The Railway Story.
Most model railways need a background to their story to give it a sense of purpose for the owner. I will keep adding to this page as I go.
The story
The Bron Effans Railway began life, as many do, as an industrial narrow gauge line from the coast r to carry slate. The line has always made use of steam motive power to haul the loads as the line from the coast was not suitable for Gravity operations. It opened in 1865 after Parliament granted a light railway order to a group of businessmen from The Midlands. Business was always steady and the railway tapped into the burgeoning tourist trade, in 1870, by using seven open sided tourist coaches to form one full passenger train.
It was decided to build the railway to a gauge of 1ft 11 1/2 inches so that, in the event of an emergency, the railway could hire in rolling stock from another railway. It also meant that more could be procured quickly, with it being such a popular gauge to use.
The line flourished for many years until the late 1930's when the onset of World War 2 forced the line to close due to a shortage of staff and a slump in the tourist trade.
The line was reopened as an interpretation centre in the small village of Aberglyn in the late 1990's. The preservationists took over the remains of the railway and raised the funds to purchase the old trackbed with the intention of eventually rebuilding the 3 mile line to Aber Effans by the year 2000. This dream was achieved in late 2000, when the first service, hauled by the refurbished No 5 "Eger" took two new build carriages from Aberglyn to Aber Effans. A massive refurbishment of the whole line has been undertaken and the final completion of the rebuild of the 5 mile line was completed in late 2011 when the line was rebuilt to Effans Uchaf.
Motive Power
The railway originally purchased 3 locomotives for the line in 1866, 1870 and 1900. Each locomotive was from a different manufacturer but carried no names.
Fletcher Jennings No1.
Due to the successes and pitfalls the Talyllyn Railway had with their first locomotive, it was decided that a slightly smaller locomotive would be appropriate for the needs of the Bron Effans line. The railway purchased No 1 to haul the heavy slate trains.
The locomotive originally ran in a plain black livery with no embellishments. It proved adept at its work and was eventually fitted with a vacuum braking system to allow it to haul passenger trains. By 1870, the locomotive was beginning to show signs of wear from over use. It was decided that more motive power was going to be needed, if the line was to be able to cope with its now dual identity as a slate carrying line and passenger railway.
When it came to reopening the line in the late 1990's it was in a serious state of disrepair, having been held in a leaky warehouse for several years. In 2008, the preservationists chose to repair No1 to be repaired and restored to full working order with the scheduled completion date being close to the full reopening of the line to Effans Uchaf in 2011. The locomotive received an almost total rebuild with a new boiler and completely rebuilt cylinder gear to allow it to haul heavy passenger trains up the steep rebuilt line. It is currently painted in an all over indian red livery with a view to a more detailed repaint once funds and a suitably skilled painter can be found.
Fletcher Jennings No2.
Fletcher Jennings No2 was purchased for the railway to compliment No 1 in 1870. It was intended that No 2 would take up some of the extra work that was being generated as part of the expanding slate trade. Unlike the Talyllyn examples, No 2 was largely the same engine as No1 with a slightly larger boiler and improved cylinder designs, which allowed for a higher tractive effort and increased acceleration. It was a huge success on the line and actually ran much more often than the locomotive that it was intended to support. It enjoyed many years of successful running and hauled many specials until the line's closure. The loco, along with the other 2 original locomotives were placed in storage at Aberglyn and gradually fell into a greater state of decay, owing to the poor practises undertaken when the line was closed.
The preservation group were faced with the horrible choice of either trying to repair No 1 or No 2. The sheer cost of repairing the years of corrosion on No 2 meant that No 1 was chosen to be repaired when the line was being reopened to Effans Uchaf. The management had made the hard decision to abandon efforts to repair No2 and placed it on static display outside Aberglyn station.
Number 5 "Eger"
The Eger was purchased for the railway in 1900 as a shunter and motive power for out of season trains. It was purchased from the Eger-Bahn Railway in Germany. It was vastly different to the two Fletcher Jennings locomotives owing to it's much shorter wheelbase and tractive effort. The management had envisaged that it would not be needed for full passenger trains up the line and would act as a station pilot at Aberglyn. It was numbered as 5 despite the fact that it was only the third engine on the line. This was due to it having run as No 5 on the original railway.
It was the first of the locomotives to be repaired for use in preservation, owing to its relatively high state of repair. It had the privilege of hauling the first train in preservation from Aberglyn to Aber Effans in 2000.
