SiF UK Member Meetings

In attendance were the three regulars from the beginning - Ryan, Truro and Eliot, along with Alaric, Loey Machan and his younger brother, TL. Eliot also being a volunteer on the railway raised a lot of opportunities for the group that wouldn't normally be open to the average visitor. Viewings of the locomotive workshop, signalbox and other largely unseen areas of the site were given a guided tour by the numerous, friendly Ravenglass and Eskdale Railway volunteers. And as if being in the prescence of the inspiration behind the Small Engines wasn't enough, the chance was raised by Loey to obtain footplate rides on River Esk (Rex) for himself and Ryan.

However, all was not entirely well. While Truro's train had arrived in time to catch the same one as the rest of the group, only Ryan, who was on the footplate at the time, knew he had arrived. And so, Alaric, Loey Machan, Eliot and TL spent the journey to Dalegarth (the other end of the line) oblivious to his presence, and it was only at the other end of the line, when Ryan finally stepped off the footplate, was he finally united with the rest of the group! And imagine Ryan's surprise when he found out days after that he'd been riding with Peter Van Zellar, who has done a lot in terms of Railway literature and media, including narration for the Graham Whistler productions.

On the run up to Dalegarth, the group engaged in different things. Ryan on the footplate asked Mr Van Zellar if he had known the Reverand Awdry when he was around writing the Railway Series books centered around the railway. Fortunately, he had, and remarked that he had "Helped him over a wall once!" and continued on with his knowledge of the railway's history, explaining that River Irt, River Esk and River Mite, who was yet to arrive were the only engines at the time of writing the 1967 book. The railway staff had decided upon three different variations in colour for the engines, but for the book - only River Esk and River Mite were consistent with their Sodor counterparts, and apparently, unlike Bert, River Irt has never been painted blue!

Meanwhile, Alaric (with his new friend, Mr Hedgehog), Elliot, Loey and TL were in the front carriage. As we progressed along the line, Elliot pointed out the points of interest. Finally, at journey's end at Dalegarth, the group engaged in a light lunch, discussing all things SiF and the latest developments on Thomas & The Magic Railroad. Deciding to make more of our day, we walked up the abandoned line of the original 3 foot gauge R&ER. Following our little walk, we gather for another group shot and sat in the picnic site lying in the shadow of the station building, talking about the next SiF Adventure, Power Rangers and events of SiF, past, present and future. There was also time for a short trip up along the old line to the old terminus of Boot, before making a quick turn around and heading back for the station.

With River Esk returning once again to the station, we returned to the train, this time, Loey being on the footplate. Following problems trying to couple Esk into the train, we left Dalegarth and headed back towards the coast. This time, Loey was given the privilige of a footplate ride, while the rest of the group talked and enjoyed the splendid scenery in the setting sun on the road back. Following the return to Ravenglass, Eliot unfortunately had to depart. Making our fond farewells, the remain five of us ventured over to The Ratty Arms on the Cumbria line old station building to have a drink before leaving. Having enjoyed a round brought by Truro, the time for the train to take Loey, Alaric, Truro and myself back down south approached. As they waited for the train, they looked into the beautiful sunset. With in train in the distance, there were hand shakes and hugs all round from Ryan with the same message: "Great to see you again/meet you and see you in Towyn this summer". Posing for a final photograph as the train pulled in, the final farewell with Ryan was made.

On the day in question, there was to be a special Wedding train running on the line too - so there were a lot of people running around in formal dress, and a few Pullman carriages standing in the station at Sheffield Park station, alongside what was to be our train taking us up to Kingscote. The usual was in full swing with cameras of both video and still pictures in operation, capturing everything on site for prosterity before we moved off up the line.

On the way up the line, the discussions largely turned to the audio productions the three of us had produced in our own right, and what we made to each other's work and that of other people, as well as who we felt had made significant impact in terms of voicework which had accentuated the work we had done ourselves. Not only this, but fantasy plans we had for filming a Harry Potter spoof, which will most likely never be made.

