Dolgarrog tourist attraction dream on track with with £15k donation

Jun 10 2010 by Samantha Castle, North Wales Weekly News

Dolgarrog tourist attraction dream on track with with £15k donation

A TEN-YEAR pipe dream to resurrected part of a 100-year-old railway line as a tourist attraction was turned into reality this week.

A huge 30-tonne crane began laying one mile of salvaged railway track, at the 40-acre former aluminium factory site in Dolgarrog on Tuesday.

The track, donated by new owners of the site, Ainscough Strategic Land, will allow Dolgarrog Railway Society volunteers to realise their ten-year dream of reinstating a steam railway line as a tourist attraction, helping to reverse the fortunes of the village.

The local Railway Society have spent the last decade working to reinstate a historic steam railway line, which once served the now demolished aluminium factory. Their plans to relay a mile of track and operate a steam train as a tourist attraction were in danger of becoming pipe dreams, due to the huge cost and work involved.

But on Tuesday members of the society watched as their goal became a reality after receiving a £15,000 donation from the former factory site’s new owners to lift and transport 160 tonnes of salvaged railway track from 75 miles away.

Members said the laying of the track is the start of a long journey. John Willis, society secretary, said: “This is a huge step forward for our plans. If we’d had to purchase the track ourselves and arrange transport, it would have taken up to a further 15 years to get to the stage we’re at today.

“We’ve made some great progress over the past ten years, including acquiring and restoring a diesel locomotive, goods vans and laying sufficient track ourselves to house them. But this donation now means our dreams of one day running a steam train from the site down towards the original link with Dolgarrog train station, are within reach.”

Dolgarrog Aluminium was the only fully integrated casting and rolling aluminium mill in the UK. It employed 170 people and had a turnover of £19m.

KPMG Restructuring was appointed as administrator to Dolgarrog Aluminium in August 2007 and the site was bought by Ainscough Johnston in July 2008.

Since then the developers Ainscough Johnston have engaged in a public consultation process with the local community and council to secure the successful future for the site and have said their long term aim is to regenerate the area with a tourist attraction possibly – including a holiday park.

Ainscough Johnston director Nigel McGurk was at the site on Tuesday to oversee the laying of the new track, which he says is just the start of the redevelopment plan. He said: “Restoring the steam railway at Dolgarrog is an important part of our plans to help revitalise this close and supportive community in one of the most beautiful parts of the country. The railway society has achieved a tremendous amount over the past ten years and it is a pleasure to be able to help speed up their plans and bring them to fruition.

“We are very proud to have begun to become part of the local community over the past couple of years. As a direct result of working together, the future plans for Dolgarrog are now gaining momentum. The former factory was an important economic driver for the area and we are determined to create a new development that brings new and lasting opportunities for the people of Dolgarrog and the Conwy Valley. Recent investment in environmental improvements and now in the railway project are just the beginning of a great new future for Dolgarrog.”