Rural Idyll
18 Dec 2018 11:51AM
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October 2016 saw me spend three days dodging cow pats in farmers fields whilst nursing a bad back and with some patience, waiting for clouds to pass. That said, the weather for mid October was exceptional really – very warm and pleasant.
This was a visit to a quiet relatively unspoilt corner of Wales around Llanfair Caereinion and the Afon Banwy. A rural idyll through which a narrow gauge railway runs and unlike the others in Wales, it served a rural community rather than the heavier industries such as slate.
Unfortunately, this was to be its downfall, the small farming communities it passed by could not support the running of the railway, with the passenger service only running from 1903 to 1931.
The goods traffic survived longer until 1956.
Thankfully, the railway has survived as it passed in to preservation to become a tourist attraction.
So the three days saw recreations of the railway’s past, firstly heading back to the freight only days of British Railways in the early 1950’s and then a hark back to the 1920’s as the passenger days.
The railway has survived as it passed in to preservation thanks to the dedication of many volunteers both initially saving it and then maintaining it.
Also a big thank you to the staff of the Welshpool & Llanfair Railway who patiently helped in the making of theses recreations and David Williams for organising the event.
