T.R.P.S. Report of the Council for 2004

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Report of the Council

THE TALYLLYN RAILWAY’S principal terminus was a building site for the whole of 2004; that we not merely coped but kept our customers happy is a credit to employees and volunteers in all departments. A number of problems were encountered in the early stages of the main contract necessitating some major design changes at an engineering level and introducing a significant delay into the overall timetable. Further slippage occurred during construction. A first stage handover occurred on 15th. December and “practical completion” was accepted on 28th. January, leaving at the year end some major items to be rectified and the usual long list of “snags” for attention.

One of those essential but almost invisible tasks necessary to claim grant money for Wharf redevelopment was to prove that the Railway Company owned the site. Having taken legal advice it was decided to register all the land occupied by the Railway with the Land Registry and this was achieved during 2004 after a great deal of work.

The Agency for tickets on National Railways had provided a service welcomed by both members and local customers since it was introduced in late 1988. However, its financial benefit to the Railway was always marginal and when the Association of Train Operating Companies terminated the agreement from 1st. May, 2004 it was decided not to pursue a replacement with Arriva Trains Wales.

A Society in its fifties will inevitably see a number of deaths each year. 2004­-05 seemed exceptionally blighted with the funerals of several well-known members including Vice-Presidents John Slater and Pat Garland.

Traffic & Operating

While the summer of 2003 was long and hot, that of 2004 was long, cold and wet. This was no doubt a contributing factor in the fall in passenger bookings by 3.6% to 50,323 and journeys by 4.4% to 92,670, although revenue held up well, increasing marginally by 0.4% to £279,740.

The major operating challenge of 2004 was coping with the special arrangements required because of Wharf redevelopment. The “chain gang”, short platform working and servicing locomotives at Pendre between trips were all features of passenger train operating. In addition, except during the peak service, trains had to return to Pendre to run round and then propel to Wharf close to departure time, requiring everyone at Wharf to rally round to get passengers aboard and up the valley. This required a high level of operating skill and concentration, and was carried out with the efficiency expected of the Railway. Nevertheless there was a great collective sigh of relief when normal working was resumed, with the full platform length returned temporarily for Race the Train and the last week of the ‘pink’ timetable.

The work on the paths in Dolgoch ravine eventually came to a conclusion and, at long last, it returned to its place as one of the Railway’s premier attractions.

Marketing

2004 began with some nationwide publicity when Locomotive No. 2 Dolgoch featured on a Royal Mail 20p stamp. As the season got underway, with redevelopment causing a reduction in platform length at Wharf, we encountered an upsurge in coach party bookings, resulting in a certain degree of jiggery-pokery to ensure there were enough seats for all.

Special events ran as in previous years; barely a Bank Holiday went by without one! Events included the Rolt Rally, Have-a-Go Gala, Victorian Week, Land Rover Rally and two Duncan Days. Reconstruction work forced the focus of events to be moved away from Wharf providing a welcome change of scenery for some.

The Talyllyn continued to attract publicity in the press: the Young Members’ Group carriage push being particularly attractive to the Cambrian News and ‘Talyllyn Railway Pools’ (Nant Gwernol ravine) reaching No. 26 in a ‘Fifty best places to swim’ article in The Independent.

Weddings, Sunday Lunches, Footplate Experience, photographic charters and the occasional main line charter all added spice to the usual diet. Focus was again placed on the Victorian Train, run on certain Saturdays in the season, though this still requires a little tweaking to gain the maximum benefit. Tuesday evenings in the peak saw the usual mix of charter trains for the benefit of local organizations, such as the Flower Train and an outing for St. Cadfan’s Church. One Tuesday remained vacant and was used by ourselves for a highly successful Fish & Chip Special.

September saw an unannounced visit by an Inspector from the Wales Tourist Board in connection with their Visitor Attraction Quality Assurance Scheme, which we passed with flying colours. The season ended with the Carol Train and a successful Christmas and New Year service; the Santa Specials are to undergo a makeover for 2005.

Dyfi Valley Days continued to be our most successful non-railway promotion. Comments from the Passenger Survey have been analysed and this vital feedback is being used to improve the Talyllyn Experience even further.

The Railway’s website <www.talyllyn.co.uk> achieved a creditable placing in the Heritage Railway Association competition and, with around 450,000 individual visits in 2004, is an increasingly important element in our publicity.

