Opened in 1903 to link the market town of Welshpool to the rural community of Llanfair Caereinion, this 2 foot 6 inch narrow gauge steam railway now provides a tourist service. Built as a Light Railway to avoid some of the costs of railway construction, the narrow gauge allows for tight curves and steep gradients, enabling the line to follow the contours of the countryside. All of the trains are steam hauled, either by one of the original locomotives or one from abroad. The carriages in regular use are from Hungary and Austria with access to the enclosed seating area via an open balcony.

The journey begins in the town of Welshpool. From the start the train battles up the notoriously steep Golfa Bank accompanied by the sound oj the locomotive echoing off the hills.

Llanfair station was opened in 1903 and operated by the Cambrian Railway, it merged with the GWR in 1922, and subsequently by British Railways in 1948. Following its closure in 1956, it was reopened as a preserved line in 1963, and continues today.

The fictitious history of our model is similar to the history above, but with a number of differences. We have assumed that the line was more successful in its non-preservation years and this leads to the line being extended through the town of Llanfair and beyond.

This adds variety to the stock and operation that we can employ. We have also assumed that the passenger service did not finish in 1931, and that the line did not close in 1956, but continued working.

For our purposes, the operation of the line, from about 1956, is jointly carried out by BR and the preservation company. BR handles the freight and the regular passenger service. The preservation company runs its stock in between the BR services. Our preservation company has also acquired a more varied range of rolling stock and locomotives than the real one has. The two joint operators also manage to share their resources, so anything may turn up at any time. The period of the layout is around the late 1950* s running into the 1960's. The track plan is similar to when the line closed. The buildings are also generally as they were in BR days and so is the station, the cattle dock, Peates hut and weighbridge area have been moved closer to the station mainly to save space. The river Banwy is also closer to the station to allow us to include this scenic feature. The Tanlan siding is also closer to the station and it retains its wood yard.