SATURDAY 13TH & SUNDAY 14TH MAY 2017

THE

SOUVENIR PROGRAMME

(PREVIEW EDITION)

Enjoy a truly memorable day out at the

Llangollen Railway’s 3rd Annual Victorian

Weekend this May.

Experience life as it was over 100 years ago

through the sights, sounds, smells and

tastes of the recreated Victorian era.

Victorian characters will give you a

fascinating insight into different aspects of

Victorian life on and off the rails.

A brand new feature for 2017 is our time

travelling experience; stepping back 60

years at a time. Llangollen station has been

transformed to how it would have looked

during Eisteddfod Week 1957, complete

with live music.

Climb on-board one of our historic steam

hauled trains to steam back another 60

years to 1897 at Berwyn – Queen Victoria’s

Diamond Jubilee Year. Take a look inside our

Victorian station at Berwyn and discover

what life was like for a Victorian

stationmaster.

A traditional Street Fair can be found at

Carrog station, complete with rides, stalls

and horse power! Learn new skills in the

tented circus workshop and witness displays

by our costumed street entertainers.

Steaming back in time

For all our intrepid Victorian explorers,

walking down the ramp to Llangollen

station marks the start of the time-

travelling adventure. Stepping back the first

60 years to 1957, Llangollen Station is the

main entrance to the Railway, from where

our steam-hauled services back to Victorian

life depart.

Experience the station as it would have been

during the 1957 Eisteddfod Week, when the

platforms were alive with people coming to

and from the town’s world-famous annual

festival of music, song and dance; the

International Eisteddfod. The station staff

were well known for going out of their way

to decorate the station with bunting and

flags adorning the platforms.

The lengthy station platforms recall the

times when heavily packed excursion trains

arrived at Llangollen from all over Britain

from the mid-1860s right the way through

until the mid-1960s.

Period road vehicles will be on display on

the station ramp, specially loaned to us by

the Llangollen Motor Museum.

Step behind the scenes on one of our

Guided Tours of the railway’s workshops

and see how steam locomotives are repaired

and maintained. Stop off at the Station Café

& Bar where you’ll find a range of delicious

hot and cold meals, with all products being

freshly baked on the premises.

For the next stage of our trip back to

Victorian Britain, climb on-board one of our

historic steam-hauled passenger trains for

the 20-mile round trip along the Dee

Valley…..

Llangollen Station Eisteddfod Week 1957

Listen out for the Llangollen Male Voice

Choir, who will be performing on the

platform at regular intervals on the

Saturday.

4

The present day Llangollen Railway is the surviving part of a

much longer cross-country route which linked Ruabon with

the coastal resort of Barmouth. In the Henry Robertson

Suite at Llangollen station, you can examine a unique

collection of original documents, maps and artefacts

charting the construction of our railway back in the 1860s.

FREE ENTRY for all ticket holders

Look out for the famous Elizabethan buffet car in operation

throughout the weekend; a true star of the rails and big screen! This

carriage was built in 1947 to be part of the famous Flying Scotsman

train and in 1953 it ran in the new London-Edinburgh non-stop train

'The Elizabethan'. The carriage features in the 1954 film "Elizabethan

Express", which is being specially screened by the New Dot Cinema

volunteers in Llangollen on the Friday evening before the gala.

For the next stage of our trip back to Victorian Britain, climb on-board one of our historic

steam-hauled passenger trains for the 20-mile round trip. The signal drops, the guard blows his

whistle and the next stage of the adventure begins as we steam off westwards from Llangollen.

Crossing over the River Dee on the outskirts of the town, our train steams back another 60

years to 1897. If you notice your phone signal disappears from here, it is because they have not

been invented yet!

Explore the Archives

All aboard for the Victorian Age!

Star of the Rails and the Big Screen

5

Berwyn station, known as the ‘Station in

the Gorge’, has been transformed back to

how it would have appeared in 1897. Break

your journey here and discover what life

was like for a Victorian stationmaster.

1897 marked a major landmark in Victorian

Britain, with Queen Victoria having been on

the throne for 60 years - the first time a

reigning monarch had reached such a

milestone.

Up and down the country communities

however big or small organised festivities to

mark the occasion, with streets were

decorated with triumphal arches, flags and

bunting. This spirit can be seen throughout

the station and platform!

Experience scenes of yesteryear as the

station staff arrange the loading of parcels,

milk churns and other goods onto trains.

