A DAY IN THE LIFE OF TWO TALYLLYNS

Two locomotives came together in 2001 to celebrate the 50 years of success of the Tallyllyn Railway in Wales, pioneers of railway preservation.

Virgin Trains named express electric locomotive 86258 Talyllyn in honour of this achievement.

The two locomotives couldn't lead more different lives, the steam Talyllyn hurtles up the valley of the Afon Fathew at a full 15 mph, whereas her namesake surges over the Virgin network at 100 mph.

The electric works from dawn 'till dusk and more, sitting in a draughty siding at night.

The oldtimer is lovingly woken each morning and carefully fed coal and water until she has steam. At night the old lady is pampered with a warm shed.

Yet our ancient machine perhaps deserves her kindnesses, entering service as she did in 1864, a century before the electric.

So see the two of them now and enjoy the comparison of a day's work for each. The weather was magnificent and the images are unforgettable. Perhaps the programme shows that electric locomotives can have charm as well as old steam engines.

And of course the DVD has a sad twist at the end of it. A Whistler classic!

DVD Info

Region: 2
Running Time: 60 minutes