Tramway scheme in grant success

Ambitious plans to restore a Victorian tramway have taken a step forward after campaigners secured a grant worth nearly £40,000.

The Glyn Valley Tramway Trust has been campaigning for several years for the restoration of the line at Chirk.

The group revealed today that it has received a £38,500 grant from the Welsh Assembly and Wrexham Council to pay for preliminary work to reinstate part of the line.

Trust members say the reopening of the tramway, which was built to take slate from quarries in the valley to the Llangollen Canal, would bring massive tourism benefits to the area.

The organisation said the cash was a boost to its ambition to have steam trains running on part of the tramway within two years.

The grant will pay for external consultants.

They will look at the future of the tramway and how it might be re-instated in part or in total.