A Man Down at Llangollen

We were one short yesterday on the Llangollen and Corwen Railway. They were, quite rightly, busy celebrating their 50^th anniversary as a heritage railway, but, initially, at least, we had another priority. Some of Andy’s ashes were to be disposed of appropriately on the railway. It was his favourite line and he had visited it many times during his lifetime, which subsequently coincided with the fifty years of the re-born L&CR. It seemed like a good fit, therefore, to be celebrating our good friend Andy’s life on the same day.

John arranged a footplate moment for us all, even clearing it beforehand with the managing director, but also with faultless and considerate co-operation from the footplate crew of ex-GWR 2-8-0 No 3802, for which we were very grateful, as we effectively interrupted them in their duties. Andy’s ashes were duly delivered to the firebox on the fireman’s shovel. In retrospect, I can’t think that he would have preferred it any other way. That concluded, we were not just a man down for the rest of the day, but for the rest of our lives, too.

Andy certainly added something to our twice-yearly, lads’ days out on the trains, generously dispensing his extra-large packets of peanuts and plentiful supplies of Tunnock’s caramel wafers. Deliberate and emphatic pronouncements, usually issued in a way that was not exactly expecting a response from anyone else, were interspersed with examples of quirky good humour, sparingly used, but always lurking there and waiting for the right opportunity to further lighten the day.

Andy brought us here to Llangollen after the railway had been closed by BR in the mid-60s and before it reopened fifty years ago this weekend. He drove us all round this part of North Wales in his parents’ Hillman Minx. We found our way up to Brymbo, when the tracks to the steel works were still down and being used, as well as to the old lead mine site at Minera and a pub near World’s End, that I can’t find a trace of today during a brief search.

Andy was right about the L&CR, too, because it is special. The Dee-side setting is as picturesque a route as any offered by the other heritage lines. Temporarily hampered by financial woes that threatened its continued existence, the railway has bounced back magnificently in more recent times. They get their PR spot on. They are most welcoming and accommodating at every turn, and their online presence provides a lesson to other comparable set-ups in how to relate positively to their potential customers.

We took the slow train from Carrog to Corwen and completed the round trip to Llangollen and back behind No. 3802 before a leisurely lunch at the Grouse Inn. Fitting in another there and back trip to Llangollen in the afternoon for tea and cake, having persuaded the café on the terminus platform to stay open just a little longer while we cleared them out of “school cake”, we were rewarded with some very spirited running from the ex-GWR panier tank No. 7754 up the hill and back to Carrog in the non-corridor suburban stock. We finally went our separate ways after another rewarding day in each other’s company. We shall remember Andy by just carrying on carrying on. Life is short and nothing lasts for ever. It’s important to have things to look forward to and things to look back on, as well as enjoying the moment on the day. We’ve packed a lot into the sixty-six years since our friendship group began to take form and we’ve far from finished yet. Andy would expect nothing less from us.