Conwy Valley Railway

One thing about growing older to look forward to is the possibility of travelling completely free on those out of the way stretches of railway that go through parts of the British countryside that are vanishing from memory.

I spent several holidays during growing up, accompanying my Dad round the goods yards and sidings along the banks of the River Conwy estuary, taking photos not of the engines and wagons (though I still have a few of those) but of the details of points and signal gantries, the inside of engine sheds and turntables and buffers.

The grand scheme of my youth was to complete a complex layout in Hornby 00 gauge of the Conwy Valley, featuring Glanconway and Deganwy stations, the piece de resistance being the town and castle. The question was where. Firstly it was going to be in the attic but then into the garden; we got as far as building the shed and the first 8 by 4 section which would eventually lead to Llandudno Junction. Then we took up golf.

Now at least the dream lives on through the prospect of riding endlessly around those lines I never got to model in 00 – all thanks to the Welsh assembly. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/6180746.stm