Narrow Gauge Railway Museum
Encyclopedia
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
dedicated to narrow gauge railways situated at the station of the Talyllyn Railway
Talyllyn Railway
The Talyllyn Railway 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 1866 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain...
in Tywyn
Tywyn
Tywyn is a town and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd , in north Wales. The name derives from the Welsh tywyn and the town is sometimes referred to as Tywyn Meirionnydd...
, Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
.
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, 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, an early volunteer on the Talyllyn Railway and best known for his series of railway books such as “Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine
Thomas the Tank Engine is a fictional steam locomotive in The Railway Series books by the Reverend Wilbert Awdry and his son, Christopher. He became the most popular character in the series, and the accompanying television spin-off series, Thomas and Friends.Thomas is a tank engine, painted blue...
.”
Background
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 is being restored to be included in a redeveloped section of the Wharf yard including a purpose built weighbridge hut.
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 ar 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
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
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 H.R.H. Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall on 13th July 2005. In 2010 the Museum gained Accredited status under the MLA
Museums, Libraries and Archives Council
The Museums, Libraries and Archives Council is a non-departmental public body in England and a registered charity with a remit to promote improvement and innovation in the area of museums, libraries and archives...
scheme to improve standards in museums.
Locomotives at the Museum
| Name | Gauge | Builder | Type | Date | Works number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No.774 | Baguley Ernest E. Baguley -Employment:Baguley served an apprenticeship with R & W Hawthorn Leslie, initially at their Tyneside shipyard and later at their Forth Bank, Newcastle, locomotive works. In 1890 he moved to Stafford and became Chief Draughtsman for W G Bagnall Ltd... |
4wPM | 1919 | 774 | Undergoing restoration, not on display, purchased 1998 | |
| Dot | Beyer Peacock | 0-4-0WT | 1887 | 2817 | Built for the internal Gorton locomotive works Gorton locomotive works Gorton Locomotive Works, known locally as Gorton Tank was located in Openshaw near Manchester, England and was completed in 1848 by the Sheffield, Ashton-under-Lyne and Manchester Railway.- History :... of Beyer Peacock. Donated to the Museum in 1961. |
|
| Rough Pup | Hunslet Hunslet Engine Company The Hunslet Engine Company is a British locomotive-building company founded in 1864 at Jack Lane, Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England by John Towlerton Leather, a civil engineering contractor, who appointed James Campbell as his Works Manager.In 1871, James Campbell bought the company for... |
0-4-0ST | 1891 | 541 | Built for the Dinorwic Quarry Dinorwic Quarry The Dinorwic Slate Quarry is a large former slate quarry, now home to the Welsh National Slate Museum, located between the villages of Llanberis and Dinorwig in north Wales. It was the second largest slate quarry in Wales, indeed in the world, after the neighbouring Penrhyn Quarry.... railway. Preserved as withdrawn from service, in the Museum since 1964. |
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| No. 13 | 1 ft 10 in (559 mm) | William Spence Ltd. | 0-4-0T | 1895 | One of a fleet of overtype locomotives built for the Guinness Guinness Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost... St. James's Gate Brewery St. James's Gate Brewery St. James's Gate Brewery is a brewery founded in 1759 in Dublin, Ireland by Arthur Guinness. The company is now a part of Diageo, a company formed via the merger of Guinness and Grand Metropolitan in 1997. The main product produced at the brewery is Guinness Draft.Leased for 9,000 years in 1759 by... in Dublin and the first loco donated to the Museum, in 1956. |
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| Nutty | 2 ft 11 in (889 mm) | Sentinel Sentinel Waggon Works Sentinel Waggon Works Ltd was a British company based in Shrewsbury, Shropshire that made steam-powered lorries, railway locomotives, and later, diesel engined lorries and locomotives.-Alley & MacLellan, Sentinel Works, Jessie Street Glasgow:... |
4wGT | 1929 | 7701 | Rare geared locomotive Geared steam locomotive A geared steam locomotive is a type of steam locomotive which uses reduction gearing in the drivetrain, as opposed to the common directly driven design.... built for the London Brick Company's Peterborough works. In store, not on display. Donated 1964. |
| George Henry | De Winton De Winton De Winton & Co were engineers in Caernarfon, Wales. They built vertical boilered narrow gauge locomotives for use in Welsh slate mines and other industrial settings. At least six De Winton locomotives have been preserved... |
