Corris Railway Grand Tour

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The Grand Tour charabancs pass Tal-y-llyn Lake, before 1908 Grand Tour Charabancs.jpg
The Grand Tour charabancs pass Tal-y-llyn Lake, before 1908

The Corris Railway's Grand Tour was a tourist service that ran between 1886 and 1930. It involved a journey on the Corris Railway, a charabanc connection to the Talyllyn Railway and a return via the Cambrian Railways line between Tywyn and Machynlleth. [1]

Corris Railway transport company

The Corris Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway based in Corris on the border between Merionethshire and Montgomeryshire in Mid-Wales.

Charabanc four wheeled open carriage with two facing benches for 8 to 16 passengers, primarily meant for transport of groups

A charabanc or "char-à-banc" is a type of horse-drawn vehicle or early motor coach, usually open-topped, common in Britain during the early part of the 20th century. It has "benched seats arranged in rows, looking forward, commonly used for large parties, whether as public conveyances or for excursions." It was especially popular for sight-seeing or "works outings" to the country or the seaside, organised by businesses once a year. The name derives from the French char à bancs, the vehicle having originated in France in the early 19th century.

Talyllyn Railway A preserved narrow gauge railway in Wales, UK

The Talyllyn Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for 7.25 miles (11.67 km) from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain authorised by Act of Parliament to carry passengers using steam haulage. Despite severe under-investment, the line remained open, and in 1951 it became the first railway in the world to be preserved as a heritage railway by volunteers.

History

In 1878 the Corris Railway, a narrow gauge railway in mid Wales was taken over by Imperial Tramways, a London-based company that rapidly expanded the railway. One of the innovations of the new owners was to encourage the use of the railway by tourists. They introduced horse-drawn charabancs to ferry passengers from the station at Corris to Tal-y-llyn Lake and Cadair Idris, four miles to the north. [1]

Wales Country in northwest Europe, part of the United Kingdom

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in 2011 of 3,063,456 and has a total area of 20,779 km2 (8,023 sq mi). Wales has over 1,680 miles (2,700 km) of coastline and is largely mountainous, with its higher peaks in the north and central areas, including Snowdon, its highest summit. The country lies within the north temperate zone and has a changeable, maritime climate.

The Imperial Tramways Company Ltd was created to bring under common management a number of street tramways. Originally based in London, its headquarters moved to Bristol in 1892 and from then on it shared its senior management with Bristol Tramways under the chairmanship of George White.

London Capital of the United Kingdom

London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

The service was immediately popular and was soon extended in partnership with the nearby Talyllyn Railway to provide a "Grand Tour". Passengers joined the Corris Railway train at Machynlleth and travelled to Corris. From there they proceeded by charabanc to Tal-y-llyn lake, pausing for refreshments at the Pen-y-Bont Hotel, and on to Abergynolwyn, where they joined the Talyllyn train for the trip to the coast at Tywyn. Here they met the standard gauge Cambrian Railways train which returned them to Machynlleth. [1]

Abergynolwyn village in United Kingdom

Abergynolwyn is a village in southern Gwynedd, Wales, located at the confluence of the Nant Gwernol and the Afon Dysynni. The population of the community which is named after the village of Llanfihangel-y-Pennant was 339 at the 2011 census.

Tywyn town and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales

Tywyn, formerly spelled to Towyn, is a town, community, and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales. It was previously in the historic county of Merionethshire. It is famous as the location of the Cadfan Stone, a stone cross with the earliest known example of written Welsh, and the home of the Talyllyn Railway.

In 1892 the Imperial company moved its headquarters to Bristol, where it shared senior management with the Bristol Tramways. In the early years of the twentieth century the Bristol company replaced the horse-drawn vehicles with motor charabancs.

Bristol Tramways

Bristol Tramways operated in the city of Bristol, England from 1875, when the Bristol Tramways Company was formed by Sir George White, until 1941 when a Luftwaffe bomb destroyed the main power supply cables.

Horse-drawn vehicle vehicle pulled by horse; mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses

A horse-drawn vehicle is a mechanized piece of equipment pulled by one horse or by a team of horses. These vehicles typically had two or four wheels and were used to carry passengers and/or a load. They were once common worldwide, but they have mostly been replaced by automobiles and other forms of self-propelled transport.

