An exhibition and meet the author event are planned this summer to mark the 75th anniversary of the publication of the first of the Railway Series books written by the Rev. W. V. Awdry, creator of Thomas the Tank Engine.
The Narrow Gauge Railway Museum at Wharf Station, Tywyn in Mid Wales will host both events on Friday, August 28 when Pauline Hazelwood, author and illustrator of the Saddletank series of books, will be available to meet visitors.
The museum contains a re-creation of part of the Rev. Awdry’s study, as a tribute to his contribution to Talyllyn Railway as a volunteer. His desk, typewriter and hundreds of books are included in the display together with his model of the Ffarquhar Railway.
The exhibition, a celebration of the depiction of narrow gauge railways in literature, includes works by Wilbert and Christopher Awdry, Pauline Hazelwood, Christopher Vine and Oliver Postgate, novels by John Snell, Geraint Roberts and Kathleen McGurl and words by Tom Rolt, D. H. Lawrence, Henry Williamson and F. Scott Fitzgerald.
The Narrow Gauge Museum Trust is also planning a story writing competition to support the display, details of which will be posted on the website www.ngrm.org.uk.
Open every day when trains are running on Talyllyn Railway, the museum’s opening times are: Orange timetable 10am to 2pm, Green timetable 10am to 3:10pm and Pink and Blue timetables 9:45am until at least 3:45pm.