With very little to see or do at Kingscote, it was decided in all fairness to head back down the line to Horsted Keynes, where there was a hive of activity surrounding the station with a collector's fair with books, videos, models and toys piling the tables along the platform. A fair deal of browsing was done on each table, seeing what was on offer in the way of rare and interesting Railway items which grabbed our interest. It seemed however, that there was little we either needed or wanted, and so we left it at that. A few moments of madness were captured for the camera after inspiration came from a sign on the other side of the station - encouraging patrons to "Drink Camp", and needless to say, Ryan with a bottle of cola in his hand kindly obliged and did as much...

Among those attending a meeting for the first time were BanchouFox, CPK with his friend Andy, and Stuart, all of whom had been with the forum for a considerable length of time. It all began on Saturday the 18th of August, when everyone bar Stuart had arrived in Tywyn to begin the holiday. Most of us were relative newcomers to the area, having never been there before, but drawn to the interlinking history with the Railway Series books and stories we loved as children. It had been a long journey for most of us, with Ryan and Alaric arriving around 4pm having driven nearly non-stop from Carlisle. The decision was taken to have a quiet night in the caravan and rest up for the first big trip the following day - down to the Vale of Rheidol at Aberystwyth.

The train soon pulled into Devil's Bridge, where we headed down to the Falls that had been such a pull for the tourist industry in the area. Sadly, this time around we decided not to take a walk down along the pathways, and instead, opted to go and get a quick snack instead before heading back on the train to Aberystwyth, where numerous funny voices were performed and a number of SiF moments reminisced about over bags of crisps and cans of juice... and cake! :D Then, it was back up to the caravan site for some dinner and preparations for the evening movie showing.

Then, it was off down to Ffestiniog. One luxury was we didn't have to queue twice - we'd already bought 3 in 1 tickets for both Welsh Highland Railways and the Ffestiniog. CtX and Loey Machan's convoys went down to Boston Lodge to enquire about footplate rides, while Ryan, BanchouFox, Chris Burrell and Alaric waited around at Harbour Station, watching Palmerston puff back and forth. When the group of them finally got there, we boarded Blanche's train bound for Blaenau, sitting in the traditional hardwood, sore on your bum seats that are so common in the open air Third Class carriages!

When we got to Tanybwylch, Peckett and Loey Machan stood down from the footplate and Christopher and Ryan took up the mantle, with Ryan on Blanche's tender in the open air with the video camera, both thoroughly enjoyed the run through the more scenic part of the line, despite the Driver and Fireman being rather mute...! They got even more of a reason to shy away from chat when Ryan blew the whistle at Blaenau, not in the traditional way they'd have liked, but in a fanciful fruitful way!

Typically, the train was filled to the gills on the return journey, meaning we're spread out all over the joint and away from each other. However, we managed to find some comfy seats in one of the carriages and relax in there for a while on the return trip. On the way back, we spotted Talliesin and Prince coming up the line with a double-header - the oldest and newest locomotives on the line, and one of the oldest still in regular service today (Albeit, rebuilt extensively as Fox kept emphasising!).

Anyway, at journey's end, we headed along the coastal route on the road home, with the question still ringing in our ears - which one really IS Duke? Palmerston, who's been virtually unaltered much since 1864 - or - Prince, who's the oldest of the fleet, and closer to the character in terms of name, although rank is slightly less?

This led to a high-speed trip up to Llanberis through the mountainous region of Snowdonia, where the epic scenery was to be awed at. The group took interest at the progress the Welsh Highland Railway (C) had made in reaching the outskirts of Beddgellert, and the amazing view as the cars gained height enroute to Llanberis with bags of time to spare before the departure. Word soon came in that Stuart and his mum hadn't reached Abergynolwyn by 7am, and were just making their way to Llanberis to meet the rest of the group, so Loey and his car were now frantically enroute too. The group watched as the morning preparations were made on the locos at Llanberis, with Steam Engines Nos. 6, 4, 3 and 2 bustling around the yard. With a good ten minutes to spare, Loey made it in and explained the situation to the rest of the group. Much anticipation was to have one of the steam locomotives which had featured in Mountain Engines, however, the group found themselves lumbered with No.10 Yeti instead, a Diesel!

