Welshpool railway steaming ahead with plans for double celebration

The Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway will mark the 120th anniversary of the first trains running on the line as well as the 60th anniversary of the first trains run by the preservation movement that continues to operate the railway to this day.

The anniversaries will be celebrated on June 17-18 with a full weekend of events for both families and enthusiasts, with organisers promising a varied and complex timetable with a variety of special and unusual sets.

A special jazz train will set the atmosphere for the weekend, leaving the Llanfair Caereinion Station at 10.55am on the Saturday.

A spokesperson for the railway said: "This will also be the first public passenger train hauled by our recently overhauled Franco-Belge 0-8-0 'Sir Drefaldwyn'. This is a recreation of a train run in the 1980s and will provide a suitable celebration for this engines return to traffic.

"This train will also include one of our Bowater Paper Mill wagons for the band, this will be fresh out of overhaul as well and shows the railways commitment to maintaining and operating all of our fleet into the future."

Pre-booking for this train is essential and carries a special fare.

Saturday evening will feature a dining special train.

There will be a demonstration Chattenden and Upnor mixed train run on the Saturday morning for those photographers looking to take pictures of something unusual. This will feature one of the 'toastrack' open carriages that were preserved by the Welshpool and Llanfair preservationists before being passed onto the Sittingbourne and Kemsley Light Railway where they still run.

Day rover tickets will be available for some trains but there will be supplementary upgrade tickets which must be booked for the jazz train, the Sierra Leone first class, the evening dining special and the Wasp personnel carrier.