0-4-0VB | 1877 | ex-Penrhyn Quarry Penrhyn Quarry The Penrhyn Slate Quarry is a slate quarry located near Bethesda in north Wales. At the end of the nineteenth century it was the world's largest slate quarry; the main pit is nearly long and deep, and it was worked by nearly 3,000 quarrymen. It has since been superseded in size by slate quarries... locomotive. Donated to the Museum in 1964 |
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| Jubilee 1897 | Manning Wardle Manning Wardle Manning Wardle was a steam locomotive manufacturer based in Hunslet, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England.- Precursor companies :The city of Leeds was one of the earliest centres of locomotive building; Matthew Murray built the first commercially successful steam locomotive, Salamanca, in Holbeck, Leeds,... |
0-4-0ST | 1897 | 1382 | Built for the Cilgwyn Quarry in the Nantlle Valley Nantlle Valley The Nantlle Valley is an area in Gwynedd, north Wales, characterised by its large number of small settlements.Around 80% of the population of the Nantlle Valley speak Welsh as their first language. Some of the communities came into being as a result of slate quarrying in the late eighteenth or... . Sold to the Penrhyn Quarry Penrhyn Quarry The Penrhyn Slate Quarry is a slate quarry located near Bethesda in north Wales. At the end of the nineteenth century it was the world's largest slate quarry; the main pit is nearly long and deep, and it was worked by nearly 3,000 quarrymen. It has since been superseded in size by slate quarries... in 1928; withdrawn 1955. Donated to the Museum in 1963 |
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| Dundee Gasworks No.2 | Kerr Stuart Kerr Stuart Kerr, Stuart and Company Ltd was a locomotive manufacturer from Stoke-on-Trent, England.-History:It was founded in 1881 by James Kerr as James Kerr & Company, and became Kerr, Stuart & Company from 1883 when John Stuart was taken on as a partner... |
0-4-0WT | 1907 | 720 | Built for the Dundee Dundee Dundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and the 39th most populous settlement in the United Kingdom. It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea... gasworks railway. Acquired by the Museum in 1961. Major restoration work was carried out in 2004 |
Rolling stock on display in the Museum
.- 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 1983.
- Bicslade TramroadBicslade TramroadThe Bicslade Tramroad was a branch owned by the Severn and Wye Railway in Forest of Dean, Gloucestershire, England. The first stretch of the line was opened in 1812, two years after the Severn and Wye Railway opened in 1810...
oak-framed 4-wheel plateway wagon 3' 6" (1006mm), from BixsladeBixsladeBixslade, 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...
in the Forest of DeanForest of DeanThe Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...
. The oldest item in the collection built about 1790 and given to the Trust in 1964. - Dinorwic QuarryDinorwic QuarryThe Dinorwic Slate Quarry is a large former slate quarry, now home to the Welsh National Slate Museum, located between the villages of Llanberis and Dinorwig in north Wales. It was the second largest slate quarry in Wales, indeed in the world, after the neighbouring Penrhyn Quarry....
Railway (Padarn Railway) 4′ (1,200 mm) 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 TramwayNantlle RailwayThe Nantlle Railway was a Welsh narrow gauge railway built to carry slate from several slate quarries in the Nantlle Valley to the harbour at Caernarfon for export by sea. The line received its Act of Parliament in 1825 and was constructed by Robert Stephenson, brother of George Stephenson. It...
wagon: gauge 3′ 6″ (1,067 mm); 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 in 1963, the last use of horses by BR. Given to Museum in 1958. - Oakley Quarry Coal Wagon 1′ 11½″ (600 mm) wooden body with doors at one end, ran on Festiniog Railway. Purchased 1963.
- Bryn EglwysBryn EglwysBryn Eglwys was a remote slate quarry located near Abergynolwyn in Gwynedd mid-Wales.- History :The quarry was first worked on a small scale in the early 1840s. In 1864 William McConnel leased the quarry, forming the Aberdovey Slate Company Limited. McConnel planned to increase production at Bryn...
Quarry Wagon 2′ 3″ (685mm), wood, for carrying slate slabs out of the quarry. Donated in 1980 and in store until restoration and display in 2001. - Woolwich ArsenalRoyal ArsenalThe Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, originally known as the Woolwich Warren, carried out armaments manufacture, ammunition proofing and explosives research for the British armed forces. It was sited on the south bank of the River Thames in Woolwich in south-east London, England.-Early history:The Warren...
Wagon 18″ (457mm) wooden flat body for carrying explosives. Gift 1976.
Rolling stock on display outside the Museum
- Corris RailwayCorris RailwayThe Corris Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire in Mid-Wales....
