Tywyn’s Talyllyn Railway pulled out all the stops on Thursday to celebrate 75 years of being the World's First Preserved Railway.

The celebration on 14 May marked exactly 75 years since the first train in preservation ran.

Dwyfor Meirionydd MP Liz Saville Roberts attended, along with local dignitaries, representatives from other heritage railways, and volunteers.

The day started with the opening of a new exhibition in the Narrow Gauge Railway Museum by Lord-Lieutenant for Gwynedd, Edmund Bailey. The exhibition celebrates the 75th anniversary of a group of volunteers getting together to run Talyllyn. Their efforts created the first volunteer operated heritage railway in the world and their story is told through photographs, facts and information from the people who made the railway the success it is today.

A tape cutting ceremony in front of a re-enactment train followed. General managers Liz Porrett and Lorraine Simkiss were joined for that by Isobel Coulls and Alexander Hando, the secretary and chair of the railway’s young members group.

They gave speeches about the railway, as did, among others, Talyllyn Railway Director, Ian Drummond, Mrs Saville Roberts and Steve Oats, Chief Executive of the Heritage Railway Association.

The MP said: “It was impressed upon me very early on when I became a member of parliament how important the heritage railway lines are to this constituency and to Wales and beyond.

“In fact, the area that I now have the honour to represent, the constituency of Dwyfor Meirionnydd, now includes 10 heritage railways, which is of course, the highest number of anywhere in the universe and this was the first one. The one that was actually the inspiration, the hope over experience, over expectation, the work of the volunteers, the heritage railway that started all this tradition for this area of Gwynedd, for Wales and for the world.

“This is extraordinary, celebrating 75 years of that achievement.

“I just wanted to close with a tribute back to even before the 75 years, to that Member of Parliament, Henry Haydn Jones who, for a while, actually owned this railway and kept it going before the volunteers stepped in and did their excellent work.”

The 1951 re-enactment train departed then, with Heart of Gold group members on board who support the Talyllyn Railway with regular donations

Tours of ‘Trefri’, which is part of major redevelopment work at the site, and of the museum, were also available, before the departure of a second train of invited guests.

They were treated to a scheduled stop at Rhydyronen and a talk by David Ventry, Chair of the Talyllyn Railway Company.

Lunch at Abergynolwyn was followed by a presentation of news from the railway and ongoing redevelopment work.

Director Ian Drummond said the Talyllyn Railway is a major employer for the area and has a turnover of around £5 million.

“But we are not standing still,” he said, “and there is change in the air thanks to Heritage Lottery funding of £3.7m towards our redevelopment.

“But we probably need another £200,000 before we are feeling comfortable.”

For information on how to donate, visit the railway’s website.