Collect your free souvenir Edmondson ticket

from the booking office whilst learning

about the role of the Station Master.

Look out for the small display of original

Diamond Jubilee material on display in the

station and keep an eye out for a Royal

Arrival! Pop into the station’s cosy

refreshment room, where you’ll find

delightful traditional light snacks and drinks.

Enjoy scenic walks along the banks of the

River Dee, step onto the World’s oldest

chain link bridge and explore the historic

Horseshoe Falls – the source of the

Llangollen Canal.

From tales of the landed gentry, to the

sights and sounds of Victorian station life, be

a part of history and break your journey at

Berwyn.

See the ‘Station in the Spotlight 1” page to

learn more about our iconic Berwyn

station.

Berwyn Station Jubilee Year 1897

6

Carrog station, located 7½ miles out from

Llangollen, is a quintessentially Welsh

country station and has been painstakingly

restored back to its former glory. Break

your journey here to explore the traditional

fair in the station’s former goods yard.

Learn new skills in the tented circus workshop

with our costumed street entertainer, juggling,

diabolos, a barrel organ and the historic penny

farthing! For younger visitors, why not take a

ride on the 19th Century hand powered

roundabout?

The station’s 5 inch gauge miniature railway

open throughout the weekend, offering public

rides alongside the cattle dock. The newly

opened museum within the waiting rooms on

Platform 2 will also be open, along with the two

Sales Coaches on Platform 1.

Browse through the mix stalls, stands and

sales coaches around the station. Or if you

are feeling peckish, why not pop into the

station’s cosy refreshment room, where

you’ll find delightful traditional light snacks

and drink

Carrog Station Traditional Fair

See the ‘Station in the Spotlight 2” page to

learn more about our historic Carrog station.

7

Situated in a prominent position beside the

A5 road, Berwyn station is instantly

recognisable because of its distinctive

appearance. The architect, Samuel Pountney

Smith, headed his original drawings for the

station in 1864 as a “design for a 2nd class

station”, but as can be seen, this was anything

but!

Today the station is located within a wooded

gorge with only a handful of houses and a

riverside hotel nearby. Back in the Victorian

era, it was surrounded by a vibrant community

including a post office and Methodist chapel.

However it was the local gentry who were the

main reason for the station’s existence. The

Chairman of the Llangollen & Corwen Railway

lived just up the road at Plas Berwyn and in an

agreement from 1861 it was announced that:

“A station to be called The Berwyn Station

shall be built in ornamental style and contain a

first class waiting room in addition to the

general waiting room. All passenger trains

shall stop at Berwyn if and when required by

the owner or occupier of, or visitors to, Plas

Berwyn mansion”.

The central part of Berwyn station comprises

the General Waiting Room, with an adjoining

Booking Office. The elaborate lamps on the

interior walls recall a time when the station

was lit by oil and paraffin only; the station

being too remote for gas pipes to be installed

to it.

Tickets Please!

The term booking office – which is still used

today – is adopted from the old coaching

practice of issuing tickets from a book.

Originally these tickets on the early railways

were handwritten and the process was very

laborious. In 1837 a stationmaster

and trained cabinet maker named

Thomas Edmondson introduced the

Edmondson railway ticket. These

pre-printed tickets were all

individually numbered and date-

stamped by a machine upon issue.

Station in the Spotlight 1: The Station In the Gorge

Berwyn Station

8

Special souvenir Edmondson tickets are still

issued to passengers from Berwyn’s booking

office in the traditional way.

First Class Waiting Room

The station’s tea room is now located within

the former First Class Waiting Room. During

the Victorian period, the station boasted a

separate waiting room for the men and

women travelling first class. The room had

comfortable seats and a roaring fire in winter,

whilst those in the General Waiting room

would have had to settle for bench seats.

The Role of the Station Master

From 1865 until the mid-1950s, the station

master was the key authority figure at Berwyn

railway station. The station master was a well-

respected figure with significant social

standing in the local community. His role

would have included selling tickets, handling

parcels, tending to the station’s coal fires and

making sure all passengers were safe. In his

spare time, the station master also looked

after the station’s floral and vegetable

gardens.

Milk

The railways created a regular supply of fresh

milk from the countryside. The milk was

transported in tall conical metal churns, being

taken by a delivery cart from the local farms to

the nearest railway station.

