Welshpool and Llanfair Railway

My new book about the Great Little Trains of Wales is available here.

The round trip on the trains of the Welshpool and Llanfair Railway lasts for two hours and is sixteen miles in length, from Llanfair Caereinion to Raven Square, Welshpool and back, including crossing over the River Banwy and the famous climb up Golfa Bank.

At the Llanfair Caereinion station, there’s a shop and a tearoom that serves hot and cold drinks, homemade cakes, and freshly prepared sandwiches. The tearoom is in the same building as the shop and booking office.

The signal box is a lovely mixture of light and dark brown colours. An enormous pile of coal lay on the opposite side of the tracks. Someone had fitted a sturdy red post box into a large brick chimney. The train is comprised of green carriages from Hungary and brown coaches from Austria. Their interiors are of highly polished wood with painted iron supports. 

A last-minute delay occurred because a technical problem forced the withdrawal of the steam locomotive from service. A diesel locomotive called Diema replaced the steam train within two minutes.