Sunday 14 May saw a very successful unveiling of the Hendy & Pendle Trust Volunteers Award at Abergynolwyn station on the Talyllyn Railway.
The award, which had been announced at the ceremony held at Merchant Taylors’ Hall in London in early December 2022, was made for the Tŷr Dŵr watering point.
NRHA representatives Robert Hayward and Malcolm Wood attended the Talyllyn Railway Founder’s Day event, joining the railway’s ‘Hearts of Gold’ supporters on a packed special train, double-headed by locomotives Dolgoch and Tom Rolt.
At Abergynolwyn station the plaque was unveiled by Robert and Malcolm, with Robert speaking about the Awards and Malcolm speaking on behalf of the award sponsors, Peter Hendy and Sue Pendle (who were, unfortunately, unable to attend the event), and the importance of volunteers to the heritage sector.
The plaque has been accompanied by an excellent interpretation panel. The group were able to see the watering point at Tŷr Dŵr, in glorious action thanks to Ian Drummond and Mike Christensen of the Talyllyn Railway.
The plaque at Abergynolwyn station following its official unveiling with, from left, Ian Drummond (Talyllyn Railway), Malcolm Wood (National Railway Heritage Awards), Robert Hayward (National Railway Heritage Awards) and Mike Christensen (Talyllyn Railway).
The plaque along with an informative interpretative pane at Abergynolwyn station.
The reconstructed watering point at Tŷr Dŵr, work on which won the Talyllyn Railway Co one the two Volunteers’ Award, sponsored by the Hendy & Pendle Trust, at the 2022 National Railway Heritage Awards. The original structure dated to the opening of the line in the mid-1860s but had fallen out of use by the early 1950s and subsequently dismantled. Careful research allowed for its rebuilding, with work commencing in 2019 on the project.