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Chuffington & Oval News
The newsletter of the Chuffington & Oval Light Railway Preservation Society
Issue 1, June 1999
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In this issue:
Welcome to the first issue of Chuffington & Oval News. Here we hope to bring you updates on the progress of the Chuffington & Oval Light Railway, Preservation Society news and other matters of interest to our members. Letters and advertisements will be welcome in addition to any news which might iterest our readers. Please send all contributions to chuffington@geocities.com.
Reconstruction news
After one and a half years of hard work by all our staff, we have nearly completed the restoration of the line between Aberystwyth and St. James'. The biggest obstacle has been the bridge over the Dyfi just north of Aberystwyth. This is now rebuilt and will be undergoing safety tests in the next few weeks.
Track laying has been completed from Chuffington to St. James' and it is hoped that services can be restored on that stretch of the line in late June or early July. The treacherous weather conditions which we are so familiar with in the Graidley Hills abated sufficiently in May for us to complete the track over the Eitshaigh summit. Manga's Curve is the next obstacle to tackle below Chuffington.
A new signalling system has been installed along the whole length of the line and we hope it will be able to withstand the stresses and strains of railway life which are thrown at it over the next few years. At Manga's Curve the Morse Code transmitter has been restored, much to our relief.
Operating news
Since the service began, we have now carried 1272 passengers on the line between Rhydychen and Aberystwyth. Branch line 1 has continued to see fairly good traffic with 3 passengers a week, and Branch line 2 has managed 4 a week. We hope that passenger numbers will pick up once the service is resumed from Chuffington to St. James'.
Sales and catering
Our buffet car service, introduced two years ago, has not been as widely used as we hoped but again, that is probably due to small passenger numbers overall. We are considering opening a station restaurant at St. James' on a trial basis this summer.
Sales at Rhydychen bookshop have been excellent. The station kiosk at Oval has been refurbished and will reopen for business on the first day of traffic.
Only five new members have joined the Preservation Society since the move from Aberystwyth. Perhaps the change of address has confused our visitors and many applications for membership have gone astray in the post.
By contrast the Trainspotters' Club has received a recent flood of new members who successfully managed to spot the train.
The Chuffington Maze has been open for about nine months now and has been very popular, although it is believed that all but one visitor needed to call the rescue helicopter to get out. As the thrill of a helicopter ride is worth the entrance fee, we have had no complaints. We hope that many of the visitors to the maze will take a trip on the railway too once the service to St. James' begins again.
Some of our members have proposed extensions to the line. One in particular was most insistent that we should build the Atlantic Tunnel to Hollywood, in order to run a MovieStar service. Some of our staff were enthusiastic but the General Manager was sceptical, as she has no interest in films. However it was decided that if funding could be found for the high speed rail link, it might be a possible future venture. The Government has been approached but no response has been forthcoming.
We haven't had any letters yet. Please send your contributions to chuffington@geocities.com for inclusion in future issues of the Newsletter. We will also consider including members' advertisements which may be of interest to our readers.
Editor: Hilary Phillips
Preservation Society
Founder: Hilary Phillips
Chuffington & Oval Light Railway
General Manager: Hilary Phillips
