Blog Rogera Farnwortha

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The Llanfyllin Branch and Oswestry to Llanymynech – Part 1 …

The Llanfyllin Branch was featured in an article by Stanley Jenkins in the October 2003 issue of Steam Days magazine. [3]

The immediately adjacent Tanat Valley Light Railway is covered articles elsewhere. They can be found on the links included in the linked article.

The two lines ran into the hills to the Southwest of Oswestry. The local Cambrian network is shown diagrammatically in the linked article. ....

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/02/21/the-llanfyllin-branch-and-oswestry-to-llanymynech-part-1/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

The Mother of All Inventions?

When and why were railways created? What were the circumstances which brought about their existence?

History does not make it easy to take out one example from a steady continuum of change. ...There have been tracks or plateways since Roman times. You might say that these could be brought within the term railway and therefore the Romans invented the railway.

Except there were railways of a sort, at least as far back at 600 BCE, possibly going back even further, maybe as far back as 1000 BCE. The clearest example of being the Diolkos Trackway, a paved trackway near Corinth in Ancient Greece which enabled boats to be moved overland across the Isthmus of Corinth.

For many people, however, the railways began with the Stockton and Darlington (S&D), though I'm sure people appreciate that history is not always as simple as it may seem.

The linked article is based on a short three page article by David Wilson which he wrote in the early 1990s, entitled, 'Mother of Inventions'. It explores some of the significance of the development of the railways and why they seem to hold a special place in our national consciousness.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/03/03/the-mother-of-all-inventions

There will always, and inevitably, be more to say about the development of railways than can be covered in a short article. Some discussion of how those development occurred would be worthwhile in the context of the 200th anniversary of the opening of the Stockton and Darlington Railway later in 2025. I have been asked to prepare a talk about Stockton & Darlington railway for a special interest group in East Shropshire and considering its importance will preoccupy me in coming months. I hope this first article will be of interest to some readers.

 

[rogerfarnworth]

The Caledonian Railway...

Wikipedia tells us that “The Caledonian Railway (CR) was one of the two biggest of the five major Scottish railway companies prior to the 1923 Grouping. It was formed in 1845 with the objective of forming a link between English railways and Glasgow. It progressively extended its network and reached Edinburgh and Aberdeen, with a dense network of branch lines in the area surrounding Glasgow. It was amalgamated into the London, Midland and Scottish Railway in 1923. Many of its principal routes are still used, and the original main line between Carlisle and Glasgow is in use as part of the West Coast Main Line railway (with a modified entry into Glasgow itself).”

The linked article looks at the development of the Caledonian Railway. ...

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/03/20/the-caledonian-railway/

Other articles which focus on different parts of the Caledonian Railway include:

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/12/22/the-callander-and-oban-railway/

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2024/07/16/the-caledonian-railway-rail-motor-car/

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/01/01/the-ballachulish-railway-line-part-1/

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/01/02/the-ballachulish-railway-line-part-2/

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2019/01/05/the-ballachulish-railway-line-part-3/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Rt Revd Eric Treacy MBE LLD

Flicking through a number of old magazines passed to me by a friend here in Telford, I came across a supplement published by The Railway Magazine in December 1990, “Eric Treacy: The Classic Years.”

Treacy's photographs are now in the National Archive collection at Kew They are ©Crown Copyright and covered by an Open Government License which permits copying of images in the collection for non-commercial use. This covers the photographs from the collection which were reproduced in the 1990 supplement.

The Rt. Revd. Eric Treacy MBE, LLD, Lord Bishop of Wakefield from 1968 until 1976, died on Appleby Station on 13th May 1978. He left behind a large collection of railway photographs, taken over more than four decades.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/03/22/rt-revd-eric-treacy-mbe-lld/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

San Sebastian's Urban Tramway, Funicular and Aerocar, and the 'Spanish Aerocar' at Niagara Falls.

A variety of different forms of transportation in and around San Sebastian in Spain and an interesting link with Niagara Falls!

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/03/2...car-and-the-spanish-aerocar-at-niagara-falls/

 

[rogerfarnworth]

The Highland Railway's Strathpeffer Branch...

