Rev Awdry at Talyllyn Text Alan Payne and photos Carol Payne September 2021
Wilbert Awdry’s study recreated at Tywyn Museum
In the summer we had a family holiday in North Wales and took the opportunity to visit the Talyllyn Steam Railway in Snowdonia.[1] What a fantastic day it was steaming through 7 miles of spectacular Welsh countryside, over the Dolgoch viaduct (worth seeing from ground level) and enjoying the fascinating free museum at Tywyn Station. Of course, all Boxonians have a vested interest in the line because of our most famous author, Rev WV Awdry.
The story has been frequently told of how the Rev Wilbert Vere Awdry wrote his Thomas the Tank Engine series remembering his childhood at Lorne House, Box, when he heard the train noises of different engines going through Box Tunnel. This article tells of his subsequent life and his work to preserve the Talyllyn Steam Railway.
The story has been frequently told of how the Rev Wilbert Vere Awdry wrote his Thomas the Tank Engine series remembering his childhood at Lorne House, Box, when he heard the train noises of different engines going through Box Tunnel. This article tells of his subsequent life and his work to preserve the Talyllyn Steam Railway.
Dolgoch Viaduct seen from the ground level
Rev Awdry Outside of Box
Rev Awdry lived in Box from the age of 6 until 17 years-old, the last eight years at Lorne House (which he called Journey’s End), leaving in 1928. After then, he went to Oxford University where he obtained a theological degree college, was later ordained and took a ministry in Birmingham from 1940 until 1946. It was at this time that he created the characters of the railway engines to amuse his son Christopher and wrote them down for publication.
He moved to Cambridgeshire and in 1952 answered an advertisement in the Birmingham Mail offering travel on the line for £1 a year. He joined the Preservation Society and became a regular volunteer, restoring and operating the Talyllyn Railway. Many of the incidents and rolling stock on the line appeared later in books he wrote about the Skarloey Railway on the island of Sodor. Later his son Christopher, daughter-in-law Diana and grandson Richard were all active as volunteers on the railway.
Rev Awdry lived in Box from the age of 6 until 17 years-old, the last eight years at Lorne House (which he called Journey’s End), leaving in 1928. After then, he went to Oxford University where he obtained a theological degree college, was later ordained and took a ministry in Birmingham from 1940 until 1946. It was at this time that he created the characters of the railway engines to amuse his son Christopher and wrote them down for publication.
He moved to Cambridgeshire and in 1952 answered an advertisement in the Birmingham Mail offering travel on the line for £1 a year. He joined the Preservation Society and became a regular volunteer, restoring and operating the Talyllyn Railway. Many of the incidents and rolling stock on the line appeared later in books he wrote about the Skarloey Railway on the island of Sodor. Later his son Christopher, daughter-in-law Diana and grandson Richard were all active as volunteers on the railway.
The engine turning round to change direction at the end of the line
Talyllyn Railway
The railway was a narrow-gauge track, taking slate and passengers from the Bryneglwys Quarry to Tywyn from 1865 until the late 1940s. It was the first steam-driven, passenger-carrying line to be approved in Britain (in 1866) and much of the line was still operable after the slate trade ceased. After the Preservation Society took over the line, passenger transport was re-established almost immediately. In 1953 the film The Titfield Thunderbolt was based on the preservation society’s work and in 1957 the BBC produced a live outside broadcast from the railway with Wynford Vaughan Thomas and Huw Wheldon commentating on aspects of their journey on the line.
The railway was a narrow-gauge track, taking slate and passengers from the Bryneglwys Quarry to Tywyn from 1865 until the late 1940s. It was the first steam-driven, passenger-carrying line to be approved in Britain (in 1866) and much of the line was still operable after the slate trade ceased. After the Preservation Society took over the line, passenger transport was re-established almost immediately. In 1953 the film The Titfield Thunderbolt was based on the preservation society’s work and in 1957 the BBC produced a live outside broadcast from the railway with Wynford Vaughan Thomas and Huw Wheldon commentating on aspects of their journey on the line.
|
|
The dedication and friendliness of the volunteers was quite remarkable
The line has undergone numerous improvements and extensions in length over the years and you can enjoy refreshments and a break at Abergynolwyn Station, one of twelve stations and halts on the line. After Wilbert’s death, his study was reconstructed as the centrepiece of a museum in the newly-restored Wharf at Tywyn Station. In 2021 the railway line and area were designated a World Heritage Site.
We were lucky enough to book the 12-seater saloon carriage, which offered great views on the line throughout the hour-long journey and was remarkably good value for all of us to travel together. Box residents remember that Wilbert and his son Cristopher came to the village in about 1990 to open the church fete. Local children queued up to speak to their hero and to have their books autographed, which Wilbert willingly did, despite being wheelchair-bound and obviously not in good health. Wilbert died in 1997 and his ashes are buried in Stroud, where he had lived after retiring in 1965.
We were lucky enough to book the 12-seater saloon carriage, which offered great views on the line throughout the hour-long journey and was remarkably good value for all of us to travel together. Box residents remember that Wilbert and his son Cristopher came to the village in about 1990 to open the church fete. Local children queued up to speak to their hero and to have their books autographed, which Wilbert willingly did, despite being wheelchair-bound and obviously not in good health. Wilbert died in 1997 and his ashes are buried in Stroud, where he had lived after retiring in 1965.
Reference
[1] Talyllyn Railway - visit us in beautiful southern Snowdonia
[1] Talyllyn Railway - visit us in beautiful southern Snowdonia