Nearly 120 years ago, steam trains began rattling their way between the Montgomeryshire towns of Welshpool and Llanfair Caereinion carrying passengers and freight. Due to its tight curves and steep gradients, a 2 ft 6 in narrow gauge was chosen. Back then, the line wound its way from Llanfair Caereinion all the way through Welshpool to its terminus alongside the main-line station with barely a gap between the train and the buildings. It was quite a sight to see!
On 11th April 1903, The Montgomery and Radnor Echo reported:
“Since the opening for passenger traffic of the Welshpool and Llanfair Railway the line has been doing exceptionally well. On Monday (fair day) heavily laden trains ran throughout the day; indeed so numerous were the passengers that the coaches were packed, to use the expression of one who travelled by the line, like “sardines in a tin.” For the return trains to Llanfair in the evening, the services of the police had to be requisitioned to keep the crowd in order.”
Visit BFI Player to see Camwell Personal Film No. 62: Welshpool Raven Square Railway – a glimpse of a steam train making its way through the streets of Welshpool (there maybe restrictions for viewers outside of the UK).
In February 1931 the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway became a freight-only service with buses replacing the passenger service. Freight services remained until November 1956 when British Rail decided to close the line for good, but all was not lost…
A group of volunteers and enthusiasts came to the rescue. In 1963 they opened the western half of the line from Llanfair Caereinion to Castle Caereinion as a heritage railway. By 1971 the line had reached Sylfaen and by 1981 it had reached Welshpool. The line, however, could no longer reach its original terminus due to the development of the town, so the line now ends at Raven Square on the western edge of Welshpool.
Today the line is 9 miles long, running between Llanfair Caereinion and Welshpool, but it’s not an easy route. These little trains have to climb up to the summit of Golfa Bank, 650 ft above sea level, climbing 280 ft in 1.5 miles.
The Earl and The Countess, two original steam locomotives built in 1902 for the Llanfair & Welshpool Light Railway, still run on the line today, supplemented by other locomotives and rolling stock from around the world.
One Thursday in September, we made the short journey over the hills to the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway for a ride on a steam train. We started our journey at Llanfair Caereinion and treated ourselves to a table in the first-class carriage (complete with comfortable white leather armchairs). It was £59.95 for a table for two in first class which included a goody bag containing two bottles of traditional lemonade, 2 packs of biscuits and a guidebook.
There’s a bit of a height difference between the platform and the first-class carriage, so I had to heave myself up into the carriage. However, they did have a lift on hand to help raise passengers to the level of the carriage. Whilst the first-class carriage is not wheelchair accessible, other carriages are.
While it is only 9 miles from Llanfair Caereinion to Welshpool, the journey taken by the steam train is a leisurely one. There is plenty of time to take in the sights and surroundings. You’ll journey through the beautiful Mid Wales countryside and see farmland, river life, wildlife, a variety of wildflowers and more. The return journey from Llanfair Caereinion to Welshpool took us two hours in total, this included time at Welshpool’s Raven Square station.
After our trip, I spent some time on the platform at Llanfair Caereinion station taking photos and videos of the station and the train. After the train had departed on its final journey of the day, the duty manager, Bob Robinson, asked if we’d like to take a look in the signal box. Well, he didn’t have to ask me twice! He said I could pull three of the signal levers and he explained how it all worked. It was lovely of him to take time out of his day to tell us all about the railway. It really topped off a great day.
Of course, we couldn’t leave without visiting the gift shop. Some local jam, a few postcards and a pin badge later, we were ready to find a pub for some food.
The funny thing was, on our way to the pub we arrived at a level crossing just in time to see the locomotive going past!
42 Comments
Eastside Cats Blog
Oh, what fun!
Thanks for taking ‘us’ along on your adventure.
Other than the subway in Chicago, the last train I was on was when I visited Ireland in 1980!
Graeme
It does look like a good day out.
Jo
What a great day out. How lucky we are to have volunteers who keep these beautiful engines of yesteryear ticking over for us to enjoy today.
Kelly
What a fun, fun post!! I’ve shared it with my son-in-law who loves trains.
Nikki
Thanks! I hope he enjoys it too!
Ann Coleman
My grandson would love those trains!!!
Nikki
My nephew has already been on this heritage railway but he’s asked me to take him again!
Johanna Bradley
I love these old steam trains. It’s great that people volunteer and keep the whole thing going. A friend got involved with restoring the Sir Nigel Gresley a while ago and it’s given his life a whole new purpose.
Kris P
What a fun adventure! I was going to say that I couldn’t imagine anything like that here but then I remembered the funicular (cable car) that runs up (and down) a steep hill in downtown Los Angeles. Opened in 1901, it’s called Angel’s Flight and has 2 bright orange and black cars named Olivet and Sinai of the same gauge as your Steam-powered trains. The cars run on a cable a grand total of 298 feet on separate tracks. Reportedly, more than 100 million people have ridden it (one way or another) but, although I worked downtown for 8 years, I never have. The cost is only $1.