The featured image shows Strathpeffer Railway Station in 1928. Locomotive No. 16118, one of a class of three locos designed by William Stroudley. Built in 1869 at the Highland Railway’s Lochgorm works in Inverness, they became known as ‘Lochgorm Tanks’ and this loco carried the number 56 when first built and the name ‘Balanin’, and later ‘Dornoch’. All three passed to the LMS in 1923 when they lost their names and are widely believed to be the basis of the LBSCR Terrier design that Stroudley produced later in his career. This loco and sister No. 16383 were broken up in 1927, although the third lasted until 1932, © John Mann Collection, used with the kind permission of Nick Catford. [30]

Stanley Jenkins comments: “Situated at the head of a fertile valley some five miles inland from the Cromarty Firth, Strathpeffer was once famous as a health spa and fashionable holiday resort. Although the medicinal value of the local mineral springs had been known for many years, the village did not really develop until the Victorian era when the Countess of Cromartie was instrumental in creating a Central European-style spa in this remote part of Scotland.” [1: p53]

When the first section of the Dingwall & Skye Railway opened on 19th August 1870 the Strathpeffer area became much better connected. However, the new line ran well to the North of the village. The line had a station named ‘Strathpeffer’ but it was 2 miles from the spa and at a much higher level. The station ended up in that location because of the opposition of a local landowner to a far better route for the Dingwall & Skye line, which would have passed through the village. The result was a steeply inclined (1 in 50) line climbing to the summit at Raven Rock. ...

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/03/23/the-highland-railways-strathpeffer-branch

 

[rogerfarnworth]

Genova (Genoa) Addendum – Light Rail & Modern Tramway, August, September & October 1995 – including La Guidovia del Santuario della Guardia

After completing the series of articles about Genova's transport system at the end of 2024, beginning of 2025, I came across a series of three articles in the 'Light Rail & Modern Tramway Journal' dating from 1995. This article covers those three pieces. …

Written, 30 years ago, Barry Cross' articles help us to engage with the changes to the transport systems in Genova over the decades.

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/03/25/genova-genoa-addendum-light-rail-modern-tramway-august-september-october-1995-including-la-guidovia-del-santuario-della-guardia

 

[rogerfarnworth]

The Highland Railway’s Fortrose (or Black Isle) Branch

Stanley Jenkins tells us that “The opening of the Inverness & Rossshire Railway between Inverness and Dingwall on 11th June 1862 brought the benefits of rail transport to a prosperous farming area in Ross & Cromarty. The line was completed throughout to Invergordon on 25th March 1863, while a series of subsequent extensions eventually resulted in the creation of the Highland Railway’s ‘Far North’ line between Inverness and Wick. Inevitably the 161½ mile ‘Far North’ line omitted large numbers of places that would have benefited from direct rail links, and for this reason several branch-line schemes were put into effect during the latter part of the 19th century.” [1: p48]

“The Black Isle peninsula, between the Beauly and Cromarty Firths, became the focal point for two such schemes, only one of which was successful.” [1: p48]

Wikipedia tells us that “The Highland Railway was surprised when in 1889 the Great North of Scotland Railway (GNoSR) proposed the construction of a railway to Fortrose, … The GNoSR operated a network from Aberdeen and the nearest place to Inverness served by it was at Elgin, some distance away. The branch would have been detached from the owning railway, but running through the Black Isle it would have made a junction with the Highland Railway at Muir of Ord. A ferry operation from Fortrose to Ardersier, on the south side of the Moray, was included in the plans. Ardersier was then known as Campbelltown, and a railway branch to it was included. Two other schemes striking into Highland territory were proposed at the same time, elevating Highland Railway discomfort about its competitive position.” [2][3]

“The two companies had been adversaries for some time, and in 1883 and the following years there had been a state of continual warfare over junctions, frontiers and running powers. … The Highland saw at once that if this branch were built, it would be easy for the GNoSR to demand running powers into Inverness to reach its branch, and in that way the rival company would have gained access to the Highland’s stronghold.” [2]

After considerable ‘argument’ between the two companies, the GNoSR and the Highland Railway each submitted Bills to the UK Parliament for a line to Fortrose. ...

http://rogerfarnworth.com/2025/04/01/the-highland-railways-fortrose-or-black-isle-branch