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On the 20th of August 1948 a short freight train made its way up the Dulas Valley on the narrow gauge line between Machynlleth and Aberllefenni. The route was once the Corris Railway but it was by then a small branch line operated on three days a week by British Railways who were keeping an eye on the way bank erosion of the River Dyfi was encroaching on the lineside at Machynlleth. As concern grew the decision was made that the railway would have to close and that small train was to be the last.

Over the following months the tracks were lifted and it looked as though the Corris was lost for ever. More happily the two steam engines found a new home at the Talyllyn Railway where they have worked for seven decades along with the brake van from that last train.

However thanks to the patient work of the volunteers and many years of fund raising trains will be running between Corris Station and Maespoeth Junction on August 20th this year. Passenger trains, headed by steam locomotive No. 7, a descendant of the 1921 built No. 4 now at the Talyllyn, will leave Corris Station at 11.00, 12.00, 13.30, 14.30 and 15.30.

A week later the Corris Railway Society’s annual Model Railway Exhibition will be held at Y Plas in Machynlleth on August 26th and 27th. This year’s event will, perhaps appropriately, feature a large number of narrow gauge layouts in various scales but there will also be a range of exhibits in other scales. For those in a nostalgic mood one layout will feature Hornby Dublo, still going strong six decades after the famous marque was discontinued and another will see Tri-ang Big-Big trains running on their plastic track. In addition to the layouts there will be a variety of sales stands and refreshments will be on sale. Car parking is available nearby.

Trains will be running from Corris Station on both days whilst the Exhibition is on.

After a Covid enforced two year break the Corris Railway Society’s Model Railway Exhibition was held on August 27th and 28th 2022 and attracted 459 visitors to Y Plas in Machynlleth. This was the 25th Exhibition organised by the CRS and generated a useful profit towards the revival of the Corris Railway. Separate funds were raised by sales stands in the hall towards the construction of the new Falcon steam locomotive which it is hoped will enter service on the Corris in 2023.

Visitors were able to see a variety of layouts and exhibits ranging in scales from the small N gauge through to the much larger 16 mm. Some were highly detailed with others a little more light hearted in tone whilst two layouts featured ranges now vanished from model and toy shops, Big-Big Train and Trix Twin. Sales stands included railway relics and ephemera, books and items crafted from recycled glass.

Bill Newton would like to thank everyone who helped to promote the Exhibition, set-up and take it down and staff it over the two days. Plus of course all those who visited.

Trains will operate on the Corris Railway on Saturdays only in September, leaving Corris Station at 11.00, 12.00, 1.30, 2.30 and 3.30.

The project working to see a new steam locomotive for the revived section of the Corris Railway in Mid Wales took another very significant step forward when the boiler passed its hydraulic pressure test. The test took place in the last week of July at the workshops of Alan Keef Limited in Lea near Ross-on-Wye although the boiler was constructed by Israel Newton and Sons, then based in Bradford, in 2012. Before being taken to Keef’s in August 2020 it had been displayed at Maespoeth Junction on the Corris Railway as part of the fund raising towards the overall four hundred thousand pounds cost of building the locomotive which will become No. 10 in the Corris Railway’s fleet.

No. 10 is a 21st century evocation of a trio of steam engines built originally for the Corris Railway in 1878 by the Hughes Company in Loughborough. One survives and works on the Talyllyn Railway.

Apart from the boiler testing other important work carried out included the mounting of the control springs for the pony truck and work beginning on fitting the smokebox. With the boiler out of the frames for the hydraulic test it was possible to look to mounting the ashpan, made by Keef’s from a wooden pattern constructed by a Corris Railway volunteer. Volunteer work is continuing with the construction of the saddle tank.

Although the plan is to steam the engine at the end of September as part of Alan Keef’s Annual Open Day on the 24th there will still be completion work to be done in order for the locomotive to enter Corris Railway service in 2023. This will include such tasks as fitting the buffers and sanding gear and of course painting, followed by delivery to the loco shed at Maespoeth Junction. This work is estimated to cost forty eight thousand pounds with the Corris Railway still needing to raise twenty thousand pounds to reach this target.

As a further incentive to see No. 10 completed and in service next year, 2023 will mark the 140th Anniversary of the introduction of steam services to the Corris Railway, headed by the trio of locomotives which were the ancestors of the new-build engine.

Donations for the new engine are very welcome in order to meet the timescales and can be made online at www.corris.co.uk or cheques, payable to Corris Railway, can be sent to Peter Guest, 38 Underwood Close, Callow Hill, Redditch, B97 5YS. Peter is also able to provide standing order payment forms. There will be a fundraising stand for the loco at the Corris Railway Society’s Model Railway Exhibition which will be held at Y Plas in Machynlleth on August 27th and 28th.

In a new venture for the Corris Railway Society this year it will be possible to buy tickets for the 2022 Model Railway Exhibition being held on Saturday 27th and Sunday 28th August in advance via this website. This doesn’t mean visitors can’t pay on the day but the advance ticket option is also available.

