About Our Project
Welcome to our railway!
First of all, there is a huge amount of history attached to us as you may have learnt from our history page, but we are also looking to the future too.
Our first public open day occurred on Saturday 3rd September 2017 which marked the start of regular events at our railway. Since then, we have successfully pulled off several themed events, including Christmas and Easter from 2017 to the present day.
The reception from the local community to these events has been a huge motivation for us to continue to develop both the site that we have and the events that we hold. Year by year we are increasing the amount of public events and see this as an important step in the development of the project.
Our railway operation currently consists of the utilisation of diesel locomotives and a mixture of using our brakevan, our mark 2 buffet carriage and Class 142 and Class 143 'Pacer' DMUs. Longer term we wish to complete the restoration of our class 122 DMU to compliment the fleet and ultimately we want to complete the outstanding work on 0-4-0 saddle tank locomotive ‘Desmond’. This would allow us to bring the first working steam locomotive to Cynheidre since 1969.
We want to continue to improve site facilities and make our site a complete day out for visitors of all ages. Our project is not just about railways and history, although we fully recognise that these are important cornerstones. We have a small heritage centre, which concentrates on the history of the railway line and the industry that it served.
Initially, when our railway first opened to the public we offered a train ride of just over a hundred metres. Now, as of March 2019 we have approximately a quarter of a mile of railway line that we can use on open days, which has been possible due to grant funding. We will further extend the running line during 2019, as we continue with our aim to be able to utilise the full one mile of track bed that we own.
We also maintain the ultimate goal of extending the running line to the south towards Llanelli. Although challenging, it is by no means impossible and we remain open to the possibility of one day making it a reality. This is a fantastic challenge that we gladly accept.
None of this could have been possible without the tireless efforts of every single volunteer that has helped us over the years. To continue to grow and develop we need to recruit more volunteers to continue our progression. If you think you could assist us in any way then please get in touch, you would be very welcome to join us on our journey to becoming a major tourist attraction in West Wales.
Nature trails
Since 2018 we have worked with local charity Carmarthenshire Wildlife Walks. On selected open days the group lead Nature Trail walks over selected sections of our site to search out various wildlife that may be present. This partnership has already proven to be a popular added attraction to our site and we wish to see this continue to grow to showcase the diverse natural beauty that can be found within our site.
Associated bodies
Our project has received a lot of support from the Llanelli Rural Council and the Coalfields Regeneration Trust in particular over a number of years. For more information on both, please click the logos below.