at 91,890, but revenue was up 9.3% to £263,447. The fall in passenger bookings reflected a substantial drop in members' tickets from the high level of the Jubilee year. The revenue increase reflects small rises both in fares and fare-paying passengers. At the request of the Railway Inspectorate we have calculated figures of 15,961 passenger-train-miles and 1,099,824 passenger-miles; the latter is grossly exaggerated by an HRA formula which counts a day-rover ticket as 5 single trips over the whole line.

The 2002 peak service reverted to eight departures daily instead of nine and the Sunday evening service was discontinued after thirty-four years. The autumn service was modified to cater for changing holiday patterns by running the two-train, four departures, service for an extra week in October and also for the last week of the season.

As an aid to training, the Talyllyn Volunteer, a quarterly magazine for working members inaugurated in 1965 as the T. & O.C. News, is now distributed free of charge, in either printed or electronic form, to convey serious information leavened by much light-hearted content. Another, newer, form of dissemination of information is via a restricted-access website which carries the Traffic Roster and other operating information.

The closure of the paths in Dolgoch ravine by Bryncrug Community Council, first partially but latterly completely, had a detrimental effect on the Railway, depriving it of an alternative destination or stopover point. Many passengers were disappointed at being unable to enjoy this delightful glen because of the continuing lack of maintenance of this attraction over the years. The promised "improvements" were not started by the year-end and will be incomplete during most of the 2003 tourist season.

Building work at Wharf in the spring caused considerable disruption, successfully overcome, to Railway booking arrangements and operation, but the resulting new Booking and Control Offices were a highlight of the year.

Gales during the night of 26th. October brought down a number of trees and resulted in the curtailment of the first two trains the following day.

Marketing

2002 saw an addition to our increasingly busy special events timetable: Duncan's Easter Egg Day, although new, proved very successful with the children. Over the Spring Bank Holiday weekend, as well as the Rolt Rally there was an 1876 "Battle Re-enactment Train".

Passengers are gradually becoming aware of the flexibility offered by the day-rover facility. It is difficult to draw the attention of the general public to the unique asset we have in our complete original trainset. A different approach was adopted in 2002 with Vintage Trains marketed on particular Sundays through the year; timings allow for photographic run-pasts at Rhydyronen and Dolgoch. In another attempt to spread the Talyllyn gospel several members have given evening talks to coach parties staying locally.

The Marketing Committee also started to assess the brown tourist signs directing visitors to the Railway, in the hope that we may be able to increase their numbers in strategic places; the original very restrictive local policy on their display appears to have been relaxed.

The 2003 timetable leaflet was distributed, for the first time and in certain areas only, by Snowdonia Promotions. It is hoped that as a result our timetables will be available at more places, more of the time. Nevertheless, the Council would continue to encourage all members to contribute their personal efforts to ensure our publicity reaches as wide an audience as possible.

Shop and Catering

This has been a year of consolidation in the Shop and Catering departments with our minds fixed on the future and how to plan the new building in light of the news of the grant from the HLF.

A change in the arrangements for refreshments at Abergynolwyn during the winter seems to have gone well and refreshment sales at Wharf are continuing to encourage people to spend some time with us, even when they are not travelling on the trains.

The range of stock in the shop continues to be updated with special reference to the teenage market. The addition of a dummy slate wagon has given a different way to display things and helps to reinforce the image of a railway shop.

Whilst sales were not at the level of the previous year, the alterations to the Wharf building in the early part of the season did not help. They led to the main entrance being unavailable and a lack of display space due to the Control Office being located in the Shop near the platform doors. There were also no major events during the year.

The Railway Letter Service continues its work with a number of First Day Cover issues during the year. The Railway will soon celebrate 50 years of carrying mail by train. Long may it continue as the national network ceases to carry mail in 2004.

There are still heavy workloads for the Shop and Catering departments at both peak and off-peak times and the Shop and Catering Managers are always grateful for any help.

Engineering

Locomotive No. 4 Edward Thomas still awaits the return of a rebuilt boiler, delayed mainly by problems with approval of the work by our insurers. Meanwhile, the frames have been repaired and new tyres fitted. No. 2 Dolgoch had to be fully retubed, and new procedures have been introduced for regular testing of water treatment. Indicator diagrams were taken in February 2002, allowing the efficiency of locomotives 1, 2 and 3 to be analysed, and a trial multi-bore blastpipe is under construction.

Rebuilding of diesel No. 8 Merseysider was finally completed last autumn, and the result is splendid with a spacious cab housing an impressive control panel. No. 10 Bryn Eglwys has had problems with rear springs; investigation revealed seriously unequal loading of the axles, and a rebuild with a more commodious cab is planned in the long term.

Another long-standing task has been very extensive rebuilding of the body of ex-Glyn Valley Tramway carriage No. 14, now almost complete; air brakes must be fitted before it returns to traffic. An ex-MoD bogie riding van has been adapted to our needs, largely replacing ex-Corris van No. 6 on engineering trains.

Two ex-Navy bogie flat wagons have also been acquired to enable the two Boflats to receive overhauls, but No. 72 suffered a failure of a bogie pivot mounting soon after entering service and both mountings had to be strengthened.

On the permanent way, the major task last winter was relaying 270 yards through the curves east of Fach Goch with nearly new rail. The track through Forestry Crossing was relaid and re-timbered, and elsewhere on the extension re-spiking curves to restore the gauge of track that is now 27 years old continues.

