Events planned at Llangollen Railway for Jubilee holiday
The Llangollen Railway is planning a busy Platinum Jubilee weekend between June 3-5.
Memories will be cast back 69 years to July 1953, when Llangollen station proudly welcomed the Royal Train conveying the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh to visit the International Eisteddfod Music Festival, just days after the Coronation.
Great Western steam tank locomotive No 5619, visiting from the Telford Steam Railway, will run on all 3 days. It will be highest consecutive number of days that a steam service has run in the Dee Valley since the Llangollen Railway Trust managed to reopen the line in July 2021.
Also back by popular demand after a successful Easter trial will be 1956-built Class 08 diesel-electric Shunter No 13625, which will be allowing visitors to fulfil their childhood dreams by trying their hand at being a train driver - for just £5 a go/ The shunter will also be working a shuttle service between Llangollen and Berwyn Stations, which will run in-between the three daily steam trains that run between Llangollen and Carrog.
The railway currently operates between Llangollen and the former slate quarry village of Carrog. Services are however soon due to be extended to a brand-new station at Corwen, an historic market town some 10 miles west of Llangollen, near to the birthplace of the legendary Owain Glyndwr.
The Jubilee weekend will see the station open to visitors between 10 and 4pm to inspect progress. A train of ballast wagons, which are being used to finish the trackwork off, will be on display all weekend.
Wayne Ronnenback, Corwen’s new Stationmaster, said: "the team at Corwen have all been working extremely hard to finish our new station, which should be opening soon. We’re not quite there yet, but are looking forward to welcoming visitors over the Jubilee weekend."