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Cambrian Railways owned 230 miles (370 km) of track over a large area of mid-Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904. The Cambrian connected with two of the larger railways to give connections to the North West of England, via the London and North Western Railway; and with the Great Western Railway for connections between London and North Wales. The Cambrian Railways amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1922 as a result of the Railways Act 1921. The name is continued today in the route known as the Cambrian Line.

Pennal village in United Kingdom

Pennal is a village and community on the A493 road in southern Gwynedd, Wales, on the north bank of the Afon Dyfi/River Dovey, near Machynlleth.

Aberllefenni village in United Kingdom

Aberllefenni is a village in the south of Gwynedd, Wales. It lies in the historic county of Merionethshire/Sir Feirionnydd, in the valley of the Afon Dulas.

Henry Haydn Jones British politician

Sir Henry Haydn Jones was a Welsh Liberal Party politician.

The Plynlimon and Hafan Tramway was a 2 ft 3 in gauge narrow gauge railway in Cardiganshire in Mid Wales. It ran from Llanfihangel station on the Cambrian Railways via the village of Talybont and the valley of the Afon Leri into the foothills of Plynlimon Fawr. It was built to serve the lead mines at Bwlch Glas and stone quarries around Hafan and opened in 1897, closing just two years later. The line was a little over 7 miles (11 km) long and despite running a short-lived passenger service, it served no communities of more than 100 people.

Machynlleth railway station

Machynlleth railway station is a railway station on the Cambrian Line in mid-Wales, serving the historic town of Machynlleth. It was built by the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway (N&MR), and subsequently passed into the ownership of the Cambrian Railways, the Great Western Railway, British Railways and British Railways. It is notable that there is a distance of 22 miles (35 km) between this station and Caersws, the longest distance between two intermediate stations in Wales.

British narrow-gauge railways

There were more than a thousand British narrow-gauge railways ranging from large, historically significant common carriers to small, short-lived industrial railways. Many notable events in British railway history happened on narrow-gauge railways including the first use of steam locomotives, the first public railway and the first preserved railway.

Tywyn railway station

Tywyn railway station serves the town of Tywyn in Gwynedd, Wales. The station is on the Cambrian Coast Railway with passenger services to Barmouth, Harlech, Porthmadog, Pwllheli, Aberdovey, Machynlleth and Shrewsbury.

Tal-y-llyn Lake lake in the United Kingdom

Tal-y-llyn Lake, also known as Talyllyn Lake, Llyn Mwyngil or Llyn Myngul is a large glacial ribbon lake in Gwynedd, North Wales. It is formed by a post-glacial massive landslip damming up the lake within the glaciated valley. The hamlet of Talyllyn lies at the west end of the lake.

The Mawddwy Railway was a rural line in the Dovey Valley in mid-Wales that connected Dinas Mawddwy with a junction at Cemmaes Road railway station on the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway section of the Cambrian Railways.

<i>Sir Haydn</i> (locomotive) preserved British 0-4-2ST locomotive

Sir Haydn is a narrow gauge steam locomotive, built by Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works of the Falcon Works, Loughborough in 1878. It operated on the Corris Railway in Wales, until closure in 1948, and since 1951 has operated on the nearby Talyllyn Railway. It has carried the operating number 3 under four successive owners.

<i>Edward Thomas</i> (locomotive) Narrow gauge steam locomotive

Edward Thomas is a narrow gauge steam locomotive. Built by Kerr Stuart & Co. Ltd. at the California Works, Stoke-on-Trent in 1921, it was delivered new to the Corris Railway where it ran until 1948. After that railway closed, the locomotive was brought to the Talyllyn Railway in 1951, then restored, and remains in working order at the heritage railway. It has carried the operating number 4 under four successive owners.

Tal-y-llyn, Gwynedd village in United Kingdom

Tal-y-llyn, or Talyllyn, is a small hamlet and former parish in Gwynedd, Wales, situated at the end of Tal-y-llyn Lake close to the village of Abergynolwyn. The parish covered an area of 36,000 acres (15,000 ha). The River Dysynni flows out of the lake at this point, flowing down to enter Cardigan Bay north of Tywyn.

Lewis Cozens

Lewis Cozens was a British railway author and historian, notable as one of the earliest writers on Welsh narrow gauge and light railways.

References

  1. 1 2 3 The Corris Railway Society (1988). A Return to Corris. Avon-Anglia Publications & Services. ISBN   0905466896.
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