Y Filltir Sgwâr/The Square Mile: A heritage railway with a big heart

In a year long series Tom Maloney, from Abersychan, shows how you can love a place so well it becomes a part of you.

Over the summer the familiar sound of steam engines and diesels have carried out over the top of the valley at Blaenavon. It seems remarkable that it wasn’t that long ago really that the sound could be heard all the way down to Abersychan and Pontypool. You could probably have set your watch by the toots and blasts!

Keeping this little bit of our heritage alive is all down to the volunteers of Blaenavon’s Heritage Railway and last weekend I took the opportunity to hang up my walking boots and take a closer look at the appeal of this beautiful old railway. The weather could not have been kinder!

Nestled in the shadow of the Coety Mountain lies Furnace Sidings Station, HQ for all the arrivals and departures and the attention to detail is amazing. Everything that you would expect to see has its place along the platforms; bicycles, luggage, trolleys, milk churns, railway flags and red fire buckets all add to the ambience.

I arrived to find Station Master Phil Tiley getting things ready for the day. Phil, who lives nearby in Risca, has a big smile and cheery disposition and is most definitely a man who likes being amongst people. After working on the buses for 47 years he wanted to continue being involved with the public. Since joining the railway

in 2007 he has been a guard, stationmaster, duty manager, and the chairman for seven years as well!

Pleasure

“I enjoy every moment of it, it is a pleasure to be here and to liaise with the public and make sure that people have a good time when they come here. It’s good to know that we are doing something useful to preserve the railway, which is one of the steepest in the country.“

And with that, Phil was off to meet and greet the first arrivals. It was not long before there was a bubble of voices and laughter.

Anticipation and excitement was most definitely in the air as busy little people with grins as big as can be and wide, outstretched arms dragged their willing parents to the platform. Stories of ‘Thomas The Tank Engine and Ivor The Engine’ were at work here and it was moving to see how stories can bring love and joy in the things we see and do.

Tickets please – Sami, Phil, Arlo and Chloe White are all smiles as Alastair Warrington clips their tickets. Arlo is celebrating being four and Chloe is hiding! Photo: Tom MaloneyBeing on the train … well that was something else! I caught up with the White family as they were having their tickets clipped by Alastair Warrington. The whole family loves the railway and for Arlo it was the best way to celebrate his fourth birthday.

“We love the smell of the steam and to see the trains. Arlo has hundreds and hundreds of Thomas trains and has been looking forward to his birthday treat!”

In a ‘quiet moment’ I caught up with Alastair who told me a little bit about the history of the line and the heritage railway.

Alastair, who is 81, was born in Bedford but now lives locally in Garndiffaith. Railways have always been part of his life. He has fond memories of trains rolling by his garden when he was a child. He began work as a civil engineering trainee with British Railways in September 1961 and on the 11th September will have been on the railway 63 years!

History

His knowledge of the history is encyclopedic.

“The railway was originally opened by the London and North Western Railway Company as a branch from Brymawr to Blaenavon. It was extended southwards to Abersychan and Talywain in 1878 serving all the local collieries and ironworks. Passenger services ceased in 1941 as a wartime economy, but freight services continued until the closure of Big Pit in 1980.”

Alastair has been involved with the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway Society and Railway Company since it began in 1980. He is a founding member and the proud holder of membership Ticket Number 1 as he was the first one to get up and pay his subscription when the Company was formed in 1983 to operate trains.

“We started the Society when they announced Big Pit was going to close. Our railway has changed so much. For the first 25 years we just ran from Furnace Sidings to the Whistle Inn and back. Then in 2008 we had a major grant to extend the line by two miles to Blaenavon High Level and a subsidiary grant to refurbish a branch to Big Pit.”

I certainly enjoyed the experience of travelling on my train, pulled along by Jessie the Engine, a wonderful green steam locomotive, very much in the style of the Great Western Railway.

The carriages took me back to my childhood. I well remember the mystery trips to the seaside. The polished wooden furnishings and immaculate upholstery brought the enjoyment of these days flooding right back to me.

