"The Talyllyn Railway was opened in 1865 to carry slate from the quarry at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn for shipment to the newly built mainline coast railway. The railway also carried passengers along its route to serve the quarry, various hamlets and farmsteads.

It faithfully served the Afon Fathew valley and the quarry for almost a century. But the demand for slate dwindled as roofing tiles became available and the quarry finally closed after a rock fall in 1947.

The growth of holidays and the expanding railway network allowed ever increasing numbers of tourists to appreciate the delights of mid Wales and travel on the Talyllyn Railway. It continued in a decrepit state with a minimum of staff and only the original Victorian equipment until 1950, when the owner Sir Henry Haydn Jones died and it faced closure.

The railway's future looked bleak until a group of individuals, led by Tom Rolt, formed a society to save and operate the entire railway. The notion that a public railway could be operated and run by a group of amateur railway enthusiasts was considered wildly optimistic in 1950.

The first pioneering years of railway preservation were a great success. The railway obtained new locomotives and carriages to carry ever greater numbers of passengers. The Talyllyn became the world's first preserved railway - an inspiration to hundreds of other railway preservation societies that have followed throughout the world.

The railway has maintained its unique character with all the original stock lovingly maintained and still operating in the timeless setting of the Afon Fathew Valley.

The Talyllyn has six steam locomotives which are all maintained at the locomotive sheds at Pendre. One locomotive is normally overhauled each year with the other five operating the season's duties. Four diesel locomotives are used for engineering duties and emergency locomotive replacements.

Volunteers come from all over the British Isles as well as the Netherlands, Australia and the USA to work on the Railway and be a part of the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society. The pioneering spirit that saved the railway lives on in the volunteers of today who crew the locomotives, guard the trains, and act as blockman (signalman) or station master.

The locomotives, rolling stock and track are maintained by the volunteers who have accumulated the skills to carry out work as diverse as track laying and hedge laying. The 7.3 miles of track are in one of the most majestic settings in the United Kingdom. Natural challenges have effected the railway in the form of landslips, gale-damage and flash floods, which have often stretched the volunteers' skills, energy and determination; but in true Talyllyn style the service has always been maintained.

Ask the guard of the train or at a ticket office for details of how you can volunteer."