Boarding time came and Stuart and his mum still hadn't appeared, which led to an embarrassing situation with Loey Machan standing outside the station watching for them, and being called back by the rest of the group so as not to hold the train up any longer. When they finally did arrive, they were just in time to see Yeti leaving the station to make her way up the Mountain.

As the train powered it's way up the hill, the announcer at the front gave out useful information about the history of the Mountain and the Railway, while the group conversed and filmed the slow, but steady journey up. Much to their disappointment, they found that the train that had followed behind them had been a steam-run service after all with No.3 Wydffa! But the higher up the train went, the more beautiful the scenery and the view became. BanchouFox attributes his trip up Snowdon to conquering his vertigo, terrified by the height was at initially, and then mesmirised by the sight that spread down the side of the mountain!

Sadly, the railway's operation for 2007 only ran to Clogwyn Station, which is the second last before the summit, which was undergoing building work. However, it did make for a convenient place to stop as THIS was the site of a very important Snowdon and Culdee Fell Railway moment. Just above Clogwyn Station, the Snowdon Mountain Railway's locomotive No.1 Ladas had been involved in an unfortunate accident which saw a passenger killed on the first day of operations. The locomotive derailed and tumbled down the mountainside, hauled to pieces in the process. The group stood on almost the exact point where the locomotive would have taken it's leap, while Loey Machan explained the whole sorry tale. Then, it was back down to watch Wydffa come in with it's train of visitors in order to take pictures and film the engine's grand entrance!

Back down the mountain, the group watched No.4 Snowdon departing with her train up the mountain, and then headed off to take in some breakfast at legendary Llanberis cafe - Pete's Eats. While everyone else had a sensible breakfast, Chris opted to take a huge Mega-Meal, thinking it wouldn't be as collosal as it was! Needless to say, he never got through it...

The next port of call was at Llanberis Lake Railway, where BanchouFox managed to get a turn on one of the "Wee Beasties" as he called them. The train was packed, and the group were forced to settle for the carriage at the end of the train to have anywhere to sit! Then, it was off to the Slate Mining Museum to take in what the quarries such as Dinworic, where the "Wee Beasties" had initially lived and worked. The group each went off in their own directions, each taking interest in different areas of the site, others itching to get a move on down to Caernarfon to see the Welsh Highland Railway (C) in action!

The group joined the WHR C train at Dinas and headed with it to Caernarfon, this time, with TL Rhodri on the footplate of Ex-SAR No.138 Millennium with CPK's friend Andy taking up the honour for the next leg of the journey at Caernarfon to Waunfaur. It was on the train along the WHR C that we discovered that Clay had started a joke that Chris Burrell and Alaric had become engaged to one another... which would lead to another epic event at the end of the week, documented in the Friday edition of the travel blog.

The Welsh Highland Railway (C) passed through some of the most beautiful scenery in the whole of Wales, and it was easy to see why the volunteers were so passionate about reopening the full length of the line, which will become the longest Narrow Gauge Railway in Britain. It also had to be one of the most fun journeys of the whole week, with the group larking around in the carriage as it went along, particularly when a sheep ran onto the line and narrowly avoided becoming "Broken Leg of Lamb"! Journey's end called for a group photograph of all the happy faces enjoying their time on the trip to Wales. On the way back, most of us were quite tired after such a long day, rising at 5.30am to be ready to leave and still being so far from home at 5.30pm! Back at Dinas, it was home to Tywyn for dinner, however, Ryan's car took a detour and headed off instead along the coastal route to watch the sun set over the horizon in a pink-orange glowing sky, before retiring to Tywyn's sea-front to round off the day with a bag of chips. Up at the campsite, the rest of the group also had a fitting end to the day watching Sir Haydn pass through with a Night Train on the Talyllyn.

