Steam

One of the nice things about living in Welshpool is that we have a steam railway, narrow gauge, running the eleven miles or so from Welshpool to Llanfair Caereinion.  It's been a while since I last actually travelled that route by train, and I must get round to doing it again sometime soon.  It's very attractive, running along by the River Banwy for part of the length, and through rolling and wooded Welsh countryside throughout . . . and many of the trains - most, I should say - are hauled by one or other of the two original locomotives "Earl" and "Countess", named for the Earl and Countess of Powys, through some of whose land the railway runs.

It's the whistle of the steam loco that I really love;  just now, you can hear them through the day every day, as the railway is at its busiest season.  I'll miss that sound when the season ends.  I suppose it takes me back to my childhood, when the sound of steam trains was so familiar.  I love all kinds of trains, and enjoy travelling on the modern high-speed lines, but steam engines are almost living beings, there is a breath running through them.

The W & Ll train moves only very slowly, especially when travelling out from Welshpool.  Golfa Bank is pretty steep, even on the gentler gradient the railway makes, and it's long, too.  Next month Welshpool Rotary Club will be sponsoring its second 'Race The Train' event, when cyclists will pit their muscles and pedals against the 11.15 from Welshpool.  They'd beat the train easily if they raced along the main road all the way;  instead, though, the cycle route takes in some narrow lanes, and rather more in the way of gradients, both up and down, than the steam train will face.  It'll be quite a challenge even for fit and active racers - and it would be far too much of one for me, I know!

My challenge is to help organise the event.  There's a lot to do in the next six or seven weeks!  I toured the route yesterday, and now I have loads of paperwork to get through.  Then we need to get word out to cycle clubs and the general public . . . and then - well, let's just hope for a dry day!