THE LITTLE TRAINS OF WALES

Sept 8th--21st

Well, I said we were going away.
We went to Wales for a week, plus a few other visits to friends.
We spent a week near Machynlleth, and visited four of the narrow gauge railways.
Last year, when we were on a railway holiday in Scotland, we met Pat & Ross.
Ross is a railway enthusiast, and they invited us to join them this year,
visiting the narrow gauge railways of Wales.
So we rented a cottage at Eglwysfach (!) and spent the week
visiting four of the little Welsh railways.
We had a great holiday, despite the rain.
I know Wales is famed for its green valleys
but really I think the weather went just a bit too far on some occasions!
Still, we masn't gwamble.....





Ross assured me this engine is a Fairley Double--it's a bit like a Push me Pull you.

The train journeys were wonderful, the scenery beautiful,
and the railway staff all so cheerful!
I suppose that's the difference between being a volunteer and a conscript.
The smell of the smoke, the sound of the whistle,
the clackety clack of the wheels--wonderful!





We also did a few mainline trips, and one we did along the coast
was as good as any I've ever been on.
It went from Machynlleth to Porth Madog and was really just a couple of yards from the sea.
The tide was in and the waves were dashing up against the rocks.
At one point, the train slowed down, stopped and backed up
to a tiny halt like a bus shelter where two people were waiting to get on.
Apparently, the sea spray on the lines had prevented the train from stopping
and it had slid along the lines until it could stop!
What a good job we don't know about these things till afterwards,
when it's too late to worry!



THE STATION AT MACHYNLLETH--BRITISH RAIL, NO LESS!



On another occasion, on the Welsh Highland Line, which runs from Caernarvon to Rhyd-Ddu
the train seemed to be running oddly and eventually stopped.
It had broken down! A replacement had to be sent out from Dinas.
But that wasn't the end of the fun!
The train which was sent out was a diesel and it had to pull the broken steam engine
as well as the carriages. The steam engine was a big one for a small line,
and the weight was considerable for the replacement engine to pull.
We started and stopped, and started and stopped and then the guard came along
and starting tapping the wheels and things looked serious!
It transpired that the whole outfit was really too heavy
for the replacement engine and the brakes weren't really powerful enough!
That was all we needed to know when we were on a slope........
So we limped along very slowly to the next siding,
where the broken engine could be left, and carried on our way!

We also visited the Centre for Alternative Technology near Machynlleth.
It was started over thirty years ago in a disused slate quarry
by a group of people who were seen by many as cranks.
Isn't this the way so many innovations begin?
Now it's a research centre for alternative energy--wind, solar,
as well as investigating ways of recycling, using resources carefully,
and generally trying to educate the general public about environmental issues.
It was a really good and interesting day.
When visitors arrive, they go up the hillside in a gravity driven railway.
There are two carriages, which balance each other.
When the tank of the top one is filled with water,
the extra weight makes it go gently down the slope and pull the other one up.
Once at the bottom it empties the water out and then the process is repeated.



The picture perhaps doesn't show the gradient which must have been about 1 in 2/3.

Read about the Centre for Alternative Technology here

We left the boat at Eynsham marina whilst we were away,
and it was an excellent choice.
It's a small rural marina and the boat was well looked after,
though we could have done without the layer of sawdust all over the outside
and inside of the boat!
But it's a working marina and it soon washes off!
It was so good to see our boat again.
I felt quite emotional when I saw it in the marina waiting for us.
I never thought last year that I would ever feel that way,
it's taken a lot of getting used to.
But now it's home at last!

The plan was for Trev to take the car back to the garage in Kenilworth
on Sunday, the 19th, and come back to the marina on the train.
But we reckoned without the generosity of friends who live opposite the garage.
They offered to bring Trev back to the boat.
So, on Sunday morning Trev drove the car to Kenilworth,
put it safely back in the garage and came back with Jan & Don.

Then we all went for a cruise to Bablock Hythe, and I cooked lunch.
It was a lovely day.
Jan and Don are the friends who helped us a lot when we were designing our boat,
and they gave us lots of useful advice in our first few months.
They have a very smart boat called Crandon.

See pictures of our friends here.

After they had left, we went a little way downstream and moored up for the night.
Across the fields we could see a long line of traffic on the main road.
This is caused by a toll bridge--a rare sight nowadays.
There is a tollbooth in the middle of the road and a man sits inside,
sticking his hand out either side to collect 5p from passing cars!
I think buses and lorries pay 10p.
It causes incredibly long hold ups and, I would imagine, very frayed tempers.
So, avoid the B4044 to Eynsham from Oxford!
Apparently the bridge is privately owned and it would take
an Act of Parliament to change things.
I should think the locals would be quite happy to see it go.

We spent Sunday evening in pleasant harmony, delighting in being back on board!
And on Monday, the 20th, we stayed in the same spot.
The wind was very strong and we didn't fancy battling against it.
Fortunately we didn't need to.
We hope to go and spend a couple of nights in Oxford
before we set off north up the Oxford Canal.

However, we have heard that there has been a closure on the Oxford Canal
since Sept. 9th. A culvert collapsed and caused a breach.
The closure is between two locks.
So, even if we had been here, instead of in wringing wet Wales
we wouldn't have been able to travel.
We understand that it will reopen on September 24th.
Meanwhile, boats which are marooned are to be craned over the gap!
No thanks! We're not that desperate!
Think of everything falling out of the cupboards.......
And I have heard that when a boat is craned out, it can twist,
and then none of the drawers and cupboards ever work properly again!
So we'll just bide our time and hope it's not too long.
We have to get to Llangollen before Nov. 1st!

Tune in next week to see if the breach is repaired and if we're able to move on.

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