Sam Rowlands MS for North Wales has praised volunteers for helping to keep alive a North Wales tourist attraction.
He said:
I was delighted to meet with volunteers and trustees from the Llangollen Railway Trust and hear all about their plans for the future.
The trust saved the line earlier this year after the previous operators went into receivership. This was really good news for the area as the Llangollen railway is a well-known and popular tourist attraction in North Wales.
I was able to have a look around a special heritage DMU train and the beautifully restored station building at Berwyn. I was also able to find out about some of the heritage skills involved in restoring the heritage buildings, carriages and locomotives – skills such as woodworking and upholstery that are becoming less common. The heritage rail sector has an important role to play in keeping these skills alive.
Everyone involved deserves full praise for helping to keep the railway running, not only because of its history but also as a not to be missed place to visit in my region.
The railway was originally opened in 1862, becoming part of the Great Western Railway in 1877 and British Railways’ Western Region in 1947. It was closed in 1964 and reopened as a heritage railway in 1975.
The Llangollen Railway has been a popular tourist attraction for a number of years and ambitious expansion plans to link the railway line to Corwen, which began in 2011, are also nearing completion.
Sam Rowlands AS yn ymweld â rheilffordd sy’n mynd o nerth i nerth yn Llangollen
Mae Sam Rowlands, AS ar gyfer Gogledd Cymru, wedi canmol gwirfoddolwyr am helpu i gadw atyniad i ymwelwyr yn y Gogledd ar agor.
Meddai:
Roeddwn wrth fy modd yn cyfarfod â gwirfoddolwyr ac ymddiriedolwyr o Ymddiriedolaeth Rheilffordd Llangollen a chlywed am eu holl gynlluniau ar gyfer y dyfodol.
Roedd yr ymddiriedolaeth wedi achub y rheilffordd yn gynharach eleni ar ôl i’r gweithredwyr blaenorol fynd i ddwylo’r gweinyddwyr. Roedd y datblygiad hwn yn newyddion da i’r ardal gan fod rheilffordd Llangollen yn atyniad pwysig a phoblogaidd i ymwelwyr yn y Gogledd.
Fe ges i gyfle i weld trên DMU treftadaeth arbennig, ac adeilad gorsaf Berwyn sydd wedi’i adnewyddu mewn ffordd drawiadol. Hefyd, fe ddysgais am rai o’r sgiliau treftadaeth sydd eu hangen i adnewyddu adeiladau, cerbydau a locomotifau treftadaeth, gan gynnwys sgiliau gwaith coed a chlustogwaith sy’n llai cyffredin bellach. Mae’r sector rheilffordd dreftadaeth yn gwneud cyfraniad pwysig at gadw’r sgiliau hyn yn fyw.
Mae’n rhaid canmol pawb sy’n ymwneud â’r gwaith hwn am helpu i gadw’r rheilffordd ar agor, nid yn unig am resymau hanesyddol, ond oherwydd y ffaith fod yr atyniad hwn yn denu llawer o ymwelwyr i’r rhanbarth.
Agorwyd y rheilffordd ym 1862 yn wreiddiol, ac fe ddaeth yn rhan o Reilffordd y Great Western ym 1877 a Rhanbarth Gorllewinol Rheilffordd Prydain ym 1947. Cafodd y rheilffordd ei chau ym 1964 a’i hailagor fel rheilffordd dreftadaeth ym 1975.
Mae Rheilffordd Llangollen wedi bod yn atyniad poblogaidd i ymwelwyr ers blynyddoedd lawer, ac mae cynlluniau uchelgeisiol a ddechreuodd yn 2011 i ymestyn y rheilffordd i Gorwen bron wedi’u cwblhau.