Don’t forget, the Corris Railway will be running steam train rides along the Dulas Valley on both days plus the Bank Holiday Monday (29th) and tickets for a train ride in Corris can be purchased at the same time as tickets for the Model Railway event in Machynlleth.

Tickets can be purchased online by following this link: Book Now!

As a reminder, if you are thinking of modelling the Corris a number of drawings & plans can be downloaded from the Online Shop. Alternatively if scratch building is a bit daunting and you wish to work in a larger scale than 009 the following may be of interest.

One of the trade exhibitors at the recent Annual General Meeting and Exhibition of the Association of 7mm Narrow Gauge Modellers was Iconic Rail who have a quartet of Corris kits for sale. These are the brake van and three carriages;- Falcon, Clerestory and Metropolitan. The bodies are plastic, as are the wheels and axles, whilst the bogies, or the frame for the van, are white metal which puts the weight in the right place. Glazing and transfers are included and the gauge is set at 16.5 mm. The coaches are priced at forty five pounds and the van at twenty five pounds.

Orders can be placed online from Iconic Rail from their website.

The postal address is Iconic Rail, 21 Hill Street, Haverfordwest, Dyfed, SA21 1QQ and further information is available from info@iconicrail.co.uk

With footplating work well advanced at the workshops of Alan Keef Ltd some other larger and visible components are being progressed as work continues towards having the new steam locomotive for the Corris Railway steaming in September. If targets are met the first public steaming of No. 10, the Falcon, will take place at Keef’s open day on September 24th.

The steel for the saddle tank has been cut by Optimised Metal Fabrications of Rochester and some of the laser-cut parts were delivered to Barnshaws Plate and Section Rollers in Wolverhampton for shaping. Once this is done the tank is to be assembled by Corris Railway volunteers in the East Midlands before delivery to Keef’s. This will save some money but the tank will still cost two thousand five hundred pounds.

The cab sides and front and rear plating for the loco’s cab was produced by Optimised Fabrications previously and have been trial-assembled and fitted to No. 10. The steel for the roof is being obtained to allow final completion and together with rolling the angles is estimated to cost a further five hundred pounds.

During June work was due to get underway at Keef’s on completion of the smokebox and associated parts and staff from Keef’s have visited the Talyllyn Railway at Tywyn to check details of Corris No. 3, particularly the blast pipe arrangement.

The mechanical lubricator has been purchased and delivered to Keef’s. The firebox door assembly produced by a Corris volunteer with engineering skills is in place on the boiler.

Although the plan is to steam the engine at Keef’s at the end of September there will still be completion work to be done in order for the loco to enter Corris service in 2023. This will include such tasks as fitting the buffers and sanding gear and of course painting, followed by delivery to the loco shed at Maespoeth Junction. This work is estimated to cost forty eight thousand pounds with the Corris still needing to raise twenty thousand pounds to reach this target.

As a further incentive to see No. 10 completed and in service next year 2023 will mark the 140th Anniversary of the introduction of steam services to the Corris, headed by the trio of locomotives which were the ancestors of the new-build engine.

Donations for the new engine are welcome in order to meet the timescales and can be made online at www.corris.co.uk or cheques, payable to Corris Railway, can be sent to Peter Guest, 38 Underwood Close, Callow Hill, Redditch, B97 5YS. Peter is also able to provide standing order payment forms. There will be a fundraising stand for the loco at the Corris Railway Society’s Model Railway Exhibition which will be held at Y Plas in Machynlleth on August 27th and 28th.

After a Covid enforced two year break the Corris Railway Society’s Model Railway Exhibition will be held at Y Plas in Machynlleth on August 27th and 28th. That is the Bank Holiday weekend so visitors will also have a chance to visit the revived section of the Corris, running along the Dulas Valley from the station in the village of Corris.

Once again the event has been organised by Bill Newton and visitors will be able to see 11 layouts in action ranging in scale from N to 16 mm. There will also be a static display of models courtesy of the Mid Wales Gauge 1 Association. Visitors will be able to try their hand at operating one of the layouts.

Among the layouts nostalgia will be stirred for some visitors by Trix Twin and Tri-ang Big Big trains at work, now over half a century since those marques were generally available.

There will be a variety of sales stands selling books, models and railwayana with one dedicated to fund raising sales for the Corris’ new build Falcon steam locomotive. Kate Packham will make a welcome return with her stand selling decorative items and jewellery which she makes from recycled glass.

Refreshments and light snacks will be available and the doors are open between 10.00 and 4.30 on both days. Car parking is available nearby.

Admission will be £4.00 for adults and £2.00 for children with a family ticket, covering 2 adults and 2 children available for £10.00.

After consideration of the ongoing Covid guidance and uncertainty, the Corris Railway Society has regretfully decided to cancel its planned Model Railway Exhibition which was due to take place on August 28th and 29th at Y Plas in Machynlleth.

By the nature of the Exhibition there was a likelihood and risk of people grouping around layouts and at trade stands and the CRS decided that calling off the event would be the safest and responsible course.

