Two more important landmarks in the story of the revival of the Corris Railway have been reached with the purchase of more rail for the Railway’s southern extension plans and components for the assembly of the next coach.

Together with other rail which the Corris Railway Society has acquired over recent months, and which has been placed in secure storage away from the line until required, the new acquisition will see the Corris within 300 metres, and therefore in sight of, the station at Esgairgeiliog and well on its way towards its target of Tan y Coed which is near to the National Centre For Alternative Technology. The Centre occupies the site of one of the quarries which the original Corris served and, historic links aside, will eventually offer an attractive and interesting eventual destination for visitors to the Railway in future.

Track laying by the Corris’ volunteers is still going ahead at Maespoeth Junction where the track layout is being modified for access to the new Carriage Shed and the services that will be operated during the CR’s 150th Anniversary in 2009. The new layout will however extend the tracks on to the proposed extension so the formal Carriage Shed Opening Ceremony on May 9th will effectively also be a small start of the push southwards.

The coach parts will eventually come together to form carriage number 22 which will be to an original design and will have a clerestory roof, a design device that the Victorians used to admit extra light and ventilation to the vehicles. Coach component construction is carried out in several parts of the country by volunteers in their own workshops and then final assembly is performed at Maespoeth. Parts have also been prepared for Coach 23, which will have a flat roof and number 24 which will be another clerestory vehicle.

Corris Railway Chairman David Coleman commented: “We have our Santa Trains to run on December 13th and 14th but our volunteer workforce will be pressing ahead over the winter months with work relating to the new layout at Maespoeth Junction and completing the carriage shed. Talks with the relevant authorities over our plans for expanding southwards are progressing well and the acquisition of track, construction of new carriages and fund-raising for our next steam engine shows our determination to continue to return the Corris Railway to its status as a key part of the economy of Mid-Wales and southern Snowdonia”.

FOR COMMENT ON THIS RELEASE CONTACT: John Simms on 01823 323106.
Corris is five miles north of Machynlleth and eleven miles south of Dolgellau in Mid-Wales.
Station Yard, Corris, Machynlleth, Powys, SY20 9SH