RAILWAY NEWS FROM AROUND THE PRESERVATION SCENE shanty’ called ‘Beardman’ using suitable lyrics sung by local Mid Devon community choir ‘Voiceworx’. Dick Wood’s regular Turkish Barber, Sultan Burak, who owns the ‘Golden Scissor’ hairdressing salon in Bampton Street, Tiverton, came down especially to carry out the full beard shave and hair trim. Whilst the SDR’s SOS appeal and grants from local councils and the Government have raised an impressive £1,326,147 to date, the SDR has lost £2 million in revenue so far and is, therefore, still in desperate need of funds to keep the wheels rolling in the railway’s 149th year, and which celebrates its 150th birthday in 2022. PNP Events which has the one of the UK franchises to operate Polar Express ™ trains have announced on social media and other channels that tickets for this December’s operation on the SDR will go on sale on Monday 7 June. The SDR, and they, are expecting big demand for tickets given that 17,000 people booked to go on our Polar Express ™ trains for the first year of operation last year, but the whole programme had to be cancelled late on due to another Covid Lockdown intervening Over the weekend of the 8th/9th May, the SDR enjoyed viral interest on social media following posting of Emma Massingale’s delightful ‘Pony Express’ video last Friday (7 May) featuring two pony mares visiting Dartmoor Otters and Totnes Rare Breeds, plus SDR steam trains which had been viewed almost 900,000 times by Sunday afternoon! By the beginning f the week, the figure had reached around 2million! Do go and have a look – it is a wonderful video that all the family will enjoy - Ed See: https:// fb.watch/5mhWHkNSpF/ and https://youtu.be/Mn4-bLjw1KU The All-Party Parliamentary Group on Heritage Rail has welcomed the anniversary of the first train to be run by volunteers in preservation – on the 14 May, 1951 on the Talyllyn Railway in Gwynedd. The narrow gauge railway dates from 1865, and was built to serve slate quarries above Abergynolwyn. ‘Without the plucky pioneers, it would never have happened,’ says the All-Party Parliamentary Group on Heritage Rail which has hailed the seventieth anniversary of the
first train to be run by volunteers on a heritage railway as the first step for a movement that has done so much to develop the culture of volunteering and respect for Britain’s unique railway heritage. With the support of members of the Group, Chair, Rt Hon Liz Saville Roberts MP has tabled an Early Day Motion to draw attention to this milestone anniversary. She said: “This first small step by the volunteers of the Talyllyn Railway, in my Dwyfor Meirionnydd constituency, ignited the enthusiasm of people around the country which led to the amazing heritage railway movement which has done so much to support rural communities and the wellbeing of so many people who are railway volunteers. I am very proud that the Talyllyn is one of seven heritage railways in my constituency, and one of the eleven Great Little Trains of Wales, and wish them well for the next 70 years.” Lord Faulkner is Vice Chairman of the Group and also President of the Heritage Railway Association said: “The heritage railway movement is a remarkable success story involving some 22,000 volunteers across the country with huge benefits for wellbeing in this difficult period. Skills training and teamwork have brought encouragement and a sense of purpose to many young volunteers, recognised by an annual HRA award. The scale of the success would have been unimaginable to the Talyllyn pioneers seventy years ago, but without their courage and tenacity, it would not have happened.” Spring 2021
The text of the Early Day Motion is: “TALYLLYN HERITAGE RAILWAY ANNIVERSARY That this House warmly congratulates Talyllyn Railway, Tywyn on its seventieth anniversary of running a public train service with volunteers, preserving its unique heritage for thousands of visitors to enjoy; notes that the railway dates from 1865, and was built to serve slate quarries above Abergynolwyn; further notes that Talyllyn Railway was the first heritage railway to be run by volunteers in preservation, igniting the enthusiasm of people across the UK leading to the development of the heritage railway movement; regrets the 18 months of loss of income suffered by heritage railways due to the Covid pandemic; and wishes them well as they start to welcome visitors again.” The joint administrators of Llangollen Railway have sold the business and certain assets to Llangollen Railway Trust Limited for an undisclosed amount ensuring a new future for one of North Wales’s most popular leisure attractions. Alan Coleman, one of the joint administrators, together with
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