WEDNESDAY – Life’s a Beach

Wednesday saw us heading off to Corris for the morning, where Nos. 3 and 4 from the Talyllyn had previously worked until 1948. It was one of the hottest days of the entire week, with the sun beating down on the group as they sat through an oral presentation on the route’s history and rebuilding process following their trip along the ¾ mile line to Maespoeth. The Corris has high hopes and aspirations for their future, hoping to extend again and build another replica steam locomotive.

Following the tour of Corris, the group headed on to the next stage of the trip – the Fairbourne Railway to spend an afternoon mucking around on the beach. Some of them played ball, others played in the sea like the big kids they were.

However, the event of the afternoon was epitomised by the SiF Sand Mural, which was done purely on a whim and ended up getting the entire group involved in its construction. There were a few questions raised by others who weren’t “in the know”, but we didn’t seem to care much. We knew what it signified and it made for a nice commemoration to the previous year’s meeting in York, which had taken place a full year beforehand!

THURSDAY – Duncan Day

Thursday, like Tuesday before it had been planned for months too, as today was Duncan Day on the Talyllyn, and the only day that we’d agreed we’d stay in Tywyn and not go further afield.

The first order of business was to get to Pendre for our tour of the works, which had been planned for Monday, but sacrificed due to time issues. Sadly, today, almost all of the engines were out working, and only Nos. 3 and 4 were in the yard, along with No. 9 Alf, so there wasn’t entirely much to see in Pendre yard at all, aside from the workings of the yard and the sheds themselves. SiF Member Talyllyn showed us round the whole area, and even told of some ghostly stories and goings on from Talyllyn folklore such as the dog that haunts one of the sheds, and the “Ghost Train”, which for a time was said to run over the tracks late in the night after the last train had run... and turned out to be a man who had built a machine and was simply going to the pub!

Following that, it was down to Tywyn Wharf station to catch the train up the line with No.7 Tom Rolt. Much to our surprise, it was going to be double-heading with No.3, who had been mocked up to join in the Duncan Day fun as Sir Handel due to its own current red livery! At Abergynolwyn, the Railway Series was alive and well with storytellers reciting tales from the books which chronicled events on the Skarloey Railway. The Fat Controller was present to make sure that Duncan and Sir Handel were keeping good order, and both engines provided footplate rides to young visitors who took part in numerous fun activities at the station.

And so, it was back to the Narrow Gauge Museum, where the Awdry Study was again the object of desire. Ironically enough, it was there that a chance meeting was made with the mother of two Railway Series characters – Kathy and Lizzie, who had featured in Railway Series Book 40, who were visiting Sodor!

The day was rounded off in true style with an epic Talyllyn Railway event. For the first and only time in its history of preservation, the railway had all of it’s locomotives in service at the one time, and they were assembled at Tywyn Wharf for one night only. All that week, one of the Talyllyn locomotives had been placed on the Wharf to whistle to the Cambrian Coast Express as it passed by. Tonight, all of the engines did it and they partook in the Railwayman’s Last Salute, a tribute to the deceased Vivian Herbert, a chargehand at Machynlleth. A video was filmed and appeared on YouTube, which can be viewed here with some of the SiF Members visible as the train passed by.

There were some technical difficulties however! No.4 Edward Thomas was unable to reverse into the siding with No.6 Duncan and No.3 Sir Handel, on account of the fact that No.2 Dolgoch was narrowly blocking the way! Speculation was rife among the spectators as to which one would come off the line – would Edward Thomas push Dolgoch aside or would Dolgoch nudge Edward Thomas off the line if they tried to move the engine further back? In the end, both engines were left where they stood, and Edward Thomas was taken back to Pendre before the rest of the steam engines. But on the SiF member front, everything was rosy and fun. The members posed in front of Sir Handel, everyone got a photo hugging Alaric and watched the Talyllyn engines head off into the sunset.

