THE latest community news from around Fairbourne.

Fairbourne Railway

A NEW book has been published on the history of the Fairbourne Railway, the first for 20 years. Many years of research have gone into the preparation of the book The Fairbourne Railway, A Centenary Of Steam, by Graham Billington.

The book has been published by Mainline & Maritime Ltd.

Graham volunteers as a guard on the railway, where he also serves as publicity officer to the preservation society.

The book has been produced in a large format, being soft back and A4 and is in full colour. The 88 pages trace the history of the Fairbourne Railway from its humble beginnings as a two-feet gauge horse tramway back in 1895.

The line was the brainchild of a Scotsman, Arthur McDougall of self raising flour fame. It was converted into a 15-inch-gauge steam railway in 1916 by model maker Bassett-Lowke and passed through the ownership of several luminaries, including the Peacock family from the Department store empire, Liverpool shipping magnate Aubrey Brocklebank, Servis washing machine industrialist John Wilkins and pop star John Ellerton.

It is now a charitable trust sup-ported by a preservation society. Graham decided that now was the time to launch the book to coincide with this year’s centenary of the introduction of steam on the railway, which saw the return of the original engine, Prince Edward of Wales.

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