Travelling back in time…

Last Sunday I took the youngest two on the Llangollen Railway, the preserved heritage railway on our doorstep here in the Dee Valley...

Since my move to Wales I watched as financial shenanigans and poor management appeared to drive the railway into the ground, then the inevitable bankruptcy and through the summer of 2021 a wonderful revival. It feels, more than ever, worthy of my support, attention and any little publicity I can manage. So, I say travelling back in time...

Quite literally. Taking advantage of the DMU service this is not a nostalgia fest of steam locomotives and enamel signs on a beautiful sunny day. It was wet, dark and gloomy. The train was a heritage unit, that once you step inside the softly sprung seats and gentle underfloor vibrations instantly transported me back to my childhood...

Catching the Class 101 units between Chester and Altrincham to visit Walton's Model Shop. In the early 1990s I think, they closed their store in Chester so my Dad and I used to head to Altincham. Probably only a few times in total but these memories stick and I remember the blue and grey units with their manual doors, I remember later they were replaced by the god awful Pacer 142s with bus seats and a bouncy ride, anyway, I've digressed...

The warmth of the coach and the wonderful view from the large windows, unmatched on the second generation of DMUs (Pacers and Sprinters, today replaced on the whole by 3rd generation units sadly no longer manufactured by British owned companies - sorry there I go again). Settling in, facing backwards with a view of the line through the back from the front windows of the trailing cab. The engines rev up, we gently begin to move, and as the rain persists, the clouds darken, it feels not as if I'm sat on a heritage unit but rather I've been transported back 30 years and I'm in that blue and grey unit, leaving Altrincham on a wintry day clutching my bag of wagons and kits...

Perhaps this is nostalgia after all, a nostalgia that doesn't match the glossy photographs of the heritage railway magazines, nor the grainy steam infused pictures in my old books. No a nostalgia for a past I experienced myself, evoking first hand memories, not the end of steam but the end of something else.

Throughout that journey I enjoyed the sights and sounds of the valley from a different perspective, a relaxed journey, one that I'd recommend to you all. The weekend service offers two trains, with the opportunity to change at Glyndyfrdwy if you've bought a day rover. 

This year I intend to continue to photograph the railway, on my doorstep, in all weathers and from as many view points as is feasible. I have a few albums on my Flickr, as well as documenting things under the relevant label on the blog here. I hope you've enjoyed these photographs, and if you visit, let me know what you think? Until next time, more soon...