With the help of Network Rail, the Talyllyn Railway has completed a long-standing project to display a standard-gauge LMS five-plank wagon in the livery of the former Cambrian Railway.

On Friday, 8th November 2024, a crane lifted the wagon into position onto a short track panel next to the Cambrian Coast Line alongside the edge of Tywyn Wharf.

In 2021, the Talyllyn Railway was designated as part of the UNESCO Slate Landscape of the Northwest Wales World Heritage Site, and the railway decided that recreating a wagon in Cambrian Railway livery would be a suitable project.

Slate was originally carried in narrow-gauge wagons from Bryneglwys Quarry to Tywyn Wharf where it was transferred to standard-gauge wagons before being taken to the port at Aberdyfi for export, or moved to other destinations around the UK by rail.

The last export of slate from Tywyn Wharf was in the early 1950s, although various goods such as coal continued to be delivered by rail and unloaded at the Wharf. However, that ceased in the early 1980s when the line next to the Wharf was lifted.

The re-liveried wagon was provided by the Bristol Harbour Railway.

In December 2021 it was taken to Stanegate Restorations to be cosmetically overhauled into Cambrian Railways livery. The restored wagon was delivered to Tywyn Wharf in December 2023.

Although the livery is not authentic for the particular wagon, it will still provide a link with the railway company that served the local area.

Network Rail’s assistance was invaluable in completing the project.

The track panel on which the wagon sits came from recent relaying works on the Cambrian Coast Line, and on Monday, 23rd September, Network Rail closed part of the mainline to allow the track panel to be lifted into position. The line was closed again on Friday, 8th November, when the wagon was lifted onto the track.

Current plans are for the standard gauge wagon to be displayed on the Wharf edge alongside Talyllyn Railway slate wagons.

The side door will be positioned open onto the Wharf to provide visitors with an idea of how slate used to be transshipped.

There still remains an interpretation board to be completed as the final link in a lost bit of Talyllyn Railway and Cambrian Line history.

The Talyllyn Railway is also in the throes of a major five-year project to create new engineering and maintenance facilities, a new carriage storage depot, and improved visitor facilities.