The Talyllyn Railway has appointed a new engineering manager.

In September 2023 The Talyllyn Railway wished a fond farewell to Chris Smith, their engineering manager of five years who has moved on to work at Churnet Valley Railway. This left a hole in the team but after a couple of rounds of interviews, the right person for the job has been found.

Graeme Wigglesworth spent 20 years in IT but following redundancy, the opportunity to join the Wells & Walsingham Light Railway as a seasonal driver arose. Graeme finished that season as operations manager. Following that he moved on to become engineering manager at the National Tramway Museum at Crich.

Graeme was on the HRA Business Development Committee for several years and also vice-chair of the Midland and Great Northern Joint Railway Society, a DMU driver, and Drivers Assistant at North Norfolk.

The Talyllyn Railway would like to welcome Graeme to the team and look forward to the 2024 season with him leading the Engineering department.

The Talyllyn Railway is a narrow-gauge railway opened for goods traffic in 1865 and shortly after for passenger services, which have operated every year since between Tywyn on the west coast of Wales and Nant Gwernol just over seven miles inland. In 1951 operation of the line was taken over by the Talyllyn Railway Preservation Society and became the world’s first preserved railway.

Operation of the line is primarily by volunteers from all walks of life, with a small paid staff. It is now a major tourist attraction in the mid Wales area, contributing significantly to the area’s economy.