Tales from Wales – Andrew Dyke

of signal checks were the real cause, not that young inexperienced fireman. The feeling of satisfaction felt then was not to be experienced again too frequently in later life. I had felt at the onset that if nothing was ventured, nothing would be gained - and I had truly gained a lot of knowledge and confidence in myself, something from which I was deriving immense satisfaction.

Trailing back to Old Oak Common was the first time I remember looking at the state of the tender. It was still some third full, though I felt as though I had emptied it some two or three times over! Our prudence in taking the extra couple of tubs at Laira had been unnecessary. By the time we were putting 6020 over the fire pit to be serviced, the only thing I recall was that all I wanted was a cool drink and a shower. After disposing of 6020, we went to the canteen at the back of the paint shops and I couldn't get to the drinks counter quickly enough. The Cockney lady assistant knew we were the "Up Limited Men" from Charlie's appearance. Turning to me, she said, "Have you fired the train from Plymouth to Paddington, as you certainly don't look big enough?" 10 stone, 4 pounds, including boots and overall!

A good wash and a meal were the only excitement for the rest of the evening, though I did remember to send the promised telegram to my Mum and Dad. Dad was especially proud as he was a railwayman himself. This trip was always a mileage turn, meaning extra payment, 14 hours pay via the Berks and Hants, an extra hour if it was via Bristol. The basic wage of £4/10/0 (£4.50p) was for a week’s work - how times have changed. There were to be many subsequent trips, some of which must have surely been with 6024, 'King Edward I' but it will always be that first trip that I remember so vividly. One summer Saturday some twenty years later I was to fire a Castle, 5070 'Sir Daniel Gooch', over the same London to Plymouth route. That was to be the last steam engine I fired on a 'London'. Charlie Mapstone was the driver then, a driver from whom I learnt many, many skills and who was destined to become a very good friend.

My last ever trip over part of that route (Cogload Junction to Plymouth, just before my 65th Birthday and retirement) was at the sharp end of an HST set, but by then, the physical demands had been largely replaced by the mental demands. It was also a journey done alone, and more quickly! If ever I needed a reminder of that first daunting trip to London, then it is forever with me in the form of an original oil painting of 6020, 'King Henry IV' which adorns the wall of one of our rooms at home to this day.

Returning though to 1944, after that journey, I spent that night alone with just the thoughts of returning on the 1:30pm the following day - but that's another story...............

The milk creamery at Pont Llanio was sited next to the railway yard. In the early years, liquid milk was loaded into 13,620 litres (3,000 gallons) glass-lined rail tank wagons which were collected by up passenger trains and taken to Carmarthen for attachment to trains for London. Empty wagons were left on the short siding on the north of the building and moved into position below the output tank by means of fixed capstan winches. The Milk Marketing Board (MMB) leased the south siding for the import of coal but also for facilitating the marshalling of empty and full milk wagons. When the Felinfach milk factory was opened, rail tanker traffic from the two factories was combined at Lampeter. During the gradual decline of services and closure of the railways north of Pont Llanio and west of Felinfach, both were served by up to three dedicated trains a day, involving complex workings by steam locomotives from Carmarthen and later class 35 and 37 diesel motive power from as far away as Landore, Swansea.

Pont Llanio was in the true sense a country wayside station. Situated down a windy narrow lane a quarter mile or so from the A485, it served a very small settlement of a couple of railway cottages, a post office and a public house aptly named the Derry Arms and, all within a stone throw of the station.

Although the settlement of Pont Llanio was small and seeming idyllic situated next to the Afon Teifi with all the amenities immediately to hand, however, all is not what it seems and one

only has to scratch the surface to find that even the smallest of settlements didn't go without its problems centred specifically in this case around the pub.

The Derry Arms can trace its origins from before 1875 - Worrall’s Directory states the licensee as William Evans (1875) and although the house only had a relatively short licence 1875 to 1938 a number of misdemeanours are recorded.

In 1887 "David Davies, Derry Arms, Pontilanio, admitted a charge of having sold intoxicating drink on Sunday the 13th February and was fined 15s. and ordered to pay costs and Wm. Jones, factory man, Voylallt Factory, and John Evans, farmer's son, Rhydgog, Llanddewi-brief, were each fined 5s. for having been on the premises on the day in question. All the charges were admitted." Cambrian News 25 Feb 1887.

