How the Post Sparked a Preservation Movement ; the Birmingham Post Was Instrumental in Setting Up the First Ever Preserved Railway - and Sparking a Global Heritage Movement. On the 60th Anniversary of the Launch of a Battling Campaign Group, Matt Lloyd Visits the Talyllyn Railway

Summary

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It seemed more like a ghost train than a passenger service on a once thriving line.

Broken down and crumbling, there seemed little hope for the Talyllyn Railway, which snaked seven miles from Tywyn, in Cardigan Bay, to the slate quarries of Abergynolwyn. As the slate traffic fell off, so did the passenger numbers. The "mouldering track" was held together by clumps of grass and the last working engine, called Dolgoch, was destined for the industrial knackers' yard.

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How the Post Sparked a Preservation Movement ; the Birmingham Post Was Instrumental in Setting Up the First Ever Preserved Railway - and Sparking a Global Heritage Movement. On the 60th Anniversary of the Launch of a Battling Campaign Group, Matt Lloyd Visits the Talyllyn Railway

One of the world's first narrow gauge lines for steam haulage, the Talyllyn Railway, which had been operational since 1865, was about to hit the buffers.

The pitiful sight was witnessed by a correspondent for the Birmingham Post and his funereal report was published on September 5, 1949.

He wrote: "One has felt the air of a ghost train about it. It passes crumbling waiting rooms and stations and pathetic heap...

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