There were lovely stops to take in the panoramic views of the World Heritage landscape, but for me on this trip every stop was a chance to talk with another volunteer and I was in for some surprises.

No matter how much you think you know, there is always more that you can learn. My conversation with Nic Faill, who has been a guard on the line for about two years, opened my eyes to just how important this job is. In honesty, I don’t think I had any idea before!

Nic, who is a teacher in her ‘day job’, is one of three female guards who volunteer regularly for the railway and relishes the responsibility of being a guard. This may be a heritage railway, but safety is taken just a seriously as if it was a mainline operation.

“The guard is the eyes and ears of the train and has the responsibility for the safety of everyone on board.

“It took me a year to be trained and it’s completely different from teaching Maths, my civilian job as I call it! I am hooked now! A couple of years ago there were no female guards and now there are three. I enjoy being part of that.”

Part of the fun for the public is a chance to get a close look at the engine and Jessie was a big draw.

So too was chatting to the ‘Fireman and the Engine Driver’ I was fortunate to speak to both as well.

Dreams come true

“I do it because I love it! I grew up around railways in the Midlands.

“As I six year child I stood on the footplate of the Mallard at the National Railway Museum with a shovel in my hand and told my Dad that one day I would be a fireman!

“I think I am this railway’s first female fireman. I live in Newcastle now, but I regard this railway as my home as well. I joined the railway seven years ago and did all my training as a fireman here!”

Engine Driver David Allinson is from the North East. “For me its massively important to keep the history and heritage of the railways going. It’s what the backbone of the country was built on.

“I enjoy the maintenance and repairs as well as being an engine driver. You’ve got to put some hard work in to enjoy driving them.

It’s also about friendship. I am close friends with the Operations Manager Alex Hinshelwood who does the same job as me three hundred miles apart.

I try to do three turns a year, it’s a six hundred mile round trip, so I do what I can.”

And a little more about the engine …

Chris Barnes who is from Cheltenham and a software engineer by day, was involved in the recent refurbishment of Jessie, which was originally built in 1937 by The Hunslet Engine Company of Leeds. It’s the attention to detail that is again so important.

“We chose the colour ‘Deep Bronze Green’, which is similar to Great Western Green and it’s how Jessie would have originally looked.

“There are so many variations of this green, but we picked the colour that we liked the best, which is what the Vale of Rheidol Railway use for their engines as well. It took two and half weeks to complete the painting and we are so proud of the way she looks now!”

She does look beautiful!

At the end of a very busy day I met up with the Operations Manager Alex Hinshelwood, who had been involved with examinations all day.

There’s so much that goes on behind the scenes to keep the railway running. Alex lives locally in Pontypool and works for Network Rail by day.

“I have been here since I was 12 and I am 40 next year, so I have been around the place a long time! Part of my role is to manage the smooth running of the trains. I get to set the timetables and choose which engines and carriages are out depending on what the demand is. We have had a bumper Summer season, things have gone really well.”

But as one event is over, planning continues for the next big gala.

“In the month of September we will be running diesel days mainly, but on the 13th, 14th and 15th of September we have our ‘Big Steam Gala’ where we will have five engines in steam over the weekend.

“There will be loads going on, a very busy timetable, normally we run three trains, but during the Gala it’s more like 10 to 15 trains a day!”

And what about the future?

“We are lucky to have a new Development Committee who are looking at developing Furnace Side Station with additional museum buildings and community spaces with accessible facilities, building additional locomotive sheds for maintenance and extending the line.”

My little feature is just ‘a day in the life of Blaenavon’s Heritage Railway’. There is so much going on here and there is so much enthusiasm amongst all the volunteers.

My thoughts turned to Fireman Sophie who during our conversation described the railway as one big family.

Drawing on how the GWR was also known as God’s Wonderful Railway, I think for me this too is a wonderful railway and it has a great big, beating heart!

You can find out more about Blaenavon’s Heritage Railway and the September Steam Gala here.