Praise for Heritage Railways as they celebrate 70 years in steam
Member of Parliament for Clwyd South, Simon Baynes MP, has welcomed the 70th anniversary of heritage railways in the United Kingdom, the success of which paved the way for saving the Llangollen Railway.
Mr Baynes, a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Heritage Rail praised “the volunteer heroes” without whom he said heritage railway would be a pipe dream.
On 14 May 1951, the first heritage train service run by volunteers set out on the Talyllyn Railway in mid Wales and triggered a heritage railway movement that has now grown to 158 railways across the United Kingdom.
Mr Baynes said: “I’m very pleased to mark the 70th anniversary of heritage railways and am very much looking forward to seeing the Llangollen Railway re-open soon to bring more tourists and visitors back to the beautiful Dee Valley. Congratulations to the pioneering Talyllyn Railway which ran the first train with volunteers on in 1951 and inspired over 150 heritage railways throughout the UK, including our own Llangollen Railway.”
