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The fifth cover in our rail series sees us celebrate the 60th Anniversary of the preservation of Talyllyn Railway. We've teamed up with Talyllyn Railway and have captured a little piece of the Fathew Valley in our stunning rail covers.

• Features a first class dragon stamp postmarked with our specially designed Great Little Trains of Wales postmark
• Features a 25p Talyllyn Railway Letter Sevice stamp, cancelled with a special railway letter postmark
• Carried on the 10am special re-enactment of the 1951 10am train

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Talyllyn Railway - A Short History

The Talyllyn Railway starts from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast. Opened in 1865, the line - which is narrow gauge powered by coal fired steam locomotives - was built to carry slate from quarries in the hills. The engineer was James Swinton Spooner, elder brother of Charles Easton Spooner who had introduced steam to the Ffestiniog Railway and whose father James had built the Ffestiniog Railway.

By 1909 the quarry had changed hands a few times, the land leases were running out and there was not much reason to invest and on the 17th December the quarry workers were told they were closing the next day. The recently elected local MP, Mr Henry Haydn Jones sought a buyer but failed, so he bought the undertaking himself in 1911. The quarry continued to function in some capacity til 1946. There had been little to no investment in the railway for years and the track was in disrepair with many areas of track being held in place by grass. Sir Haydn said he would run the line as long as he was alive and despite the fact that both he and the railway were over 80 years old he was good as his word. Sir Haydn passed away in 1950 and his widow kept the railway running for the rest of the season, but when it closed for winter in October 1950 it seemed unlikely that it would re open.

Thankfully a group of enthusiasts led by engineer and author Tom Rolt called a public meeting in Birmingham and the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society was formed, the first such in the world. Further meetings were held with Lady Haydn who agreed to hand the railway over to the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society. February 1951 saw the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society take over the railway, and 14th May 1951 saw it run its first public services. The redevelopment of Wharf station took place 2003/2004.This provided much improved catering and shop areas, better facilities for the operation of the railway and a two storey area for the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum, which was opened by Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall in 2005.

The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum is an important collection of artefacts relating to Narrow Gauge Railways in the British Isles, throughout a period spanning some 200 years. The collection ranges from complete locomotives to smaller pieces such as paperwork, signalling equipment and tickets. As such, it is a unique and comprehensive record of these fascinating railways, nearly 80 of which are represented in the collection.

The Museum displays contain a special section devoted to the Reverend W. V. Awdry, creator of "Thomas the Tank Engine". Awdry was an early volunteer on the Talyllyn Railway, and its history and his experiences were the inspiration for his "Skarloey Railway" on which operated scarcely disguised counterparts of Talyllyn locomotives. The collection includes a reconstruction of part of the Reverend Awdry's study from his last home in Stroud, Gloucestershire.

Today the Talyllyn Railway is still very much the railway it always was, a rural byway where the pace of life is gentle, the average speed of the train is nine miles per hour, and passengers can have an unhurried journey along the beautiful and unspoilt Fathew Valley. Both the original locomotives and all the original carriages remain in regular use to this day.

Click here to see our entire second rail series!

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Quick Facts: 60 Years Talyllyn Railway Preservation is a Commemorative Cover Issue date : 14th May 2011

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