A major task completed last winter was relaying all remaining track in the West Carriage Shed on slab and concreting the rest of the floor. Although a contractor rebuilt the Traffic Office, staff and volunteers completed a large amount of the fitting out. At one point, all four electricians whom the Railway has employed successively over the past 40 years were working as a team on this project.

Health & Safety

Health & Safety remains of key importance. It is raised at staff, management, Traffic & Operating Committee and Board meetings and it is recognized that safety is the responsibility of all who work on and around the Railway. Regular management inspections have been carried out, both with and without notice. Safety implies not just the safe operation of trains, but a safe working environment throughout the Railway. Maintaining a high standard of housekeeping is essential and requires continuous vigilance. The annual Health & Safety Management Audit was carried out by our Safety Advisor and a score of 83.2% (1,955 points out of 2,350) achieved (2001: 76.4%) which put the TR well in the VERY GOOD category and reversed a slow downward trend.

Society Activities

Calculations show that the Railway uses the equivalent of 55 full-time staff (not counting voluntary work away from Tywyn), but employs only the equivalent of 17; this provides a measure of the vital practical work of Society members, which is not just about operating trains.

The Young Members' Group (aged 14 to 25 and boasting the Talyllyn's first all-female Committee) continued to play an important role and was largely responsible for operating the Railway on 24th. August 2002, in a commendably professional manner; it has also taken a positive role in the maintenance of the Railway's hostel, Llechfan. The Navvies (average age 12) undertook some serious clearing of undergrowth and rebuilding slate fencing. Tracksiders (many of them much younger) remains a popular group; their working parties helped to complete the Railway Adventure playground at Abergynolwyn and, at its opening, they gave a performance of The Railway Children which received good coverage in both the general and railway press. The enthusiasm and dedication of all these groups bode well for the Society's next 50 years. So do the number of second and third generation volunteers.

Area Groups continue to function, with different levels of success, but all supporting and representing the Railway and Society. Some continue to be strong, organizing model railway exhibitions or attending major events with publicity and sale stands. Others are now unable to be as active as they used to be due to a lack of new volunteers, but some that have experienced this decline are again becoming proactive.

Membership at the year-end remained virtually constant at 3,508.

Museum and Heritage

Much of the effort expended on Museum and Heritage matters during the year continued the "back room" work reported last year to complete all the paperwork required for our submission for a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund. Although forming the largest single part of the funding for the overall Wharf redevelopment, the HLF funding relates specifically to the provision of a new home for the Museum collection. Following Stage One approval for the project, a large amount of detailed supporting evidence relating to the conservation and presentation of the collection was required. This hard work was rewarded by the award of the HLF grant in February 2003.

The year saw the 100th anniversary of the participation of volunteers from Towyn in the Boer War, a contribution signified at the time by renaming locomotive No. 2 Pretoria. To commemorate the centenary, an exhibition of photographs and other memorabilia was held in the museum, and No. 2 again carried its former name on a number of occasions.

A suitable home was found for the Furzebrook Railway wagon, which for many years had rested on a flat wagon on the Wharf edge siding. It has now moved back to its home territory for restoration and display.

On the TR itself, the old water column at Dolgoch has been returned to operational use. The new timber cladding in the style of the original conceals a galvanized steel tank, so it should give many years of service.

Report of the Honorary Treasurer

The event with the greatest impact on the Railway's finances during 2002 was the demolition and rebuilding of the east end of Wharf Station. This cost £125,717 against which we received grants of £78,669. As the new building is larger than the old the net cost of £47,048 has been split between capital and revenue.

The loss by the Railway for the 2002 season was £84,582 compared with £35,402, an increase of £49,180 of which £24,913 is accounted for by the revenue element of Wharf rebuilding. Maintenance of Rolling Stock is up by £4,809 due to the purchase of carriage wheels. Other Expenses increased by £5,111 (6%) due to higher insurance premiums which we suffered in common with virtually all other businesses (and there seem to be more increases in prospect).

The results of the Railway's commercial activities appear in the Revenue Account; more details are given in Note 3 with the division between Shop and Catering. The Shop profit was similar to 2001 but the Catering result was a loss of £7,499, caused mainly by the need to replace several items of café equipment.

Engineering turnover and profit were again lower.

Miscellaneous Income as before consists mainly of rental income from the aerials at Abergynolwyn, income from Footplate Experience Courses and net commission of £2,868 from the National Railways ticket agency.

The increase in Expenditure on Line relates to Wharf Station redevelopment, that in Locomotives and Rolling Stock to the purchase of bogie wagons and a brake van, and in Plant and Machinery etc. to additional café equipment.

The Society's income from Subscriptions was little changed but that from Donations was reduced slightly; a proportion of regular donations formerly received by the Society now goes to Talyllyn Holdings Ltd. following its registration as a charity. The Society's expenditure was almost the same as in 2001.

The Society has again made a special grant (of £84,582) to the Railway Company to avoid carrying forward a deficit in the Company's Balance Sheet.

Talyllyn Holdings Ltd. had a surplus of £22,360 compared with a loss of £497. This is mainly due to donations and tax refunds under the Gift Aid scheme. No grants had been made up to the date of the accounts but several have been approved since.