The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum (
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
: ''Amgueddfa Rheilffyrdd Bach Cul'') is a purpose-built
museum
A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...
dedicated to
narrow-gauge railway
A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard-gauge railway, standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and .
Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum r ...
s situated at the station of the
Talyllyn Railway
The Talyllyn Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Talyllyn) is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865Drummond 2015, page 17 ...
in
Tywyn
Tywyn (Welsh: ; in English often ), formerly spelled Towyn, is a town, community, and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales. It was previously in the historic county of Merionethshire. It is famous as the loc ...
,
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
.
The museum has a collection of more than 1,000 items from over eighty narrow-gauge railways in Wales, England, the Isle of Man, Ireland and Scotland. This includes six locomotives on display (and several others in store or at other sites); eleven wagons inside with a further eleven outside; a display showing the development of track work from early plateways to modern narrow-gauge tracks; several large signals along with single line working apparatus and documents; a growing collection of tickets and other documents, posters, notices, crockery and souvenirs; relics from vehicles scrapped long ago and the Awdry Study, re-created with the original furniture and fittings in memory of the Rev.
Wilbert Awdry
Wilbert Vere Awdry (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997) was an English Anglican minister, railway enthusiast, and children's author. He was best known for creating Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas and several other characters he created appeared in ...
, an early volunteer on the Talyllyn Railway best known for his series of railway books such as "
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine is an anthropomorphised fictional tank locomotive in the British ''Railway Series'' books by Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher, published from 1945. He became the most popular and famous character in the series, a ...
."
Background
![Guinness loco at NGRM - 2008-03-18](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3f/Guinness_loco_at_NGRM_-_2008-03-18.jpg)
The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum collection began in the 1950s when the
Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society
The Talyllyn Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Talyllyn) is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865Drummond 2015, page 17 ...
(TRPS) was the first voluntary society in the world to take over and run a public passenger carrying railway. Narrow-gauge railways were becoming redundant and their equipment scrapped. Immediately, items from other narrow-gauge lines began to be offered to the TRPS and a committee was formed to acquire examples of locomotives, rolling stock and other equipment to place on public display. In 1964 a charitable trust was formed to manage and develop the museum and this was replaced by the present Narrow Gauge Railway Museum Trust on 11 July 1994.
The main activity of the trust takes place at the Talyllyn Railway Wharf station. Inside the museum interactive and static exhibits illustrate the diversity, individuality, technical ingenuity and charm of narrow-gauge railways. The fleet of historic wagons kept outside is operational and the original wagon weighbridge from 1865 has been restored and included in a redeveloped section of the Wharf yard including a purpose-built weighbridge hut.
![DundeeGasWorksLoco](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2f/DundeeGasWorksLoco.jpg)
The first museum displays were in the old Gunpowder Store at Wharf station. Soon a walled yard, used for the storage of coal, was roofed over and an extension added in 1964. The building served well but had no insulation, was damp and cold in winter and hot and airless in summer making it difficult to conserve the collection. What was needed was a new museum building with adequate space, accessibility and environment, and professionally designed displays.
At the same time the Talyllyn Railway was seeking to improve its facilities at Wharf station to better meet the needs of passengers and the operation of the railway. When the TRPS took over, there was a single small building which served as a booking office, weigh house, and general office for the railway. Like the museum, this had been augmented by various extensions and portable buildings: a radical solution was needed. With the approach of the golden jubilee of the TRPS in 2000, an appeal was launched for funds to build a new station and museum. Funding from the
Heritage Lottery Fund
The National Lottery Heritage Fund, formerly the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), distributes a share of National Lottery funding, supporting a wide range of heritage projects across the United Kingdom.
History
The fund's predecessor bodies were ...
to conserve the unique museum collection plus other government and charitable sources was obtained to match money raised by friends of the Railway and Museum. A two-storey building now houses the museum, refreshment room, education room and railway offices, which links with a shop and booking office in an extended version of the original building. Work began in stages in 2001, and the new station and museum complex was opened by
Charles, Prince of Wales
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to ...
and
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
Camilla (born Camilla Rosemary Shand, later Parker Bowles, 17 July 1947) is Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms as the wife of King Charles III. She became queen consort on 8 September 2022, upon the acc ...
on 13 July 2005. In 2010 the museum gained Accredited status under the
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council (MLA) was until May 2012 a non-departmental public body and registered charity in England with a remit to promote improvement and innovation in the area of museums, libraries and archives. Its function ...
scheme to improve standards in museums.