Mail Wagon 2′ 3″ (685mm), 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 1994. - Corris RailwayCorris RailwayThe Corris Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire in Mid-Wales....
. Incline balancing wagon used on incline at Aberlefenni. Given to Museum 2006. - Crofty Tin Mine 1′ 10″ (560mm) 14 cu ft capacity tipping mine tub to Museum 1996.
- Great Western RailwayGreat Western RailwayThe Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
steel bodied 1′ 11½″ (600 mm) slate wagon for use in Blaenau Ffestiniog area: purchased 1980. - London and North Western RailwayLondon and North Western RailwayThe London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
1′ 11½″ (600 mm) steel slate wagon, built at Earlstown 1887, LMS 284465, used in Blaenau Ffestiniog area on piggy back wagons to carry slate for transshipment. Donated by BR 1964. - Talyllyn RailwayTalyllyn RailwayThe Talyllyn Railway 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 1866 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain...
2′ 3″ (685mm) 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 1953.
- 117 – metal bodied incline wagon: to Museum 1973.
- 136 – three bar wooden slate wagon, 1 ton capacity: to Museum 1994.
- 146 – covered wooden van, with brake, based on parts lying at Rhydyronen from 1930’s 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
| Name | Gauge | Builder | Type | Date | Works number | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 5 Cambrai |
Corpet-Louvet Corpet-Louvet Corpet-Louvet was a steam locomotive manufacturer based in Paris, France.-History:Founded in 1855 as Anjubault, based in the Avenue Phillippe-Auguste in Paris, the firm was taken over by Lucien Corpet in 1868. Corpet's daughter Marguerite married Lucien Louvet, the engineer of the Compagnie... |
0-6-0T | 1888 | 493 | Built for the Chemin de Fer du Cambrésis, France France The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France... . Acquired from the Eastwell and Waltham Ironstone Quarry railway in 1959 and now on display at the Irchester Irchester Irchester is a civil parish and village in the county of Northamptonshire, England. It is about 2 miles south-east of the town of Wellingborough and 2 miles south-west of Rushden, and equidistant from London, south, and Birmingham, to the north-west... Narrow Gauge Railway Museum. |
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| Penelope | Motor Rail Motor Rail Motor Rail was a British locomotive-building company, based in Bedford. Formed in 1911 as The Motor Rail & Tramcar Co Ltd, they built petrol and diesel engined locomotives, mainly narrow gauge. During World War I over 900 locos were supplied for use on temporary military supply railways... |
4wDM | 1943 | 8826 | ex-Ministry of Defence Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom) The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces.... locomotive. In working order at North Ings Farm Museum. Donated 1993. |
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| Indian Runner | Ruston Ruston -Place names:United States* Ruston, Louisiana* Ruston, WashingtonUnited Kingdom* Ruston, North Yorkshire, England-Companies:* Ruston , railway locomotive and industrial equipment manufacturer in Lincoln, England**Ruston & Hornsby, descendent of Ruston, Proctor & Co.**Ruston-Bucyrus, manufacturer... |
4wDM | 1940 | 200744 | 33/40 HP diesel loco with 3VRO engine, delivered to Bessacar Gravel Works, withdrawn 1972, restored and cab fitted and donated to Museum in 2004. Further restored, the loco is now operational at North Ings Farm Museum. |
Rolling stock on display at other sites
- FurzebrookFurzebrook RailwayThe Furzebrook Railway, also known as the Pike Brothers' Tramway, was a narrow gauge industrial railway on the Isle of Purbeck in the English county of Dorset...
Wagon – 2′ 8½″ (825mm) 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 RailwaySwanage RailwayThe Swanage Railway is a long heritage railway in the Purbeck district of Dorset, England. The railway follows the route of the Purbeck branch line between Norden railway station, Corfe Castle railway station, Harman's Cross railway station, Herston Halt railway station and Swanage...
in 2002.
Major exhibits in the Museum
- 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 Manx Northern Ry, Isle of Man Ry and County Donegal Rys
- Chattenden and Upnor RailwayChattenden and Upnor RailwayThe Chattenden and Upnor Railway was a narrow gauge railway serving the military barracks and depot at Upnor and associated munitions and training depots...
lever and locking frame to control points and signals in replica signal box - Chattenden and Upnor Railway signal
- Film of Talyllyn Railway in the 1950’s
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 trackwork, Corris Ry wagon turntable and new weigh bridge office (under construction from 2009 - )
- Point (turnout) in 1865 track materials: Abergynolwyn
- Village Incline winding drum and site: Abergynolwyn