Following Sir Haydn’s death in 1950, a group of enthusiasts, led by the engineer and author Tom Rolt, called a public meeting in Birmingham and the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society was formed.  Meetings were held with Lady Haydn, Sir Haydn’s widow, who agreed to hand over the railway to the TRPS.  The agreement included that the Haydn Jones family would continue to appoint some of the directors to the TR company board and that in the event of the scheme failing the family would get the first £1350, and in February 1951 the TRPS took over the railway.  The quarry and the property in the village remained the property of Lady Haydn.

The idea behind the TRPS was that members would provide both money, through membership fees and donations, and labour by working on the railway.  On 14th May 1951 the TRPS ran its first public service with 5 return trips to Rhydyronen.  The service to Abergynolwyn started on 4th June with two trains daily on Monday to Friday.

Railway which inspired Thomas the Tank Engine marks 75 years since becoming world first

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The Talyllyn Railway has been operated by volunteers since 1951 - Image © Getty Images

A Welsh railway where the creator of Thomas the Tank Engine volunteered as a guard is celebrating 75 years since becoming a world first.

In 1951, the Talyllyn Railway in Gwynedd became the first railway to be operated by volunteer enthusiasts. Among the first was the children's author Rev Wilbert Awdry, creator of Thomas the Tank Engine, who based some of his stories on his experiences while working there.

Railway historian and broadcaster Tim Dunn said the Talyllyn Railway had made its way into a number of Awdry's beloved books, adding that it was now the "spiritual home" of Thomas the Tank Engine.

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The Talyllyn Railway, seen here in 1951 with the late Duke of Edinburgh, becomes the first in the world to be operated by enthusiast volunteers - Image © Talyllyn Railway collection

When volunteers took over 75 years ago, the railway's owner had just died and it was about to close. The seven miles of track from Tywyn to Abergynolwyn was in a poor state and the one working steam locomotive was almost completely worn out, with no working brakes at times.

"For volunteers to take over and run a public railway was a completely new thing," said Ian Drummond from the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society. "There had been volunteering before in other areas, but this was something bigger and something new. It attracted attention across the globe. We are the world's first preserved railway and the start of a movement which began here in Wales."

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Rev Wilbert Awdry, creator of Thomas the Tank Engine (left) with his son and grandson at the Talyllyn Railway - Image © Talyllyn Railway collection

Under volunteer control, the railway carried a record number of passengers and made it through the 1951 season – though only just. On one occasion the steam locomotive ran out of water, leaving the crew sprinting to a nearby farm to borrow buckets and top it up from a stream.

The following year, a new volunteer arrived at Talyllyn - Rev Wilbert Awdry. Already famous for writing the Thomas the Tank Engine books, he offered to help as a guard on the train.

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One of Rev Awdry's own model railways, including a miniature Thomas the Tank Engine, is now in the Talyllyn Railway's museum - Image © Talyllyn Railway collection

Stories from Awdry's time working on the railway found their way into his books, such as the time he managed to leave the refreshment lady behind at Abergynolwyn, the far end of the line.

Tim Dunn, railway historian and TV^▸ (Thames Valley, or TeleVision, depending on context) presenter who is also a volunteer at Talyllyn, said the railway had become the "spiritual home" of Thomas the Tank. "Awdry created new characters in the Thomas the Tank Engine books, based on the locomotives of the Talyllyn Railway. He wasn't just inspired by the locations, the locomotives and some of the things that had happened to him. The whole ethos of a friendly little railway made its way into his books, the sort of place with a quirk and a charm that children could warm to."

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Railway historian and broadcaster Tim Dunn said the Talyllyn Railway is now the "spiritual home" of Thomas the Tank Engine - Image © Nathan Spence

Some doubted whether the Talyllyn Railway could succeed, but the volunteers saved the railway from closing and inspired others to do the same elsewhere in the UK^▸ (United Kingdom), Europe, America and Australia.

The Talyllyn Railway now has around 450 active volunteers, including 18-year-old Isabel Richmond, who said that working on the railway in her spare time had inspired her to take up a career in engineering.

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18-year-old Isabel Richmond started working at the railway as a hobby, but now plans to take up engineering as a career

"It's fun – when the weather is fine, it's nice to be outside and keeping busy," said Isabel. "There are loads of amazing people here, it's like a big family. I want to follow engineering as a career path, and there's loads of people here I can talk to and learn so much from – it's really valuable for me."