Shop and Catering

It was a difficult year for both Shop and Catering with Wharf redevelopment affecting their activities. The temporary café building was located on the south side of the tracks for the whole year, away from other public facilities, and passengers were not able to cross to it when a train was in the truncated Wharf platform. Despite the best efforts of traffic staff to minimize the time spent by trains in the platform, it is not surprising that public catering sales at Wharf fell by 5.6%, although a small increase at Abergynolwyn meant that overall public catering sales were down by only 1.9%. Volunteer catering sales were up by 6.0%. The Shop was unable to open for February half term 2004 and for much of the season was affected by noise, dirt and dust from the building activities, resulting in a reduction of sales at Wharf of 12.3% and an overall reduction, after taking account of a 3.7% increase in sales at Abergynolwyn, of 12.0%. We are most grateful to both employees and volunteers for their hard work and forbearance under difficult and trying circumstances.

Lack of a stock room and cash flow constraints limited the scope for commissioning new shop items during the year with a specific Talyllyn theme, which need to be ordered in significant quantities. However, with a stock room once again available, new items are being commissioned and coming into stock.

The Railway Letter Service issued a commemorative cover and stamp in July for the fiftieth anniversary of locomotive No. 6 Douglas/Duncan entering service on the T.R.

Subsequent to the year end, the café moved into its new premises on 4th. March and the shop reopened at the end of February half term week following refurbishment which included laying a new slate floor and installing new lighting. It is pleasing to report that these developments have been well received by our visitors resulting in a significant increase in business.

Engineering

No. 1 Talyllyn was retubed, the motion overhauled and both cylinders sent to Leeds to have port faces and valves machined. No. 2 Dolgoch received a set screw repair to its firebox seam and a new smokebox floor. A new multi-nozzle blastpipe was fitted to No. 3 Sir Haydn after indicator diagrams revealed low efficiency, and No. 4 Edward Thomas finally returned to service with its rebuilt boiler on 29th. May, 2004. The wheelsets from No. 6 Douglas/Duncan were removed for reprofiling, and No. 7 Tom Rolt was retubed during last winter. No. 8 Merseysider’s appetite for starter motors remains unquenched, and more faults on No. 10 Bryn Eglwys show that rewiring is essential.

Glyn Valley carriage No. 14 is ready to go back into service as soon as painting is complete after its extensive rebuild, and major work to restore No. 23 was nearing completion at the year end. Meanwhile, No. 16 was receiving a full repaint. Three bogies were completely overhauled and swapped between carriages as the work progressed.

Wharf redevelopment continued to put a severe strain on all our engineering resources. The main contractor remained on-site throughout 2004, but employees and volunteers put in a great deal of work on the original 1865 Wharf station building, now housing the Shop. The east end rafters and ceiling were replaced, a long forgotten north-facing window reinstated, the damaged wall formerly covered by the rear extension rebuilt, and wiring completely renewed.

These and many other tasks limited outdoor activities elsewhere, with track work essentially confined to maintenance, notably on the Extension. The two biggest projects, concentrated respectively around autumn 2004 and spring 2005 outdoor weeks, were the construction of new concrete spans across a cattle creep on Brynglas bank, and to support the east end of Brynglas platform where it crosses the stream. The latter replaced jarrah timbers installed temporarily after the platform collapsed under a JCB in the aftermath of the June 1993 flood. The Young Members’ Group made a major contribution to restoring the engineering sidings at Wharf, including the re-installation of the wagon turntable on the Wharf edge. This formed the first stage of a major scheme to tidy up the general appearance of the Wharf site.

Health & Safety

Health and safety continue to be of paramount importance. During the year the annual Health and Safety Management Audit was carried out by the Safety Advisor with generally satisfactory results. Numerical comparison with previous years is not possible as the new scoring scheme has not yet been introduced. Regular management inspections were carried out, both announced and unannounced. Many of the issues raised are caused by housekeeping and this is being addressed. Training sessions have been run for operating volunteers to maintain standards. The rebuilding of Wharf resulted in difficult operating conditions, especially with the café being located south of the line. The arrangements put in place worked well and there were few problems. The safety of the building site itself was the responsibility of the contractor. Working practices were addressed to try and reduce the number of minor accidents. During the year the Railway Inspectorate requested details of level crossings on the line as incidents at such locations are becoming a general cause of concern on railways. Health and safety remains an item on the agenda of staff and management meetings as well as the Board and several committees; it remains the responsibility of all involved in working on the Railway, employees and volunteers alike. Improved housekeeping and awareness by everyone would continue to raise standards further: “Safety is no Accident”.