The churns, generally with a capacity of

seventeen gallons, were very heavy. Handles

enabled two men to lift one when necessary,

but more commonly they were rolled along on

their bottom rims by one man, making a

distinctive rattling noise. Two milk churns

would arrive at Berwyn every day from the

nearby Llantysilio Farm for transporting on to

the Corwen Creamery.

Station Master’s House

This is the mock-Tudor part of the station

building, which is where Berwyn’s station

master and his family would have lived.

Although the house came with the job, the

Station Master still had to pay rent to the

GWR; in 1924 this would have cost him 7

shillings and sixpence a week.

The House has recently been tastefully

converted into the Llangollen Railway’s own

self-catered holiday let.

Right Top: Awaiting the arrival of the milk train

Right Centre: GWR Fire buckets and pigeon basket

Right Bottom: The exterior of Berwyn from the road

9

Carrog station, 7½ miles from Llangollen, is an

archetypal country station and has been

rebuilt to its mid-fifties condition as closely as

possible. It is set close to the village of Carrog

with its 17th Century river bridge, mountain

vistas and traditional Inn.

Livestock on the Line

The station's restored cattle dock can be found

halfway along Platform 1 and was once an

important source of revenue. A cattle dock is a

loading platform designed to facilitate the

loading and unloading of livestock, such as

sheep and pigs. Specially designed cattle

wagons would then be used to move the

livestock around the railway network.

The metal livestock pens still extent at Carrog

would have been used to keep the animals

together and to prevent them escaping and

causing havoc!

Before the development of the railways, cattle

had to be moved from the local farms to

market on foot, which meant that they lost

weight and therefore their value.

The coming of the railway to Carrog in 1865

brought new opportunities for the local

farmers, offering a much faster and more

efficient mechanism for transporting cattle to

market. It also meant that animals could be

traded further afield than had previously been

the case.

Signalling for Safety

The safety of passengers has been one of the

most important aspects of the line's history

since the railway opened in 1865. The earliest

railway signalmen were in fact police officers

who were employed to keep order on the

railway, to set the road and to make sure that

the line was clear for the arrival of trains.

Indeed it is still possible to hear signalmen

being referred to as 'bobbies' today.

Inside the signal box, the main operating room

has a mechanical lever frame in the centre of

the floor, whilst the large glazed windows

enables the signalman to see all the train

movements around the station. Generally, the

red coloured levers operate all the signals,

whilst the blue and black levers operate the

Station in the Spotlight 2: A Frozen Moment in Time

Carrog Station

10

track points. A white coloured lever indicates

that this is spare (unused).

The signalman on duty at Carrog

communicates with other signal boxes on the

line through a bell codes and mechanical

instruments displayed on a shelf above the

lever frame. When a train from Llangollen is

due, listen out for the series of bells ringing out

as the Carrog signalman chats with his

counterpart at Glyndyfrdwy.

The current signal box is an award-winning

replica of the original Victorian version which

was demolished after the railway closed in the

1960s. The rebuilt signal box was made

operational on 3rd March 2007 and won the

national Westinghouse Signalling Award in

2008.

Waiting Room

During the late Victorian era, a second

platform and waiting room were installed at

Carrog to handle the increase passenger traffic

using the railway. Passengers wishing to travel

towards Bala and the Cambrian Coast would

have particularly glad of the comfortable and

warm waiting room during periods of

inclement weather. The small coal fire in the

corner of the room would have been tended to

by the Station Master.

After the railway closed in the 1960s, the

waiting room and urinal on Platform 2 were

demolished. Fortunately, thanks to the hard

work and efforts of volunteers, the building

was painstakingly rebuilt on its original

foundations in the early 1990s. A similar

waiting room building was found to still survive

on a closed GWR railway in Gloucestershire

and was carefully dismantled brick-by-brick

over the course of three days in readiness for

its rebuilding at Carrog.

Inside the waiting room, a dedicated museum

on the former Ruabon to Barmouth railway has

been created, displaying many historic

artefacts from the days of steam.

Crossing the Dee

Carrog station is connected with the village it

serves by a picturesque five span stone bridge

over the River Dee. The bridge was built

during the 17th Century during the reign of

King Charles II and the date 1661 can be seen

engraved into one of the stones. The bridge is

now a Grade Two listed structure.

Right Top: Classic cars, camping and Carrog

Right Centre: The reconstructed waiting room

Right Bottom: The 17th Century river bridge over the Dee