Locomotives at the museum
Rolling stock on display in the museum
![DeanForestPlateway](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f2/DeanForestPlateway.jpg)
* Birkby's Brickworks, small steel wagon with 4 flangeless wheels and forked bracket to accept haulage chain. It ran on an 18in gauge plateway made up from lengths of steel angle. Donated in 1983.
*
Bicslade Tramroad
The Bicslade Tramroad was a wagonway built by the Severn and Wye Railway (S&WR) in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. The first section of the line was opened in 1812 as a branch of the S&WR plateway from Lydney to Lydbrook, which ha ...
oak-framed 4-wheel plateway wagon, , from
Bixslade
Bixslade, occasionally written Bix Slade, is a short, steep-sided, valley in the Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire. It begins on high ground at Bixhead, near Broadwell, and descends sharply to meet the Cannop Valley at Stonyhill Green. Bixslade h ...
in the
Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. It forms a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and northwest, Herefordshire to the n ...
. The oldest item in the collection built about 1790 and given to the Trust in 1964.
*
Dinorwic Quarry Railway (
Padarn Railway
The Padarn Railway was a narrow gauge railway in North Wales, built to the unusual gauge of . It carried slate from Dinorwic Quarry to Port Dinorwic. The line opened on 3 March 1843, replacing the Dinorwic Railway. It initially used horses, ...
), gauge host wagon built 1848 to carry three 2′ gauge slate wagons and a 2′ gauge guards van from the Quarries to the Incline down to Port Dinorwic. The line was closed in 1961 and the wagons came to the museum in 1964.
*
Nantlle Tramway wagon, gauge ; steel: double-flanged wheels, loose on fixed axles, built by Glaslyn Foundry, Portmadoc. Line opened 1828 worked by horses until the final section was closed by
British Railways
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
(BR) in 1963, the last use of horses by BR. Given to the museum in 1958.
* Oakley Quarry Coal Wagon, wooden body with doors at one end, ran on Festiniog Railway. Purchased in 1963.
*
Bryn Eglwys
Bryn Eglwys quarry was a slate quarry and mine near Abergynolwyn, in Merionethshire (now part of Gwynedd), Wales. More than 300 men worked at the site, making it the principal employer in the area. Two veins of slate, known as the Broad Vein an ...
Quarry Wagon, , wood, for carrying slate slabs out of the quarry. Donated in 1980 and in store until restoration and display in 2001.
*
Woolwich Arsenal Wagon, wooden flat body for carrying explosives. Donated in 1976.
Rolling stock on display outside the museum
![TRSlateWaggons](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/TRSlateWaggons.jpg)
*
Corris Railway
The Corris Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Corris) is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire (now Gwynedd) and Montgomeryshire (now Powys) in Mid-Wales.
The line opened in 1859 as a horse tramway, runni ...
Mail Wagon, , used for carrying mail by gravity down the line every week-day afternoon, lamp bracket fitted at down end. Four-wheel, end door, 1-ton wagon ex-GWR 31992, TR 10, Turner axleboxes, bought by TR in 1951 and donated to museum in 1994.
*
Corris Railway
The Corris Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Corris) is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire (now Gwynedd) and Montgomeryshire (now Powys) in Mid-Wales.
The line opened in 1859 as a horse tramway, runni ...
. Incline balancing wagon used on incline at Aberlefenni. Given to museum in 2006.
* Crofty Tin Mine, 14 cu ft capacity tipping mine tub to museum in 1996.
*
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway (GWR) was a British railway company that linked London with the southwest, west and West Midlands of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament on 31 August 1835 and ran ...
steel bodied, slate wagon for use in Blaenau Ffestiniog area: purchased 1980.
*
London & North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom.
In 1923, it became a constituent of the Lo ...
, steel slate wagon, built at Earlstown in 1887, LMS 284465, used in Blaenau Ffestiniog area on piggy back wagons to carry slate for transshipment. Donated by
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most of the overground rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the Big Four British rai ...
ways in 1964.
