The Volk’s Electric Railway celebrated 140 years as the oldest operating electric railway this weekend.
A photograph of the railway during its 80th anniversary. A car is shown leaving the Aquarium Station in 1963. Photograph from the Alan Chorlton collection.
A Cape Government Railways compensating signal lever. The Cape Government Railways (CGR) was the government-owned railway operator in the Cape Colony from 1874 until the creation of the South African Railways (SAR) in 1910. It standardised the 3ft 6in gauge for the railways of South Africa.
The Talyllyn Railway timetable for the summer holiday season 1892. The printed timetable was for July and August, and has a handwritten addition to include September. Of note is the Mondays only 6am service aimed at the quarry workers, who would have lodged at the village or quarry barracks for the week, and confirmation for holiday makers that connections would be made at Towyn.
Following the Awdry Extravaganza event, one of the visitors was so impressed with Wales that going home has had to wait a while.
On loan from Mattel for a short period is the large scale model of Skarloey used in the TV series.
The Talyllyn Railway held its 3rd Awdry Extravaganza event over the weekend. The museum holds a number of Thomas the Tank Engine related merchandise items, including this child’s digital wrist watch. The engine face opens to show the time. The watch was manufactured around 1988 during the Britt Allcroft period of copyright ownership.
Two rail chairs from the Cliffe Hill Mineral Railway in Leicestershire. The 2ft gauge railway carried granite from the quarry to exchange sidings near the Midland Railway’s Barton Hill station. The line closed in 1948. The line had several locomotives over the years, of which two Bagnalls still exist, ‘Isabel’ at Amerton and ‘Peter’ at Amberley.
As part of the temporary exhibition marking 150 years of the Glyn Valley Tramway, this fine model by John Milner of a Glyn Valley Tramway wagon is on display in the museum.
As America celebrates the 4th July, this week’s object is a gold-coloured rail spike from the Silverton Northern Railroad, a 3ft gauge railroad in Colorado, USA. Construction started in 1889 as a branch of the Silverton Railroad to Eureka and was built to reach the mining area north of Silverton, along the upper Animas River.
The railroad closed during the second world war.
The firm of John Fowler and Company, Leeds built locomotives for both standard and narrow gauge railways, many being exported overseas. The Australian sugar cane industry in Queensland was served by an extensive system of 2ft narrow gauge railways. The works plate is from a locomotive, built in March 1915, and delivered to the Central Sugar Mill, South Johnstone, Queensland. The mill was under construction at the time, and opened in 1916.
The museum has received a number of books recently, including this topical book on the Welshpool and Llanfair Railway, which is celebrating 60 years of operation by the Society.
Following closure by British Railways in 1956, and a long period of uncertainty, the ‘Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway Preservation Company Limited’ was able to lease most of the railway. Excluded from the agreement was the section which ran through Welshpool’s streets including the railway’s headquarters. The new Company was forced to move its operation to Llanfair.