1 week Ago By [email protected] (Robert Dalling)
It may well be one of Swansea's most-loved family attractions. But if you're a visitor to the area, or not aware of it, you could quite easily drive past and not realise it's there. The Derwen Fawr Miniature Railway, run by Swansea Society of Model Engineers, has created memories for generations.
It has been located at Gwern Einon Road, in the Sketty area of the city, since after the Second World War and features a ride-on locomotive which families young and old can climb aboard for a ride around the track. Travelling at a speed of four to five miles per hour, with a maximum capacity of around 10 to 12 people, it lasts three to four minutes, and costs just £1 entry and £1 for a ride. Society secretary Arthur Green first became a member when he was 15 before rejoining around a decade ago.
He spoke about the storied history of the attraction and how children who once visited themselves have returned with their own kids years later. For the latest Swansea news, sign up to our newsletter here . READ MORE: 'I took a train journey through Wales and felt like I was in the mountains of Italy' READ MORE: The idyllic secluded woodland river walk with a surprise in the middle that ends in a pub beer garden He said: "Before the war they had an indoor model railway in one of the upper buildings in Wind Street in Swansea and that was bombed in the Second World War.
The plot of land in Sketty became available and they wanted to have a larger-gauge railway I suppose as people's wealth improved after the war. It was created before the vast majority of houses there were built. "People are interested in railways from all walks of life and we have around 40 members – some who are retired and some youngsters as well.
We have monthly club meetings – we meet on Sundays to do the gardening and in the finer weather we do site maintenance. "When I first joined – if you can imagine looking down – it was more of an oval track and then going back in the late 1970s, early 1980s, a group got together and decided to make what is known as a folded figure of eight, which doubled the length of the track really. "We don't really have to advertise, it's word of mouth, and families come along with youngsters and enjoy the relaxed atmosphere.
It's easy-going – we don't charge a fortune. You see the kids growing up and then you don't see them then, as they reach a certain age and their interests change, and then all of a sudden those 'kids' come along with their own kids and say: 'I used to come here with my parents'. People have always enjoyed it – the kids enjoy it.
" The society has opening days each year during the bank holidays, during Easter, May Day, Whitsun, and August attracting a couple of hundred guests each year, which Mr Green said was necessary to keep the club going and cover the costs of rates and maintenance. He added: "All money goes back into the maintenance of the club one way or another. There's always something to be done there.
There's always gardening – and the track itself gets a fair bit of maintenance. We've got an electrical signalling system which has to be maintained and kept working. It gets tested before every opening day.
We run clockwise and anti-clockwise and we change that during the year so the people who come more than once a year have a bit of variety. "Over the next few years there's a couple of things which have been talked about including whether we get a new club loco (locomotive). We've got two steam locos and two electric locos there at the moment, which the club use.
Henry, the bigger steam loco, is very well-used and perhaps something will come up where we replace that but it's a powerful loco once it's going properly. The steam locos tend to be a bit temperamenta, but then half the fun of it is having the steam coming out of it and fire and the whistle and all that." You can follow the latest updates on the Derwen Fawr Miniature Railway by clicking here .
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