Llangollen Railway

Not just the Bluebell, many railways have for years now been putting on non-railway related events of all sorts. Recent trends include Dinosaurs, Hairy Potter (although that does at least have a train very briefly in the film), Tugs and Seaside events (at locations in the middle of the country), SciFi, Pirates, Lego.
And then there are the kiddies events such as Gruffalo and Peppa Pig. Not seen a Sponge Bob Square Pants event yet, but they are missing a trick there. . . offer a discount to anyone who brings their own sponge and helps clean a train!
I know these things bring in the money, but I wouldn't want to volunteer at any such events - that's not why I play trains.

 

I can't imagine that the event going on around the trains vastly changes the way in which they operate?

 

I'm not having a go here - genuinely curious as to why? If you're still working a heritage service (driving a steam loco or whatever) and giving exposure to a wider audience (who might be the enthusiasts and volunteers of the future), what's the difference if there's someone dressed as a giant cartoon pig on the platform or not?

 

Whether I am a visitor or staff I simply prefer the heritage experience. I appreciate other people don't mind participating in such events (and grateful if they help bring in the pennies to 'my' railway, but for me personally, no thanks).

 

What was indietracks?
(Hides Carter USM t-shirt...)

 

https://indietracksfestival.wordpress.com/previous-events/

 

A Hairy Potter event is a bit niche isn't it, or is it a spin off from Channel Fours The Great Pottery Throwdown?

 

Could be a number of valid reasons.
May not like children, I did not when I was one, certainly don't do now.
May not want to go through the process of DBS checks, seemed to take my wife an age to get the paperwork processed when she was doing some voluntary work for a school.
May not want to be receiving "funny looks" from parents who seem to think everyone older than them is a risk to their children. For example I will no longer walk across the park opposite my house when there are football matches on at the weekend to get Swanage departure shots after "strange looks" and various parents asking me what I was doing. It is just not worth the hassle.

 

Goldfish got there before I did. Frankly amazed Carter USM didn't play.

 

A little moment of history today as 1369 took the first goods train (excluding engineering ones) to Corwen since before this section of line's closure in 1965. Doubled up as a test run for both loco and the recently refurbished wagons ahead of the gala (starting tomorrow).

 

Just seen the statement re the Class 104 set leaving Llangollen.
I note that the railway gave notice in Feb 2026 that they wanted to hand the set back to its owners asap due to lack of available resource. How does that square with the subsequent arrival of the Class 110? Does the 104 need a lot of work that’s beyond LlR’s capacity?

Just for clarity, I'm not attempting to create controversy here - genuinely curious.

 

Indietracks was glorious fun and highly recommended. Carter USM didn't play but both the Frank and Walters, Teenage Fanclub and St Etienne did over the years. I believe the profits paid for a hefty chunk of the development of Swanick Junction station....

 

The 110 set was sought as a direct replacement for the 104. Neither are owned by Llangollen Railcars. For info, the nine 104, 108 & 110 vehicles are all hires from private groups/owners, whilst the four 105, 109 and 127 vehicles are owned outright by them.

The 104 set requires primarily welding and bodywork, whilst the 110 set requires primarily interior, electrical and some mechanical work. My understanding is that the volunteer profile/skillset of Llangollen Railcars has steadily tilted over the past decade and they felt the big 104 bodywork was beyond them, whilst the required 110 work conversely was more achievable.

Hopefully that answers your question and provides some extra context. There were a few other factors to the moves but I've stuck to what directly answers your query.



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Thank you for the insight. I must admit I was a little confused over the arrival of the 110 and the German railbus both requiring a decent amount of work before service.