NEWS ARCHIVE 2004
SNOW BRINGS THE SEASON TO
AN END
The railway's running year came to an
end with its Santa Specials, with the final trains on Sunday 19th
December. Heavy overnight snow added a seasonal touch to the final day's
running, as our photos below (taken by the railways ace photographer Alistair Grieve)
shows. One of our more important passengers on the final day was the Assembly
Minister for Torfaen, Lynne Neagle . Passenger numbers during the Santa Specials were up by
almost 20% over last year, whilst the overall 2004 figures increased by more than
15% over those of 2003.
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Rime cold in the mountains
! At almost 1300 feet above sea level, the exhaust from loco 104 'Llanwern' shatters the still air whilst it propels its
two coaches up the steep incline to Whistle Inn Halt on CLICK ON IMAGE TO
ENLARGE |
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Later on the same day the train creeps
down the 1 in 37 bank to Furnace Sidings, whilst some rather chilly horses
keep the cold at bay by feeding on plentiful hay supplies brought in earlier
that day. In the background, the flanks of the Blorenge
mountain, have 200 years of past industrial activity
largely hidden by deep snow. Photos by Alistair
Grieve CLICK ON IMAGE TO
ENLARGE |
BIG GRANT AWARDED
The railway has just obtained a £25000 grant to help
secure the Transport and Works Act Order and possibly some infrastructure
improvement works. The text below was released to the railway enthusiast press
on 2 December...
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A TWAO IS NOT JUST FOR
CHRISTMAS....... Volunteers on the
Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway have received an early Christmas present via
their local authority, Torfaen County Borough Council, in the shape of a
£25000 grant from their Regional Key Fund which draws money from Europe under
Objective 2. It is planned that the Grant will underpin legal costs
associated with securing a Transport and Works Act Order (TWAO) for the 2.1km
(1.3 mile) stretch of line from Furnace Sidings south to Blaenavon (High
Level), to give a running length from Whistle Inn to High Level of a whisker
under two miles. Work on the TWAO is expected to start immediately with a
planned completion date before September 2005. For volunteers the TWAO means
that a real start can be made clearing brush and scrub, and preparing the trackbed and bridges for inspection by HMRI. John Down, the railway's Operations Manager said: 'We have been more than pleased to have the opportunity of working with Torfaen to secure this grant. It is great news for our volunteers and the people of Blaenavon. The town, having attracted World Heritage Status, is slowly dragging itself back from industrial dereliction to become a key player in the Welsh Tourism Industry. After 21 years of unbroken passenger operations we now have the potential to build a railway that befits a town such as Blaenavon. We are the only operating heritage railway in 'the valleys', valleys that once teemed with railways, and rang with the sound of heavy trains. We will need substantial help to underwrite our expansion plans, and the TWAO is a small but crucial first step towards that aim'. |
PBR CARRIES A HUNDRED
THOUSAND PASSENGERS.......
The 2.30 ex-Furnace Sidings on Saturday
11 December was an important train for the Pontypool and Blaenavon Railway,
carrying, as it did, its 100 000th passenger since it began carrying
passengers in 1983. The all-important passenger was Martin Doe of Cardiff.
Martin hails from Llanelli and is an activist on the fledgeling
Llanelly and Mynydd Mawr Railway. He was presented with a framed certificate by
Councillor Yvonne Warren, Mayor of Torfaen, who, with other county council
members and officials, 'just happened' to be on the train, partaking in their
annual glass of Santa Special sherry and a few mince pies.
THE BEE GEE
Almost a year since an agreement to
purchase was agreed, the railway finally took delivery of a Gangwayed
Full Brake (coded BG) from Riviera Trains, and finished in Parcels Sector
livery on Friday 24 September. After a bit of a clean-up, a repaint into our
customary maroon livery, and some refit work, she'll enter service next year in
order to allow our Brake Second Composite coach (coded BSK) to take a
well-earned overhaul. Passengers weary of our darned seats will be pleased to
hear that they are to be re-upholstered.
BUTTERFLIES
It must be something to do with our
dirty engines polluting the environment, but the local authority ecologists
report that we have become home to the incredibly rare Small Pearl Bordered
Fritillary, the 57th rarest species of butterfly of the 58 native in the UK.
LEASE SIGNED
The Company has now signed a twenty-five
year lease with National Museums and Galleries of Wales which will result in
the trackbed and track from the Whistle Inn to 300m
south of Blaenavon (High Level) station, and the Furnace Sidings yard demised
to the Company. This critical step paves the way for the extension southwards
and volunteers have already started to hack down the undergrowth to reveal the
track again. More importantly it permits the railway to seek the Transport and
Works Act order for the first major step in enlarging the railway.
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