Building on the success of the previous two years and growing reputation, the Talyllyn Railway’s Heritage Weekend took place on 13/14 September. Created to depict the rich heritage of the Talyllyn Railway and associated history such as the slate industry in the area, personalities involved in the railway, and the history of other railways whose locomotives and rolling stock are now based on the Talyllyn, the event saw hundreds of visitors ride the themed trains and explore the displays.
This year there was a strong focus on the slate heritage of the Talyllyn, reflecting its original role as a means of transporting slate from Bryn Eglwys quarry in the hills high above the western end of the railway, with the old quarry, Abergynolwyn village (built to house the quarry workers and their families) and the railway itself now proudly part of the UNESCO Slate Landscape of Northwest Wales World Heritage Site.
Excitingly, as part of the weekend, for the first time since 1946, a Talyllyn Railway slate waggon was moved by horse, a common sight in the days of the quarry as horses were used to pull the waggons along the level sections of railway which served the quarry inbetween inclined planes that winched waggons up and down steep slopes. Thanks to the hard work of Carnog Working Horses, who have operated in the area previously undertaking horse logging work, working horse Molly took to her new role to the delight of watching visitors.
The event was also supported by Amgueddfa Lechi Cymri National Slate Museum as part of their ‘Museum on the Move’, bringing their people, collections and stories to partner locations at the heart of the slate story communities. Talks on the Friday and Saturday evenings by Talyllyn Railway volunteers covered the subjects of famous writer and preservationist Tom Rolt, who was one of those who preserved the railway in the early 1950’s, and the railways which served Abergynolwyn village and the horse-worked sections up to the quarry, using previously unseen images of the tracks in use.
The trains themselves were specially geared towards the heritage of the railway, with Saturday featuring trains well into the night focused on the Talyllyn and Corris Railways in the pre-preservation era, seeing original carriages from both railways in use together with original waggons from the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum, and the newly recreated Gunpowder van constructed by the Talyllyn’s Young Members Group in 2024/25. The Group also conducted waggon handshunting demonstrations at Tywyn Wharf Station across the weekend, organising the waggons in order to be taken out on trains.
Sunday shifted to portray the railway in its early preservation years, with sights such as Corris Railway locomotives pulling Talyllyn Railway original carriages, a diesel locomotive taking tipper wagons up the line as seen during the extension of the passenger railway between Abergynolwyn and Nant Gwernol in the 1960’s and 70’s, and a typical 1950’s goods train used to take materials to relay what was, by then, poor condition track in the early preservation era. The Talyllyn Railway’s Heritage Weekend will return next September, continuing its focus on the history of the Talyllyn Railway and the communities and industries it served.