Society Activities

The Society and Membership Committee continued to host events for the membership throughout 2004. This included Bank Holiday Barbecues, a Bonfire and Firework Display, the New Year’s Eve Party and assisting with the A.G.M. evening entertainment, the highlight of which was the critically acclaimed first T.R. musical Chuffy Chuffy Clank Clank. The Young Members’ Group held various working parties assisting in the upkeep of the hostel Llechfan, organized a carriage-push to raise funds and gave valuable assistance to the outdoor gang.

Our two groups for introducing under-14s to practical work on the Railway, Tracksiders and Navvies, joined forces in August to show a reporter from Steam Railway how hard they toiled, and incidentally the depth of support to carry the Railway well beyond its sesquicentenary.

At the end of 2003 a new Llechfan Group was convened to replace the Sub-Committee which had not met for some time. In conjunction with a new Warden it is working to improve standards in the hostel.

Nicholas Newble succeeded Andy and Gill Best as Editor of the Talyllyn News from the June issue and is building on their good work whilst bringing a fresh look to the magazine. Andy and Gill are continuing to typeset this Annual Report, saving the Honorary Secretary from yet more grey hairs.

Membership at the year-end was down 1.7% from last year at 3,568.

Museum and Heritage

Throughout the year, work has continued towards the opening of the new Museum at Wharf Station. The new building was completed towards the end of 2004 and much behind-the-scenes work done in preparation for moving the exhibits into the new building. The large exhibits moved in just after the end of our reporting year, and much work continues towards the re-opening of the Museum. By the time this report is published, everybody will be able to judge the fruits of our labours.

The new Museum will require additional staffing and more volunteer attendants are being recruited and trained. Further offers of help will always be welcomed.

The Museum has established its own website <www.ngrm.org.uk>, giving more detailed information on the new Museum and its collection. Full details of all our exhibits and their history will eventually be available there. Our thanks are due to the Railway’s Webmaster for the information continually made available on the main T.R. website.

On the Railway, the inaugural meeting of the Talyllyn Heritage Group has been held and a Talyllyn Heritage email discussion group has been set up. Once the work concerned with the new Museum has been completed, it is intended to move on to other works concerning the preservation and interpretation of the Railway and its history. As well as the days of the McConnels and Sir Haydn, people are now realizing that the early days of the Society are themselves passing into history and are of interest to others. Many of our early members took photographs or made other records of our activities and efforts are being made to archive such material before it is lost to posterity.

Report of the Honorary Treasurer

The loss made by the Railway for the 2004 season was £66,793, up from £50,925 in 2003. This was no doubt partly due to the effects of the redevelopment of Wharf Station, but to quantify this is not possible.

Traffic receipts were little changed but Operating Costs rose by £21,378. These include the cost of repairing No. 4’s boiler and an increase in Staff Costs, whereas Maintenance of Ways and Works reduced by £8,918. Other Expenses increased by £10,087. Other Income was £1,742 higher despite a much smaller contribution from the main line ticket agency due to its closure; this was more than made up for by increased income from footplate experience courses.

The Revenue Account shows the results of the Railway’s commercial activities, with more detail in Note 3. Although Railway Shop sales were down the profit was higher as a result of much improved margins. The loss on Catering was £682 higher than in 2003.

Wharf redevelopment was still in progress at the end of the financial year and final figures are not available at the time of writing. As last year, the net expenditure to date is shown as a separate item under Fixed Assets, after deducting grants received.

The Society’s income was little changed from the previous year. Donations include £1,341 from the “T.R. Tote”. Society expenditure was also much the same and the Society has again made a special grant, of £66,793, to avoid carrying forward a deficit in the Company’s Balance Sheet.

Under Special Funds the No. 4 Boiler Appeal has been transferred to Surplus following the completion of the work; the Golden Jubilee Appeal remains and is still open.

Talyllyn Holdings Ltd. made grants of £258,679 to the Railway Company, of which £250,000 related to Wharf redevelopment, the balance being for specific items of expenditure. As a result of this there was a loss for the year of £208,548 against a surplus of £33,462; much of this was covered by the release of restricted funds which were held for development and locomotives.