However the Corris is keen to stress that its steam trains will continue to operate from Corris Station as advertised so that visitors may enjoy a relaxed view of part of the beautiful Dulas Valley. It has now added additional operating days in August further to its advertised Sundays and these additional trains will run on Saturdays August 7th, 14th, 21st and 28th, plus Bank Holiday Monday August 30th. Trains will leave Corris Station at 11.00, 13.00 and 15.00 and tickets must be booked in advance via www.corris.co.uk/tickets

The Corris is also accepting bookings, subject to volunteer staff availability, for its Your Railway for the Day package in which groups of up to six, or even individuals, can drive steam, diesel or battery electric locomotives, work with the guard and the signalman and enjoy exclusive use of the Railway.

After Covid-19 led to its cancellation in 2020 the Model Railway Exhibition organised by the Corris Railway Society is scheduled to return on August 28th and 29th, the Saturday and Sunday of the Bank Holiday weekend. This is, of course, subject to the degree of pandemic related restrictions then in force.

Organiser Bill Newton has been able to include a number of exhibitors who were scheduled to attend in 2020 and there will once again be a variety of layouts in different scales and filling different amounts of space in the Hall at Y Plas in Machynlleth. The largest will feature 16mm scale live steam locomotives and derives its inspiration from the world famous Darjeeling – Himalaya Railway.

At the other end of the narrow gauge modelling scales there will be two 009 layouts, one of which occupies a minimal space of four square feet. These minimum size layouts have become a feature of the Corris’ Exhibition and another visitor is a GWR layout in the ever popular OO scale which is designed to fit onto a window sill.

Two other OO layouts, one steam era and one featuring diesel locos, are due to appear whilst O gauge will be present with a layout representing the former LNWR/LMS lines in North Wales. Another part of the North/Mid Wales railway scene will be represented by an N gauge layout including a slate mine, and a further N gauge visitor will depict the North German scene.

Visitors of an older vintage will have toy shop window memories stirred by a Triang TT layout featuring the model range which was in the catalogues between 1957 and 1964. There is a further TT layout due to appear which will also feature vintage equipment from the Margate factory. And as another nod to nostalgia there will be a static display of no less than 50 model lawnmowers.

Trade wise the show will welcome back Nick and Dee Lowe selling railway ephemera and Martin Parry’s huge selection of models both new and second-hand with the majority being OO scale. Kate Packham also returns with her wide selection of jewellery and decorative items made from recycled glass (the organiser’s lady wife usually makes a bee-line for this). The Corris will have a sales stand selling new items relating to the Railway as an extension of the sales counter housed in the Museum building at Corris station where trains should be running along the Dulas Valley on the two days of the Exhibition. A new Corris stand this year will sell a variety of second hand goods, some earmarked for specific projects in the revival of the oldest narrow gauge railway in Mid Wales and some where the purchaser can nominate which part of the project they would wish the purchase price to support.

Refreshments and light snacks are sold and there is a large car park close by. Admission costs £4.00 for adults, £3.50 for seniors £2 for children and £10 for a family (2 adults and 2 children).

With the ongoing concerns over COVID-19 and the degree of social distancing that may be in force the Corris Railway Society has taken the decision to cancel its annual Model Railway Exhibition. This was scheduled to take place at Y Plas in Machynlleth on August 29th and 30th (Bank Holiday Weekend).

Exhibition Organiser Bill Newton commented:-

“As 2020 would have marked the 25th Anniversary of the Corris’ event we will miss this landmark but realistically we could not go ahead as planned. It is disappointing for all concerned including the exhibitors, the traders and would be visitors, and the funds that the Model Railway Exhibition raise make a contribution to the revival of the Corris Railway and ongoing projects. However, we look to be back with a MRE in 2021”.

A quarter of a century has now passed since the Corris Railway Society held its first Model Railway Exhibition in the school at Corris itself. In 2020 the venue will be Y Plas in Machynlleth and the exhibition will take place on August Bank Holiday Saturday and Sunday, the 29th and 30th.

Current exhibition organiser Bill Newton, who has held the reins for the last 15 years after taking over from Steve Parr, took up the story.

“As with many events it doesn’t feel like 25 years have gone by since the Corris Railway Society first staged what was then a Model Railway and Toy Exhibition, but time must be going by quickly when we’re enjoying ourselves! The show has been staged in a number of venues down the years but Y Plas is very suitable for a medium sized (12 to 15 layouts plus sales stands is our usual line-up) exhibition and is handily placed with car parking nearby. We have cut back from a 3 day event to 2 in recent years and profits go towards the revival of the Corris Railway itself”.

Bill continued

“Recent MRE’s have featured at least one layout where children can have a try at controlling the trains which may introduce them to the railway modelling hobby. We have also featured smaller sized layouts which can be fitted into modern, less spacious housing. And if there can be quite a lot of narrow gauge layouts, well the Corris Railway is the oldest narrow gauge railway in Mid Wales so that is where our Society’s members interests lie”.

More information about the Exhibition can be obtained by emailing enquiries@corris.co.uk