The story
The Bron Effans Railway began life, as many do, as an industrial narrow gauge line from the coast r to carry slate. The line has always made use of steam motive power to haul the loads as the line from the coast was not suitable for Gravity operations. It opened in 1865 after Parliament granted a light railway order to a group of businessmen from The Midlands. Business was always steady and the railway tapped into the burgeoning tourist trade, in 1870, by using seven open sided tourist coaches to form one full passenger train.
It was decided to build the railway to a gauge of 1ft 11 1/2 inches so that, in the event of an emergency, the railway could hire in rolling stock from another railway. It also meant that more could be procured quickly, with it being such a popular gauge to use.
The line flourished for many years until the late 1930's when the onset of World War 2 forced the line to close due to a shortage of staff and a slump in the tourist trade.
The line was reopened as an interpretation centre in the small village of Aberglyn in the late 1990's. The preservationists took over the remains of the railway and raised the funds to purchase the old trackbed with the intention of eventually rebuilding the 3 mile line to Aber Effans by the year 2000. This dream was achieved in late 2000, when the first service, hauled by the refurbished No 5 "Eger" took two new build carriages from Aberglyn to Aber Effans. A massive refurbishment of the whole line has been undertaken and the final completion of the rebuild of the 5 mile line was completed in late 2011 when the line was rebuilt to Effans Uchaf.
Motive Power
The railway originally purchased 3 locomotives for the line in 1866, 1870 and 1900. Each locomotive was from a different manufacturer but carried no names.
Fletcher Jennings No1.
Due to the successes and pitfalls the Talyllyn Railway had with their first locomotive, it was decided that a slightly smaller locomotive would be appropriate for the needs of the Bron Effans line. The railway purchased No 1 to haul the heavy slate trains.
The locomotive originally ran in a plain black livery with no embellishments. It proved adept at its work and was eventually fitted with a vacuum braking system to allow it to haul passenger trains. By 1870, the locomotive was beginning to show signs of wear from over use. It was decided that more motive power was going to be needed, if the line was to be able to cope with its now dual identity as a slate carrying line and passenger railway.
When it came to reopening the line in the late 1990's it was in a serious state of disrepair, having been held in a leaky warehouse for several years. In 2008, the preservationists chose to repair No1 to be repaired and restored to full working order with the scheduled completion date being close to the full reopening of the line to Effans Uchaf in 2011. The locomotive received an almost total rebuild with a new boiler and completely rebuilt cylinder gear to allow it to haul heavy passenger trains up the steep rebuilt line. It is currently painted in an all over indian red livery with a view to a more detailed repaint once funds and a suitably skilled painter can be found.
Fletcher Jennings No2.
Fletcher Jennings No2 was purchased for the railway to compliment No 1 in 1870. It was intended that No 2 would take up some of the extra work that was being generated as part of the expanding slate trade. Unlike the Talyllyn examples, No 2 was largely the same engine as No1 with a slightly larger boiler and improved cylinder designs, which allowed for a higher tractive effort and increased acceleration. It was a huge success on the line and actually ran much more often than the locomotive that it was intended to support. It enjoyed many years of successful running and hauled many specials until the line's closure. The loco, along with the other 2 original locomotives were placed in storage at Aberglyn and gradually fell into a greater state of decay, owing to the poor practises undertaken when the line was closed.
The preservation group were faced with the horrible choice of either trying to repair No 1 or No 2. The sheer cost of repairing the years of corrosion on No 2 meant that No 1 was chosen to be repaired when the line was being reopened to Effans Uchaf. The management had made the hard decision to abandon efforts to repair No2 and placed it on static display outside Aberglyn station.
Number 5 "Eger"
The Eger was purchased for the railway in 1900 as a shunter and motive power for out of season trains. It was purchased from the Eger-Bahn Railway in Germany. It was vastly different to the two Fletcher Jennings locomotives owing to it's much shorter wheelbase and tractive effort. The management had envisaged that it would not be needed for full passenger trains up the line and would act as a station pilot at Aberglyn. It was numbered as 5 despite the fact that it was only the third engine on the line. This was due to it having run as No 5 on the original railway.
It was the first of the locomotives to be repaired for use in preservation, owing to its relatively high state of repair. It had the privilege of hauling the first train in preservation from Aberglyn to Aber Effans in 2000.
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