Back at the Caravan, it was time to mark two very important occasions. Seeing as he couldn’t be there, the guys had organised for a special 16^th Birthday party in Eliot’s honour, and for the 5^th Anniversary of Sodor Island, with BanchouFox cooking Spaghetti Bolognaise for everyone in the group. This was followed up with a live rendition of ChrisTheXelent’s song for the holiday, Sweet Home Rhyderhonen, which he had written with Clay, documenting the events of the week. The evening was rounded off with singing of Happy Birthday for Eliot and Happy Anniversary for SiF, and then a good old round of joke-telling and chat before everyone toddled off to bed.

FRIDAY – Now for Something Completely Different!

On Friday, there was the option to go to the Welshpool and Llanfrair Railway. However, with Ryan lying out on the couch with a sore stomach for most of the morning, it seemed highly unlikely that we’d make it there for a reasonable time to ride the trains! Instead, when Ryan felt ready enough to get up and drive again, the guys decided it’d be better to head off up to Talyllyn Lake for a spell instead and to have a quiet day away from the Railways.

First, drinks were taken at a little pub by the side of the lake, but this wouldn’t sustain an entire afternoon. There was the need for stimulation and enjoyment, and to sit by a lake all afternoon drinking just wouldn’t do! Instead, it was decided that we’d hire boats instead and go sailing on the lake for the remainder of the afternoon. Not many of us had been rowing before, and so while some of us took to it like ducks to water; others found it with great difficulty. It was a gentle, relaxing activity for the most part; however, when Loey Machan’s boat lost an oar, it was up to CtX, Chris and Clay to tow him in back to dry land again to fetch another one! The tranquillity of the lake was shattered for a few minutes with a couple of low-flying aircraft roared overhead to a chorus of cheers from the SiF members in the boats.

Eventually, however, responsibility meant that the group had to head back inland and clean the caravans prior to heading off for home the following day, and so the lake was left behind and the work began before the play could resume again later in the evening.

“The Last Supper” was due to take place at The Railway Inn in Abergynolwyn later, where the group would say their goodbyes in pure style. “The Wedding” of Chris Burrell and Alaric was one of the highest priorities of the evening, and who better to perform the ceremony than the leader of SiF himself and a hand puppet of Dennis the Menace? The evening was a resounding success and the culmination of a brilliant week away, where the identity had grown from a bunch of Thomas the Tank Engine and Railway enthusiasts to a group of genuine friends, who had bonded as such throughout their time together, sharing fun experiences over seven wonderful days together.

SATURDAY – Homeward Bound

The following morning was a solemn event. The end had come and it was a sad day. Ryan and Chris the Xelent handed over the keys to their caravans, and the group stood by the full cars feeling very sad and longing to stay. We’d grown close that week, and enjoyed each other’s company so much that it was sore to leave one another.

But alas, it had to be done. There was one last trip to the Talyllyn Railway gift shop to kill time, and a trip to an elderly gentleman’s back-garden to see his Garden Railway exhibition in action. Then, one by one, the group whittled down. Goodbyes were made to Chris, Chris Burrell and BanchouFox on the platform at Tywyn Station, and the final goodbyes and hugs were made in the Coop Car Park among Ryan, Clay, Christopher, Alaric, Loey Machan and TL Rhodri.

The week was truly over, and a lot of wonderful memories had been built up as a result. The final parting of ways came on the big main road, with Ryan’s car heading northward back to Glasgow, and CtX’s heading back toward Kent. A final tooting of horns between the good pals was made and then, it was truly over until 2008!

The Aftermath

It was a huge event to organise and had a great deal of anticipation building up to it. Previous meetings had only been a day long, but the buzz surrounding them had been amazing, and nothing could have been more fitting to mark the fifth year of Sodor Island Forums than the biggest meeting in the forum’s history.

We shared experiences and cemented friendships that will last for a lifetime, and it spurred us on to do the same thing again next year, albeit with a few more of our other friends coming along to join in the fun, and making 2008’s Meeting, the first true International Members Meeting in SiF History.

The trip was an amazing personal experience for everyone involved, and we extend a heart felt thanks to everyone who helped make it so.