EXTENSION PROJECTS

The narrow gauge Bala Lake Railway in Mid-Wales has long held an ambition to extend its services from its current terminus into the heart of Bala town itself. This goal is now within touching distance as Gary Boyd-Hope discovered.

ASK Bala Lake Railway Trust (BLRT) chairman Julian Birley what he’d like for Christmas this year, and his answer would be simple…£210,000! Wouldn’t we all, I hear you cry.

Well of course we would, but for Julian and the BLRT, securing £210,000 by the end of the year - or a large percentage of it, at least - could make the difference between the Bala Lake Railway (BLR) getting to fulfil its long-held ambition of extending into Bala town centre, or resigning itself to never achieving its full potential. It’s that simple!

You see, as part of a £6million package of upgrades to the flood defences around the town, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) has to reconstruct part of the eastern shoreline of Bala Lake, precisely where the railway would like to extend.

Therefore NRW has agreed to include the railway’s requirements (300 metres) in its planning application and carry out the necessary work, but only if the railway can contribute £276,000 towards the overall costs.

Consequently, Julian and the BLRT have to at least demonstrate the trust can come up with the required sum by the end of the year in order for NRW to proceed, and have already raised £70,000 in public donations. In short, it is an opportunity that cannot be missed.

To fully understand why the BLR is so keen to extend the 1,200 metres from its present terminus into the town itself, it is worth taking a moment to consider its current operation.

Ex-Dinorwic Quarry Hunslet 0-4-0ST Alice heads a rake of empty Dinorwic slate wagons towards Llanuwchllyn, near Bryn Hynod, on April 19, 2013, during a David Williams photo charter. The view across the lake towards Bala is spectacular.

ROBIN STEWARTSMITH

The locomotive exhibits on display in the Heritage Centre at Llanuwchllyn include former Penrhyn Quarry 0-4-0ST Nesta, owned by Rob Gambrill and repatriated from a swamp in Puerto Rico, and ex-Dinorwic Hunslets Alice (awaiting a new boiler) and George B

ALL PHOTOS BY GARY BOYDHOPE UNLESS STATED

This replica of Lord Penrhyn’s private saloon has been constructed by Bala Lake Railway supporter David Hale at his home in Somerset, but has since moved to Llanuwchllyn for completion. The standard of the finish is exemplary (inset). The original saloon is on display at Penrhyn Castle.

An aerial view showing the route of the Bala Lake Railway’s planned extension from its current Pen-y-Bont terminus to the centre of Bala itself.

BALA LAKE RAILWAY TRUST

For those unfamiliar with this delightful 2ft-gauge gem, the BLR has been running steam services over its 4½-mile length in the heart of the Snowdonia National Park for more than four decades. It follows part of the former standard-gauge Great Western Railway route that once linked Ruabon with Barmouth, starting at Llanuwchllyn and paralleling the southern shore of Bala Lake (Llyn Tegid) to its current terminus at Pen-y-Bont (the site of the old GWR Bala Halt), just outside Bala.