*
Talyllyn Railway
The Talyllyn Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Talyllyn) is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865Drummond 2015, page 17 ...
, rebuilt wagons, using original and replica steel and cast iron parts and new timber. (The numbers are simply for identification and do not relate to historic numbers)
** 101 – two bar wooden slate wagon, 1 ton capacity: the first item in the museum collection in 1953.
** 117 – metal bodied incline wagon: to museum in 1973.
** 136 – three bar wooden slate wagon, 1 ton capacity: to museum in 1994.
** 146 – covered wooden van, with brake, based on parts lying at Rhydyronen from the 1930s to 1997.
** 164 – two bar wooden slate wagon, 1 ton capacity with brakes: purchased 2000.
** 178 – display wagon at Neptune Road entrance.
Locomotives at other sites
Rolling stock on display at other sites
*
Furzebrook
Furzebrook is a small village on the Isle of Purbeck, in the county of Dorset in the south of England. It is about south of Wareham and northwest of Corfe Castle, and is in the civil parish of Church Knowle.
The name Furzebrook derives from t ...
Wagon – gauge wagon with wooden body with end door and sledge brake, four wheels, from the Pike Bros, Fayle & Co clay workings in the Isle of Purbeck, donated by The Narrow Gauge Railway Society 1958 was loaned for display at the
Swanage Railway
The Swanage Railway is a railway branch line from near Wareham, Dorset to Swanage, Dorset, England, opened in 1885 and now operated as a heritage railway.
The independent company which built it was amalgamated with the larger London and South ...
in 2002.
Major exhibits in the museum
![Weighbridge and weighbridge office](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/77/Weighbridge_and_weighbridge_office.jpeg)
* Track, from early plateways to modern versions
* Narrow-gauge railways in industry
* Narrow-gauge railways in military use
* Narrow-gauge railways as public carriers
* Temporary exhibitions
* Ticket collection
*
Rev. W. Awdry collection
* New accessions
* Signals from the
Manx Northern Railway
The Manx Northern Railway (MNR) was the second common carrier railway built in the Isle of Man. It operated as an independent concern only from 1879 to 1905.
History
When the people in the town of Ramsey realised their town was not going to ...
, the
Isle of Man Railway
The Isle of Man Railway (IMR) ( gv, Raad Yiarn Vannin) is a narrow gauge steam-operated railway connecting Douglas with Castletown and Port Erin on the Isle of Man. The line is narrow gauge and long. It is the remainder of what was a much ...
and County Donegal Railways
*
Chattenden and Upnor Railway
The Chattenden and Upnor Railway (also known as the Lodge Hill and Upnor Railway) was a narrow gauge railway serving the military barracks and depot at Upnor, Kent and associated munitions and training depots. It was preceded in the early 1870s ...
lever and locking frame to control points and signals in replica signal box
* Chattenden and Upnor Railway signal
* Film of Talyllyn Railway in the 1950s
Major exhibits at other locations
* DeWinton cast iron lamp post in Wharf yard
* Festiniog disc signal in Wharf yard
* TR wagon turntable and track: Wharf edge
* TR wagon weigh bridge with original TR trackwork and new weigh bridge office (built 2008 - 2011)
* Point (turnout) in 1865 track materials: Abergynolwyn
* Village Incline winding drum and site: Abergynolwyn
See also
*
List of British railway museums
{{Use British English, date=January 2017
This is a list of railway museums in the United Kingdom.
England
* Amberley Working Museum, Arundel, West Sussex
* Astley Green Colliery Museum, Astley, Greater Manchester
* Bahamas Locomotive Societ ...
*
British narrow-gauge railways
There were more than a thousand British narrow-gauge railways ranging from large, historically significant common carriers to small, short-lived industrial railways. Many notable events in British railway history happened on narrow-gauge railway ...
References
External links
Narrow Gauge Railway MuseumTalyllyn Railway
{{Authority control
Tywyn
Railway museums in Gwynedd
Talyllyn Railway
1959 establishments in Wales
Museums established in 1959
Narrow-gauge railway museums in the United Kingdom