It then reported on the 11 September 1896 TREGARON. ALLEGED, CUTTING AND WOUNDING.-On Tuesday morning before the Rev T. A. Phillips (in the chair), Dr Morgan, and D. W. E. Rowlands, Esqrs., D, Davies, Derry Arms, Pont Llanio, was charged with having maliciously cut and wounded D. W. Roberts, a caravan stroller.-Superintendent Phillips conducted the prosecution and Mr A. J. Hughes defended. Defendant, it was alleged, had struck Roberts with a poker. A good many witnesses gave evidence on both sides and the case was eventually dismissed.

Lastly the Carmarthen Weekly Reporter on the 30th May 1913 Defence in Writing. DEAF AND DUMB ANGLER'S VISIT TO THE TEIFY. An unexpected difficulty arose at Tregaron Petty Sessions when it was found that Albert G. Lee, South Marine Terrace, Aberystwyth, charged with having fished for trout in the River Teifi without a license, was deaf and dumb. It was eventually arranged to explain the offence to the defendant in writing, and to allow him to make his defence in the same way. Defendant handed in a written statement, in which he said that he asked the proprietress of the Deva Anns, Pont Llamio, for a permit to fish in the River Teifi, and after some hesitation, she gave him the name of a place where he could fish. He then thought he was safe, and went on fishing. When the bailiff gave him to understand that a license was necessary he went the same day to Tregaron and got one. It having been explained that Lee was a visitor to the district, the case was dismissed on payment of costs.

Notes: Although this refers to the Deva Arms, Pont Llanio, it is almost certainly the Derry Arms, Pont Llanio. The place is too small for more than one pub!

A little distance behind the photographer the train will reach the summit of this short, but fearsome, climb to enter a deep cutting before heading out near Tanybwlch beach and on to Llanrhysted Road.

Recently I visited this location to get a better understanding of the route taken by engine crews when departing and arriving into Aberystwyth from Carmarthen. To give a better understanding of what the railway was like in the days of steam. The line for Carmarthen took a westerly direction when leaving Aberystwyth station, on a long sweeping curve passing

en route the old Manchester and Milford engineering works on the left before passing over the Vale of Rheidol railway line and then the River Rheidol on two separate bridges. the engine's then got stuck into steep climb passing over Penparcau road before plunging into a deep high-sided cutting before emerging into open fields near Tanybwlch beach. Today the casual observer in denial of a railway running through this location, might be forgiven, to be honest, I found it quite hard to comprehend myself, the only remnants of the line between the railway crossing the River Rheidol and Tanybwlch beach is a short embankment all, other distinguishing features have been simply swept away or as, in the case of the deep cutting, filled in!

Gwynant Williams of Machynlleth died under a bridge girder at Pool Quay on Sunday at noon. The rail bridge over the Severn tilted out of position. Williams was one of four men placing bed stones for a new bridge when the girder moved 18 inches pinning Williams between a cross timber and an abutment. The three others received slight injury only. The 12ton crane (Caersws crane) was stationary on the bridge but was not dislodged even though the track was twisted. The men sawed through the cross timber but they knew that poor Gwynant was dead.

The breakdown crane with 30-ton lift was sent from Shrewsbury and worked through the day and afterwards in floodlight to clear the debris. The crane worked back to Buttington Junction so that the Caersws crane could be moved off the bridge. The jib of the Shrewsbury crane struck the footbridge causing a partial collapse. It was decided to dismantle the bridge, and about midnight, a steel part of the lattice struck crane foreman Jack Roberts. He was rushed to hospital but sadly died the next day. This 'Black Sunday' as it became known closed the line for 30 hours. The inquest concluded that the Pool Quay accident occurred because of main girder failure and not due to the extensions girders, the woodblocks and jacks underneath the preparation. The Buttington station footbridge incident may have been a crew mistake or pure accident ..death by misadventure was recorded for foreman Jack Roberts sadly a third fatality followed within the month at a bridge at Llanymynech. Although the Gobowen to Oswestry branch was two and a half miles in length, it contained much interest. The line passed through pleasant rolling countryside with a gradual climb up to Oswestry the ruling gradient being a short stretch of 1 in 100.

Leaving the bay platform at Gobowen the Oswestry branch ran south-eastwards alongside the mainline for a short distance before turning in a Southwesterly direction on a sharp right-hand curve. Gobowen South Signalbox lay directly opposite the junction.

Once on the branch proper a number of sidings were situated on the downside of the main running line which was used for storage of wagons awaiting removal to Oswestry. Once passed the sidings the line passed over a wooden trestle bridge which carried the railway over the River Perry. Continuing a steadily climb trains on the single-track branch ran through shallow cuttings and with the A483 road converging