LLANGOLLEN RAILWAY TRUST;
CORWEN CENTRAL DEVELOPMENT PROJECT
A review of the work undertaken by volunteers of the Llangollen Railway Trust engaged on the Corwen Central Development Project shows significant progress with the creation of a terminal station.
Good news is the near completion by Welsh Water/Dwr Cymru of a new road to access the adjacent Waste Water Treatment plant. Long seen as a major obstacle to the extension of the heritage railway into the site of a purpose build terminus station, the existing access to the treatment plant is via a breach in the railway embankment. This will be closed to service vehicles once the new road is opened by Welsh Water when completed early in 2017. Eventually the infilling of this breach will allow the railhead to be brought forward from its current buffer stop at the Dwyrain Corwen East temporary platform.
In the meantime, major work activity on the station site during 2016 has seen the old embankment re-engineered from a single track width to an area capable of taking a twin track loop and an island platform. A subway access constructed from the Corwen town car park into the elevated area of the platform earlier in 2016 was a major investment in the project by the Llangollen Railway Trust. During the autumn, working from the western end volunteers have laid 9 track panels alongside what will be platform 2 of the terminus and begun the building of the loop line into the area of platform 1.
The building of the island platform awaits a decision on a grant aid application for funds from the Welsh Government. When built it will provide an area of 980 square metres and volunteers are seeking donations to a fund to provide for the spoil to infill the space with a ‘Tenner for a Tonne’ Appeal. Once the platform is in place, the remaining side of the loop line will be constructed with a point to be installed at the eastern end.
An exciting development for the new year will be the installation of a borehole below the embankment to provide a water source for the replenishment of steam locomotives from a to be build version of a parachute water tank.
Project Leader, Richard Dixon-Gough, said, ““Completion of the terminus at Corwen Central remains aimed at 2018, although it is too early to offer any specific target date.
In the mean time we are well placed to continue development of the terminal station during 2017. The over-riding need to complete the work is for finance to buy materials and employ contractors to speed some aspects of the work.
To finance what is a £0.5M project Llangollen Railway intends to re-issue a Prospectus for the sale of shares in Llangollen Railway plc, whilst also backing donations to the Llangollen Railway Trust.”
George Jones
Llangollen Railway Trust
Corwen Central Development Project
24 December 2016
Why drill a borehole?
Steam Locomotives use more water in a day than coal. To avoid extracting water out of the River Dee, a borehole has been drilled to extract groundwater to feed a water tank and water crane for the locos.
Fundraising for the fabrication of the water tank is under way. It will be placed at the east end of the platform, by the signal box.
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