Tyn-y-coed (1993)
Posted: Thu Aug 29, 2019 12:32 am
Evening all,
So over recent years I've occasionally had a scour of the net to find anything about a little railway place I used to go to as a child, named Tyn-y-coed, in Blaenau Ffestiniog. Every search has come up utterly dry; no photos, no videos, no memory of its existence at all. But I know I'm not imagining it as I have a VHS tape with it on. About seven years ago I made a digital conversion of this video, which didn't come out great, especially with the sound distorting in tone (due to the video speeding up and slowing down), but I haven't yet re-attempted it (I don't think I even still have the equipment), so I've uploaded the video to Youtube as it is for anyone interested.
YOUTUBE VIDEO
Tyn-y-coed was located here in Blaenau Ffestiniog, in the former slate miners' hospital. It consisted of:
- a 7 1/4 inch gauge end-to-end track along the front wall by the road
- a 5 inch gauge track (the main attraction) running along from a shed and ticket office, along the side of the house, and following a balloon loop around the garden
- a 16mm (SM45 / G scale) garden railway
- a few animals (rabbits, at least)
- and maybe a tea rooms
The video dates from 1993, and mentions that the place had been open for six years at that point. As I recall, it didn't stay open very long after the video, as the owner (Graham Lamb) passed away; certainly by 2003 all signs of its existence had been obliterated. So I'd estimate it was open from 1987 to around 1995.
Does anyone else remember this place? It was only a little place but it was really nice; I certainly have fond memories, and it's a shame it's apparently all been forgotten.
So over recent years I've occasionally had a scour of the net to find anything about a little railway place I used to go to as a child, named Tyn-y-coed, in Blaenau Ffestiniog. Every search has come up utterly dry; no photos, no videos, no memory of its existence at all. But I know I'm not imagining it as I have a VHS tape with it on. About seven years ago I made a digital conversion of this video, which didn't come out great, especially with the sound distorting in tone (due to the video speeding up and slowing down), but I haven't yet re-attempted it (I don't think I even still have the equipment), so I've uploaded the video to Youtube as it is for anyone interested.
YOUTUBE VIDEO
Tyn-y-coed was located here in Blaenau Ffestiniog, in the former slate miners' hospital. It consisted of:
- a 7 1/4 inch gauge end-to-end track along the front wall by the road
- a 5 inch gauge track (the main attraction) running along from a shed and ticket office, along the side of the house, and following a balloon loop around the garden
- a 16mm (SM45 / G scale) garden railway
- a few animals (rabbits, at least)
- and maybe a tea rooms
The video dates from 1993, and mentions that the place had been open for six years at that point. As I recall, it didn't stay open very long after the video, as the owner (Graham Lamb) passed away; certainly by 2003 all signs of its existence had been obliterated. So I'd estimate it was open from 1987 to around 1995.
Does anyone else remember this place? It was only a little place but it was really nice; I certainly have fond memories, and it's a shame it's apparently all been forgotten.