The RCTS: then and now
Britain’s leading Railway Society
THE Great Western Railway introduced a series of titled expresses in its 1920s heyday, including in 1927 a Saturdaysonly ‘Cambrian Coast Express’ from Paddington to Aberystwyth. But the service came into its own in the 1950s, when in 1956 a ‘Castle’ Class 4-6-0 (or a ‘King’ after receiving clearance to go beyond Wolverhampton) took the train as far as Shrewsbury.
Reversal here would see the stock, by this time BR chocolate and cream Mk.1s, taken forward by one of Machynlleth shed’s immaculate ‘Manors’, gleaming in spotless Brunswick green livery. Passing through Welshpool and Newtown, then over Talerddig, the train reached the Cambrian hub of Machynlleth, where it divided. The main named section went on to Aberystwyth, but we will follow the less celebrated portion heading northwards from Dovey Junction. This has a significantly longer journey, much of it hugging the Cambrian coast, until it reaches Pwllheli, some 57 miles from Machynlleth.