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Trawsfynydd and Blaenau Ffestiniog Railway

Discussion in 'Heritage Railways & Centres in the UK' started by WickhamofWare, Aug 21, 2009.

  1. Tuska

    Tuska New Member

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    Steamage has pretty much summed up everything and said everything that needed to be said. Well done.

    No offense to those being ignored, but you're not taking the subject matter seriously, therefore I see no reason to either.

    @The Saggin' Dragon, I haven't. I said there's a woeful lack of it, as in, England has so much it puts Scotland and Wales to shame in terms of standard gauge. I think I'm either beating a dead horse here, or no one's listening in that regard...

    Regardless of such, Trawsfynydd is happening, whether we like it or not.
     
  2. Martin Perry

    Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

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    Not in the post I quoted.
     
  3. Tuska

    Tuska New Member

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    Since page 11.
     
  4. Rosedale

    Rosedale Member

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    This isn't about England v. Scotland and Wales. There is a very simple reason why North Wales and the Midlands and the South East have lots of well-resourced heritage lines, why the South West and the Central Belt and North Yorkshire have a small number, why the Highlands and Cornwall have hardly any, and why such lines as exist in Lincolnshire and the Borders are tiny: population. If you don't have a large number of people who are either skilled or affluent or both on your doorstep then all progress is going to be painfully slow no matter how worthy your cause.

    But then, stuff like "A deprived history that has been scrapped, sold and shipped off to England" is evidence that for the gentleman who has now evidently placed most of us on ignore, it is all about England v. Wales. Never mind that there are standard gauge heritage lines running GWR engines within an easy hour's drive of Cardiff, because they're over the border and so they somehow don't count. Notwithstanding the fact that they were built in Swindon these 'Welsh' locomotives have been stolen by knaves from over the border. I used to own a Gilbern; did I steal that too?
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2017
  5. Tuska

    Tuska New Member

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    Then I have a more radical idea.

    Get rid of the Welsh flag, the nationality, the dying language, the joking "principality" nonsense, and make us part of England, PROPER.

    Equal public spending and investment in the newly acquired counties of England. Equal pay, and the government has to fulfill its promise on electrified lines and maybe even deliver a HS3.

    That... would probably frighten many corrupt minsters in Parliament. Yes indeed.
     
  6. Rosedale

    Rosedale Member

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    So there you have it: pointing out that the Dean Forest Railway is readily accessible from Cardiff is tantamount to calling for the abolition of Wales. Paranoid ultra-nationalist piffle. How very predictable. Bored now.
     
    Last edited: Oct 10, 2017
  7. Tuska

    Tuska New Member

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    Ah... but you're not laughing now are you? Because that's a bad deal for you, and a great deal for us. Obviously.

    You can always make a person sweat by talking about money. Its actually hilarious and kinda sad at the same time.

    Jokes aside. How long have they been granted a license by Network Rail for?
     
  8. Reading General

    Reading General Part of the furniture

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    how long have who been granted a license for?
     
  9. Martin Perry

    Martin Perry Nat Pres stalwart Staff Member Moderator Friend

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    Your point is still strange to say the least; Blaenau Ffestiniog is neither short of tourist railways or standard gauge railways. To somehow argue that those who will be paying to ride on a tourist train (that's 95% General Public) will somehow see a genuine need to ride on a standard gauge tourist train as well seems fanciful at best.
    Anyone with such a burning desire for 4' 8.5" steam will probably head for Llangollen (or maybe one day Dolgarrog or Amlwch).
     
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  10. 35B

    35B Nat Pres stalwart

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    And leave Wales in the same corner of public spending deficit as many other areas of England - the south west peninsula, perhaps.

    I come back to my questions earlier - what is it about this project that makes it a must support? If I were staying in the area, why would I really, really, want to do that rather than the many other leisure activities that I might choose?

    This has nothing to do with whether the project is English, Welsh, Scots or whatever - just simply a bemusement about why what is self-evident to you to the extent that anyone who doesn't see it is dismissed as a wrecker isn't so obvious to me. I would have the same questions about a standalone railway project more or less adjacent to an existing established railway anywhere else, especially if some distance from major population centres.

    What am I missing?
     
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  11. RA & FC

    RA & FC Well-Known Member

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    I'm sure that 95% of general public who want to ride a train in Blaenau Ffestiniog would opt for the double fairlie over a 414 EMU being dragged by who knows what!
     
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  12. Reading General

    Reading General Part of the furniture

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    an 08 with shifted cranks wasn't it?
     
  13. ross

    ross Well-Known Member

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    I think that particular accolade might belong to the Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad, which at 64 miles is definitely, er, long. So much so that few people travel a return journey. Steam train one way, greyhound bus the other.
     
  14. flying scotsman123

    flying scotsman123 Resident of Nat Pres

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    Hence my get out of jail free question mark! :D

    Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk
     
  15. pmh_74

    pmh_74 Well-Known Member

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    We don't have that sort of equality between the regions of England so these sorts of demands are ludicrous (and irrelevant to the subject of this thread).
    I happen to live in one of the more affluent areas of the country and am "fortunate" enough to be paid accordingly. It's just as well because the cost of housing and commuting is eye-watering. I have friends who live in less affluent areas and earn substantially less and have an equal or higher standard of living, more disposable income and don't have a mortgage which will force them to work well into their 70s. Be careful what you wish for.


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  16. marshall5

    marshall5 Well-Known Member

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    The only way to do a return journey by train is to stay overnight in Chama or Antonito. Personally I prefer to do an out and back to Osier which is quite enough and avoids taking the C&TS bus (not Greyhound BTW) even though it is included in your ticket (getting on for $100) - as is a 3 course lunch! If you've got small children it would be a very long day (10 - 4.30/5.00) which ever way you do it. The last time I went on the Durango & Silverton (46 miles) most non- enthusiasts chose to ride the bus back. I'm sure there is an optimum length of line beyond which it becomes less attractive to Joe Public and any extra revenue is eaten up by higher maintenance costs.
    Ray.
     
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  17. Steamage

    Steamage Part of the furniture

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    @Tuska - I really have difficulty with your posts. You seem to be advocating support for the BFf&Th not because it's a good business proposition, not because it's a useful part of a wider strategy to open up new tourist attractions, not because it runs through lovely scenery, not because it's a shame to see an intact line lying idle, not because it's an exciting challenge that you are personally thrilled to be involved in, but because you feel Wales is somehow hard-done-by and that cajoling someone else (particularly the English) into making this project happen will somehow make up for that. You seem to be saying that Wales is entitled to a new standard-gauge railway. That may not be your intention, but that's the impression you give. You can probably see how that's likely to get up everyone's noses, Welsh, English or anyone else.
     
  18. Steamage

    Steamage Part of the furniture

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    No one needs railway preservation projects except the people involved. It was true for the TR, the Bluebell, the MHR (my "own" line), the Epping & Ongar... and it's true for this project too. If enough people are inspired to make it work, then it will. If not, then it will fizzle out.

    Anyway, I've had a enough of this rather stale debate. Next time I'm in the Ffestiniog area, I'll pop in to see how they're getting on. If there's a cafe, then I may have a cuppa. If there's a steam loco, I may have a ride.
     
  19. Reading General

    Reading General Part of the furniture

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    not planning on going anytime soon then?
     
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  20. Reading General

    Reading General Part of the furniture

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    exactly the same as certain people in the West of Ireland who want a railway line reopened mostly because they beleive that Dublin gets loads of investment and they are hard done by. Doesn't matter that the line goes from nowhere to nowhere via nowhere....
     
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