Nikki
There’s a funicular railway at Aberystwyth, though I haven’t yet been on it.
Lorrie Orr
A trip on a steam train! Such fun! Love the names of Earl and Countess for the engines.
Nikki
The locomotives were named in honour of the Earl and Countess of Powis. The Earl of Powis was a big supporter of the creation of the railway.
Mike@bitaboutbritain
How splendid! I really enjoyed this. Some wonderful photos, too! I was astonished to read how many heritage railways there are in the UK – I can’t remember the number, but it’s more than a lot. And a VR post box to round things off! Well, pull my signal levers!!
Nikki
Thank you! We have a number of heritage railways here in Wales. You can’t beat a good old post box!
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
Very picturesque! We lived near a railway when I was very young (under 5) and steam trains ran up and down all the time. I think I can still hear (and smell) them.
Nikki
That must have been amazing! Yes, there is a distinctive smell to steam trains.
Wendy Williams
Wow, this looks like so much fun!! I love how clean everything looks.
Jodie
This looks like a lot of fun! So nice to be able to travel and explore in a piece of history.
DeniseinVA
Thoroughly enjoyed your photos and the history. How kind of the manager and I applaud the volunteers and enthusiasts who made all of this happen. I have wonderful memories of racing to the bridge as a child and being bathed by the steam of the train as it went under us. Great post!
Nikki
Thank you. Wonderful memories!
Ann
Will have to keep this in mind for when we’re next in the area!
Thank you for sharing, Nikki, I absolutely love tagging along on your journey.
My camera, like yours, would have done overtime! xxx
Nikki
Please do!
Carol
Trains are fun!
Alan Rolfe
This brings back happy memories. A good few years ago I used to volunteer on the railway mainly running a sales stand in southern England to raise funs for the railway. I used to go to their track weeks and relaid most of the track over the years.
Nikki
These heritage railways could not run without the hard work and help of volunteers. Thanks for doing your part!
Marty
What a fun outing! Love the videos and the conductor waving to you. Great photographs… though you forgot to take one of the pub too! 😉
Tootlepedal
I love a light railway so I really enjoyed this.
somewhereinireland
Thanks for the tour, it was fun seeing the old vintage locomotives. Enjoy your week and thanks for sharing.
Barbara Lofgren
That does look like a fun outing.
Margaret
Such a lovely post of those trains. How wonderful are the volunteers, good on them, they deserve a medal to keep all in shape.
The photos are a delight to see…thanks.
Felicity Grace Terry
Given the complaints of overcrowding on trains, its funny to think that way back then there were reports of coaches being packed, passengers like “sardines in a tin”. Such an interesting post and what amazing photos, thank you for sharing.
Nikki
I read quite a gruesome newspaper report about two men running to catch the steam train as it departed the station. One made it onto the train, but the other sadly fell beneath the moving train and did not survive.
Anca
I love this. I should make a note for next year. A few years ago I went to Bala with the steam train and it was such a lovely and exciting trip. It’s special to travel in a train such as this one.
Nikki
I think we’re lucky here in Wales to have such great heritage railways.
mia
This looks so fun – and I can’t believe it’s run by volunteers! :O My grandad lives in Wales so next time I visit this is on the bucket list 🙂
mia // https://miasdiyprojects.com/
Lauren
Wow! It looks like a great time! You have captured some great photographs. It sounds like an interesting adventure to enjoy. Thank you for sharing.
Lauren.
Ashley
What an amazing journey! I loved reading about your adventure. The history of the railway line fascinated me – great stuff!!!xxx
Nikki
Thank you!
CherryPie
What a fantastic day you had. You have captured some lovely photographs.
Yvonne (@Fiction_Books)
When we come up your way again, we shall definitely have to try the Welshpool & Llanfair Light Railway, as that route has some amazing scenery, which we would both enjoy.
We have the West Somerset Steam Railway, together with a railway museum, close to us and that travels through to Minehead on the coast, so is always a great day out – and of course the stations have the obligatory used book shops!
The East Somerset Steam Railway offers afternoon tea packages, which relatives gave us as a Christmas gift. Not a very long track and the scenery is a bit flat, but very relaxing and the food and service were impeccable.
Thanks for sharing, your lovely photos make it seem as though I am actually there 🙂
Denise Bush
Looks like a fun day! You sure got a lot of great photos. We have a narrow gage train here in Southwest Colorado that goes between Durango & Silverton. It is very popular with tourists.
Pit
I absolutely LOVE those old stean engines! Thanks for sharing.