The Talyllyn Railway have announced that a report from a working group has been established to look at the provision of a new engineering facility for the railway.

The report has recommended that the railway should take the opportunity to acquire a piece of land next to the railway on the Tywyn Pendre Enterprise Park with a future view of building the new engineering facility.

The facility would be a base for all major locomotive and rolling stock work, which includes a paint shop and facilities for the Permanent Way (P-Way) team. The new facility would also act as an access point for the delivery of locomotives and also sending locomotives on their travels.

At the existing Pendre site, where the locomotive sheds would remain, the existing facilities, which was built in the 1950s and 1960s, would make way for additional carriage storage and office space.

Finally, the proposal would see the original 19th-century workshop and engine sheds, along with the south carriage shed, restored and refurbished. A limited engineering facility will remain for the running repairs made to the locomotives but the opportunity would be taken to provide a display for passengers about heritage engineering.

Further details of the proposal are expected to be released at the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society’s Annual General Meeting in September.

What did the officials say?

Commenting on the scheme Talyllyn Railway General Manager, Stuart Williams, said:

‘This report is the culmination of several years of discussions about the provision of new engineering facilities. We are conscious of the historic nature of the current site but its limitations mean that we cannot develop it in the way we would like. The acquisition of a new site would give us the opportunity to develop new facilities which will last us well into the future. However, it is important to stress that this is very much still at the concept stage at this time and there are many hurdles to overcome before we can produce definitive plans.’

Chairman of the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society, Ian Drummond, stated:

‘For anyone who visits our current works at Tywyn Pendre the limitations of the site are all too clear and so the need to provide a new first class facility has been obvious for some time. This proposal would have far reaching benefits not only in terms of a new engineering facility but also it could free up space elsewhere on the Railway to allow other plans to be developed. There will be many challenges, not least the raising of the necessary funds, but this has the potential to be a once in a generation opportunity to provide the facilities we need.’

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