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Two lesser lines in west Wales - with
quite a lot in common
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This was a short
"overnight" - two days out, with a very pleasant stay at St.
Davids - just about as far west as one can get in Wales.
 The
line from Carmarthen to Aberystwyth closed 40 years ago - however, a
branch to Newcastle Emlyn remained open for milk trains, along with the
southern section of the through route. When that closed, the scene was set
for two preservation schemes.
 We
visited the 2' gauge Teifi Valley Railway first, taking a light lunch
before joining the train. It was to be headed by an "old friend"
- "Sgt. Murphy", a rather nice Kerr Stuart 0-6-2T (built as an
0-6-0, no. 3117 of 1918), which I had last seen thirty years previously,
as a
 rusting
hulk off the track at Teddy Boston's Cadeby Light Railway. And now here he
was again, resplendent in lined black livery.
We rode the couple of miles
or so up the line from Henllan to Llandyfriog, the present terminus, then
back down to the intermediate station at Pontprenshitw (which apparently
means "shaky wooden bridge"). Here, it's "all out" to
have a look at the waterfalls beneath the (no longer shaky, wooden or sh@$%y)
bridge, and perhaps more interesting, the remains of an
 iron
age leet - a channel constructed to feed water to a settlement below.
 Most
passengers rejoined the train - we decided to walk back to Henllan, along
the very pleasant path beneath the trees, which conicidentally (!) gave
the opportunity for an action shot of the train. Finally, a quick look in
the shed - where Hunslet "Alan George" (606 of 1894) was being
worked on, another Kerr Stuart ("Joffre", 2442 of 1915) was in
the preliminary stages of restoration, and visiting loco "Taffy"
(he certainly gets around...) stood ready for action over the bank holiday
weekend.
 This
standard gauge line is just a couple of miles north of Carmarthen, running
up the very pleasant wooded valley of the river Gwili (oddly enough). The
train runs via the intermediate station of Llwyfan Cerrig, then on a
little further to Danycoed, a halt and run round loop opened just two
years ago. Although the railway owns the trackbed beyond for several more
miles, a weak bridge precludes the extension of services until
 funds
can be found for restoration. The railway also has plans to extend
southwards, to a terminus near the Carmarthen bypass, which now severs the
trackbed back to the main line.
 Like
many other "lesser" standard gauge lines, motive power is
provided by a fleet of ex-industrial locomotives, such as "Welsh
Guardsman", the loco for our trip, a 1944-built "Austerity"
0-6-0ST (RSHN 7170), ideally suited for work such as this. Once again, a
smart black livery was carried, this time unlined. I have to admit it
didn't seem to run quite as well as it
 looked
- were the valves a little out? The exhaust was somewhat syncopated at low
speed, though it sounded better as we got going.
After running round at
Danycoed, the train returns to Llwyfan Cerrig and pauses for 15 minutes or
so. There is a little more to look at here - the fine station building in
particular, reassembled here from its former location at Felin Fach, on
the Aberaeron branch.
And that was it - two very
enjoyable little trips on two very pleasant little railways. Both have
given some thought to the overall visitor experience - both have miniature
railways for the very small (and not so small...), both have established
woodland walks and trails beside the line, with picnic places too. A very
informative leaflet provided by the Gwili is especially worth mentioning.
Both railways have plans to extend - both are just a bit off the beaten
track, although the area seems to be popular with holidaymakers, and there
seemed to be no shortage of custom. If you're in the area, pay them a
visit - help them to thrive and expand.
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; "\"Sgt. Murphy\" runs round at Henllan")
; "Ready to depart")
; "Return to Henllan")
; "\"Taffy\" - and Alan George (behind)")
; "Sgt. Murphy - at Cadeby, May 1973")
; "\"Welsh Guardsman\" at Bronwydd Arms")
; "Running around at Danycoed")
; "Station building, Llwyfan Cerrig")
; "Lunch break - and somewhere convenient to sit!")