Postage stamp. Great Britain. Queen Elizabeth II. Classic Locomotives. 'Dolgoch' 0-4-0T. Rheilffordd Talyllyn Railway, Gwynedd, Wales. 20p. 2004.
The Talyllyn Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Talyllyn) is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for 7 1⁄4 miles (12 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,[6] the line remained open, and in 1951 it became the first railway in the world to be preserved as a heritage railway by volunteers. Since preservation, the railway has operated as a tourist attraction, expanding its rolling stock through acquisition and an engineering programme to build new locomotives and carriages. In 1976, an extension was opened along the former mineral line from Abergynolwyn to the new station at Nant Gwernol. In 2001, the preservation society celebrated its 50th anniversary, and in 2005 a major rebuilding and extension of Tywyn Wharf station took place, including a much-expanded facility for the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum. Dolgoch is a narrow gauge 0-4-0 well tank steam locomotive. It was built by Fletcher, Jennings & Co. in 1866 and is one of the oldest locomotives still in active service. It was delivered to the Talyllyn Railway in 1866 and continues to run on this railway. Dolgoch holds an important place in railway preservation history as it was the only serviceable locomotive on the Talyllyn Railway when it became the first ever preserved railway to be operated by volunteers in 1951, and largely single-handedly kept the railway going during this first season.
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Photo credit: © Stan Pritchard / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
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