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75th Anniversary Gala
May 15 – May 17
Celebrating 75 Years of The World’s First Preserved Railway
Celebrating this significant milestone in Railway Preservation history where it all started!
This bumper 3-day gala event promises to live up to the hype, with the theme of “TR Best Hits” from across the years.
Timetable available at the bottom of the page!
FRIDAY – 1950s & 1960s
Focusing on those pioneering days, Friday will feature recreations of iconic trains from the period such as Queen Elizabeth II’s Coronation Train.
No.5 ‘Midlander’ will also be recreating one of its frequent jobs of the 1960s, hauling a number of trips to Brynglas and back as it did on the market days of the time.
Throughout the day a special service entitled “The Spirit(s) of Titfield” will run, celebrating the 1953 Ealing Comedy Classic “The Titfield Thunderbolt” which was inspired by the story of our Railway being saved by a plucky band of volunteers. There might even be a duel!
The day will end with a double-header of No.4 ‘Edward Thomas’ and No.2 ‘Dolgoch’ on the vintage set, re-creating the former’s first trip up the Railway!
SATURDAY – 1970s & 1980s
If one big anniversary wasn’t enough for you, it’s also 50 Years since the Railway extended to the current Terminus of Nant Gwernol – a recreation of the opening train will run on this day, garland and all!
You might even see No.5 ‘Midlander’ out and about on some tipper wagons, re-creating the extensive works trains that were constantly to-ing and fro-ing between Abergynolwyn and the new terminus.
There will be double-headed trains and even some trains banked to Pendre, re-creating the busy periods where the trains were longer than could be handled up the steep Wharf cutting!
The Railway had its first visit from one of the Reverend Wilbert Awdry’s famous Little Engines during the 1980s, and from what we hear a certain engine is very keen to be the centre of attention – so who knows what might happen!
As the light starts to fade on Saturday, that doesn’t mean the fun is over – it’s time for…
OVERNIGHT STEAM
Saturday will also see the return of Overnight Steam to the Railway for the first time in 11 years, with steam-hauled services running throughout the night and straight through into Sunday morning!
There will be two trains running overnight, providing the chance to change trains and really explore the Railway under the cover of darkness.
If you only want to ride on the overnight trains and none during the day, we’ve a special ticket just for that too!
SUNDAY – 1990s & The Present Day
Sunday brings us through the 1990s and into the present day, where we are now a key component of the Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales UNESCO World Heritage Site – as such it is hoped that we will run the very same slate train up the Railway as we did on the day we were inscribed as a part of World Heritage!
Our two Baguley diesels will also take to the passenger stock, with a train formed of some of the most recent vehicles to run on TR metals.
ACROSS THE GALA
There will be other attractions across the Railway as well, with Tywyn Wharf set to be a hub of activity.
A display on the story of The World’s First Preserved Railway and its Volunteers will be situated here alongside historic vehicles, screenings of archive footage and the re-built rolling chassis of the original TR No.5 on display for the first time.
The Llechfan Garden Railway will also be open across Saturday & Sunday.
At Abergynolwyn there will be miniature traction engines chuffing around the field below the station and up the drive.
More details and announcements to come.
Tickets are available to book now:
ADULT – £40 | CHILD – £10
ADULT MEMBER – £10 | CHILD MEMBER – £5
2-DAY ADULT – £60 | 2-DAY CHILD – £10
2-DAY ADULT MEMBER – £15 | 2-DAY CHILD MEMBER – £5
3-DAY ADULT – £80 | 3-DAY CHILD – £10
3-DAY ADULT MEMBER – £20 | 3-DAY CHILD MEMBER – £5
OVERNIGHT ADULT – £29 | OVERNIGHT CHILD – £5 | MEMBER – Free
Single-Day tickets are valid on all services on the date of issue – e.g: a day ticket for 16th May is valid on a 23:59 departure from Abergynolwyn, despite it arriving back at Tywyn Wharf on Sunday 17th May.
Multi-Day tickets are valid from 00:00 to 23:59 for dates of issue, and are valid on all overnight services if used across Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th May.
Overnight Ticket valid from 7pm on Saturday 16th May to 8am on Sunday 17th May.
Working Volunteers from reciprocal agreement railways are entitled to Members rate
TIMETABLES
All information provisional and subject to change.
