In 1863 a group of Manchester cotton mill owners, concerned about a shortage of cotton supplies owing to the American civil war, sought to diversify into slate mining.
The venture was grossly overcapitalised and never really flourished. By 1879 it was clear the venture was not a success, and both quarry and railway were offered at auction on 9th October.
The recently elected local MP, Mr Henry Haydn Jones, sought a buyer but failed. He then bought the undertaking himself, for £5500 in 1911, and formed the Abergynolwyn Slate & Slab Co. Ltd.
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.
As the TR continues its seventh decade under volunteer operation it will continue to improve its facilities and the experience for its passengers in a world which has changed out of all recognition from 1951 when the first volunteers on a working party to lift rail on an incline appeared in suits and ties.
