Railway Adventure

by L.T.C. Rolt

Describes how in the 1950s the Talyllyn Railway line was threatened with closure, but the author and a small group of amateur railway men made their dream of running their own railway come true by saving the line, now the oldest surviving railway of its kind in the world.

Genres: Railways

150 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Lionel Thomas Caswall Rolt (usually abbreviated to Tom Rolt or L.T.C. Rolt) was a prolific English writer and the biographer of major civil engineering figures including Isambard Kingdom Brunel and Thomas Telford. He is also regarded as one of the pioneers of the leisure cruising industry on Britain's inland waterways, and as an enthusiast for both vintage cars and heritage railways.

Reviews

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

wat een wholesome boek ik word er blij van

ps dit is bijna cottagecore

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderfully written account of the early preservation days of the Talyllyn Railway. The first couple of chapters provide a potted history of the pre preservation era of the railway. Rolt has quite a talent for description and one can almost picture the beautiful Welsh landscape and smell the steam smoke.

I throughly enjoyed this account of the Talyllyn, a railway I knew of through my childhood reading of Rev. W. Awdry's Railway Series, but didn't know much about. Thanks to this book and Rolt's wonderful writing style, that has now been happily rectified.

[Leo H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really lovely, he has a bit of a go at nationalisation and the welfare state at a few points but I can sort of see his point of view given when this was written in the 50s compared to now. Well worth a read even if you're not bothered about railways, just a charming, well written account of some blokes deciding to run a railway and accidentally inventing railway preservation in the process.

[Paul Godfrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

A vivid and entertaining story of the beginning of railway preservation. Brought back some great holiday memories. If you like steam trains I am sure you will enjoy it.

[Andy Malcolm · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely work of non fiction detailing the story of a collection of optimistic and ambitious railway 'fans' who acquired their own small piece of long forgotten national network in the 1950s, replete with an ancient late 19th century train and a track in very poor condition. A breezy, entertaining read that nicely puts into perspective a different era. Even in the 1950s the author himself feels "out of time", and he descends into a rant about the ravages of the welfare state and public ownership destroying creativity and human personality towards the very late pages. Regardless of that un-necessary political diversion, this is a joy to read and a great account.

[Jeremy Tilston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fuelled my interest in narrow gauge railways when I first read it in 1973, I've read it twice again since, a classic!