Railway flushed with success on 25th anniversary of toilets opening

In one of his final acts as interim managing director of Talyllyn Railway, David Ventry led the commemorations of the 25th anniversary of the official opening of the public toilets at Abergynolwyn Station on Friday.

A small crowd gathered to witness the event as David cut the paper ribbon to mark the occasion. The toilets were originally opened in 1991 by the well-known railway publisher and author Ian Allan.

He had previously written an article criticising the level of passenger facilities provided by Heritage Railways, highlighting the need for modern toilet facilities in particular. Therefore, when it came to the original opening ceremony he was the obvious choice to officiate.

Previously, passengers had had to walk down the steep drive to the station to the toilets, then situated in the car park at the junction with the main road. This was not only time-consuming and difficult for parents with young children, but was also a problem for those with mobility issues.

Therefore the provision of toilets next to the main station building was a great improvement. Later, similar facilities were provided at Tywyn Wharf and Dolgoch Stations.

“With all the celebrations over the past few years, we could not overlook this anniversary,” said a railway spokesperson. “Although this was essentially a bit of fun, it also makes the serious point that today passengers are not just interested in steam locomotives and scenery, they also want excellent facilities to enable to them to have an enjoyable day out.
“The Abergynolwyn toilets were the first step in seriously upgrading our facilities at the time, a course which we have followed ever since and will continue to do so into the future in order to provide a first class experience for our visitors.”

David concluded his role as interim managing director when new general manager Tracey Parkinson took up her post yesterday (Monday).

Picture caption:

Interim managing director David Ventry with customer care manager Lorraine Simkiss commemorate the opening of the toilets at Abergynolwyn Station by railway publisher Ian Allan 25 years ago.          
(Photo: D. Turner)

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Editor’s notes

Talyllyn Railway is a narrow gauge railway opened for goods traffic in 1865 and shortly after for passenger services, which have operated every year since between Tywyn on the west coast of Wales and Nant Gwernol just over seven miles inland. In 1951 operation of the line was taken over by the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society and became the world’s first preserved railway.

Operation of the line is primarily by volunteers from all walks of life, with a small paid staff. It is now a major tourist attraction in the mid-Wales area, contributing significantly to the area’s economy.