As many of you know, I was born in England, and saw many steam trains before they were all withdrawn in the 1960s. However, I didn’t see all of them, and didn’t realize there would be lots of ‘preserved’ railways, even though my parents bought us a “Yard of Track” when the North York Moors Railway was purchasing its track from British Rail.
So we figured it was time to take a short trip to England to see a few railways that I had never experienced. The narrow gauge railways in Wales were a primary target. Then there was “Locomotion”, the new extension of the National Railway Museum in Shildon. It’s an enormous building full of trains.
The fact that my wife’s college roommate lived in the middle of the area I wanted to visit didn’t hurt, and then her other roommate agreed to come. They told me to get lost and enjoy the trains. 
I took a few pictures, so I figured a photo essay might be in order.
First Stop
My sister-in-law lives in the Midlands, so we zoomed there in an Avanti Pendolino tilt-train. We had time for a quick visit to the Wolverhampton Art Gallery, as we had an appointment that afternoon with a local railway expert. And all the local restored railways weren’t running trains on a Friday! The local arts & crafts show had a few trains. This was a good one:
(Yes, it’s a top hat.)
Our afternoon appointment was a local author and train fan, who happened to be known to sis-in-law. He had written 52 books, mostly about the local railway history. But he took us to his shed, where the model railway covered all 4 walls.
It was more of a way to show his collection than a conventional model railway.
One side had the G scale on the upper level. Below is the ‘fiddle yard’ [storage] as the Brits call them for the OO/HO scale trains.
At the lowest level is the 7mm scale (O gauge) area, delineated by backdrops. Although it isn’t easy to see, there are 3 separate loops running through this and under the other sides of the layout.
Opposite the fiddle yard is the main 4mm scale (OO/HO) area. There is a dual-track main line at the back, a station below it, and a branch line station on a loop in front.
All together, there are at least 10 separate circuits of track of various sizes/scales. I missed one photo of the 4th side - the access hatch is actually 3 separate hatches on 3 levels! That side also has the Irish railways section (!) with the 7mm gauge pretending to be Irish broad gauge (5’ 3") and a short section of On30 narrow gauge.
I could happily have spent a few more hours there, but we had a dinner appointment, etc. Ned, our host, did tell us about the Railart 2025 exhibition at Kidderminster station, on the Severn Valley (SVR, preserved) railway. I’ve always liked that station as it has a wharehouse/museum of interesting stuff. When I heard there was a Beer Festival as well on Saturday, that clinched it. We picked up our rental car and headed to Kidderminster.
To my surprise, it was also a charity weekend arranged with GBRf, the private operator of freight trains. They had brought 6 new GBRf diesels, so the SVR only ran one steam engine.
The Railart 2025 exhibition https://railart.co.uk/ was wonderful, but we couldn’t afford most of the pictures, and the one we really wanted was already sold. The beer was good though. On the wall over the art was a collection of locomotive name plates. (UK locos have curved splashers over the drivers, so the names are often curved and fit on top.)
And finally, a Rail Bender, among a collection of track tools. Not quite what we are used to, but I’m pretty sure that’s what it is.
Wales
We set off for Wales the next day, in typical English weather -mostly rain. Our rental car had a Nav system, so we let it find our destination, but we got a bonus on the way.
We were routed through Welshpool, and at the top of the High Street was a sign to “Steam Railway”. Eh? Aha - the Welshpool & Llanfair. This is an obscure railway with an unusual gauge - 2’ 6". Most UK narrow gauge trains are 2’ [1’ 11.5" actually. Don’t ask.] All of it is preserved, though all it does is trundle down the valley to Llanfair.
I opted not to stop, as we were on a tight schedule, and the route took us past the W&L station which looked deserted. But 5 minutes later we see a plume of steam ahead, and we passed the W&L train in the valley. Didn’t see much of it, but a mile or so later we found a stopping place which was right by the Dairy Farm station on the railway.
I was so bemused that I didn’t get a decent photo, as you can see. It was pouring with rain too!
The loco came from a european line that happened to be 2’ 6" gauge. I have a model of the original locos, which are quite similar, and I think one is having an overhaul.
Our tight schedule was because we were heading for the Tallylyn Railway, the world’s first preserved railway (1952.) The 12:15pm was the last train out of Towyn, and there was no way we’d get there to see it. But I realized it was coming up the valley eastbound, so we could meet it at it’s eastern end.
And that’s what happened. This is Abergynolwyn Station, essentially the end of the line, though the train does go up to 1 more stop before returning and stopping for 30 minutes so everyone can hop off and buy lunch.
And before too long the 12:15 arrived, headed by the original “Edward Thomas” fresh from an overhaul.
There were 4 staff on the footplate. Maybe they were training or something. But it must have been crowded.
Like everyone else, we ate our lunch [pork pies from sis-in-law for me,] and,after the train leaded downhill, we set off for Porthmadog, which is the primary station for the FFestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway.
This is the view the following morning from the Premier Inn, a well-known stop for train fans. One of the Double Fairlies [“Merddin Emrys”] was simmering on the train of mostly-full slate wagons, and it shortly took off up the hill - though the train wasn’t mentioned in the schedule. It was a special, I was told later.
Parts 2 and 3 continued below
