Click on each picture for a closer look!
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While we normally focus our news items on Toronto and the surrounding area, we will occasionally bring to our reader's attention others railway oriented news from around the world that we feel is worth exploring. This is the first of such news postings.
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Volunteers can accomplish incredible feats when they address the challenge with a tremendous amount of passion and determination to get the job done! Recently, a group of railway enthusiasts connected the current well-known railway, the legendary 2 foot gauge Rheil Ffestiniog Railway in Wales to the new Welsh Highland Railway. The original Welsh Highland Railway was closed in 1964. This group of volunteers rebuilt the 40 km (25 mile) line from Caernarfon to Porthmadog at a cost of about $56 million dollars.
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Last Saturday, a "golden bolt ceremony" marked the culmination of 10 years' effort by nearly 1,000 volunteers who split into two teams - a "Black Hand Gang" made up of mainly Welsh-speaking locals and a "Rest of the World Gang" consisting of volunteers living throughout the UK and beyond. These teams of volunteers have done the lion's share of laying the track each working on alternate weekends. The ceremony connected the new line to the Ffestiniog creating the longest independent railway in the UK.
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Click on the video below to learn more. Or read more about this "golden bolt ceremony" by accessing this BBC News Article. To view pictures of the event, visit this website.
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The Toronto Railway Historical Association plans to continue to accelerate the development of our Toronto Railway Heritage Centre through the fine efforts of the volunteers who have joined us to date and will join us in future. We are inspired by and applaud the efforts of our fellow railway heritage enthusiasts who developed the Welsh Highland Railway.
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News item by Russ Milland; Pictures and Video from the Welsh Highland Railway

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