"_A birthday_:--_and now a day that rose_
_with much of hope, with meaning rife_--
_A thoughtful day from dawn to close_."
--JEAN INGLEOW.
With the advent of the young Montgomeryshire engineer, and his cordial
co-operation with the Montgomeryshire contractor, the public began
eagerly to count the days, or at any rate, the months, before the due
arrival of the first Montgomeryshire railway. The prospects of a
punctual delivery were eminently propitious. In his first report, Mr.
Piercy was able to announce substantial progress with the work, which was
being carried out by Messrs. Davies and Savin, "at a cost below that of
any railway yet brought into operation." True, there were one or two
inevitable set-backs. One of the engines which had arrived by road, and
been set on the rails at Newtown, refused properly to perform its duty;
but, fortunately, a Mr. Howell, of Hawarden, who knew all about the
intricate interior of these new-fangled monsters, happened to be staying
at Llanidloes, and he was called in to diagnose and advise, with
effective result.
A more serious problem was the revision of the terms of the lease of the
line to Messrs. Davies and Savin, which a committee of shareholders were
busily engaged in attempting to carry forward. Complications of another
sort led Mr. Piercy to tender his resignation, which, being somewhat
peremptorily refused, he withdrew. Still further anxiety and
considerable expense was involved in the prosecution of Parliamentary
application for power to extend the line from the originally designed
terminus at Newtown to the Shropshire Union Canal; for, though it was
only a matter of some quarter of a mile, it was strenuously opposed in
both Houses. Such were the distractions which beset railway building in
those days; but enthusiasm and determination still triumphed, and the
work proceeded along the line with sufficient rapidity to admit its being
opened for mineral traffic on April 30th, 1859. At the very last moment
trouble was experienced in obtaining the necessary certificate of the
Board of Trade for passenger traffic, but that precious document came to
hand on August 9th, and, with more fortunate outcome than on a previous
occasion, Mrs. Owen, of Glansevern, was invited to perform the pleasing
duty of declaring the line open.
The day fixed was Wednesday, August 31st, and a local newspaper gives us
some account of the proceedings:--"Preparations were made on an extensive
scale, and the day was ushered in by cannon firing, bell-ringing, and the
hearty congratulations of the people of the town, with their country
friends, who flocked in to take part in the proceedings. The houses were
elegantly decorated with flags and banners, flowers and evergreens, and a
variety of mottoes, more or less appropriate. Amongst others we noticed,
on the Old Market Hall (which, by the way, it was a charity to hide from
the gaze of strangers), a profusion of flags, with a large banner in the
centre, 'Hail, Star of Brunswick.' The Red Lion exhibited a local
tribute to its friend, by placing on the door 'Welcome, Whalley, champion
of our rights.' The Railway Station was profusely decorated, and the
Queen's Head displayed an elegant archway of leaves and flowers. The
Trewythen Arms was also gaily covered with flags, and numbers of private
houses displayed a variety of gay decorations. The cold and wet state of
the weather in no way damped the ardour of the men of Montgomeryshire,
and they were rewarded by a speedy dispersion of clouds, and the grateful
warmth of the noonday sun. Llanidloes was all alive; business was
entirely suspended and soon after 9 o'clock a large crowd collected near
the public rooms, where a procession was formed, headed by the Plasmadoc
Brass Band, and accompanied in the following order by:--
The Mayor (W. Swancott, Esq.), and the Corporation consisting of Messrs.
R. Homes, E. Clayton, T. Davies, T. F. Roberts, D. Snead; L. Minshall,
Pugh, J. Jarman, Hamer, J. Mendus Jones,
Flag.
Banner,--'Whither Bound?' 'To Milford.'
Streamer. Banner. Streamer.
(With the inscription):
'G. H. Whalley, whose unceasing exertions are now crowned with success.'
Mr. G. H. Whalley, Chairman.
Deputy Chairman and Secretary, Directors.
Banner,--'The spirited contractors, Messrs. Davies & Savin.'
Streamer. Streamer.
Banner,--'Our Esteemed Patroness, Mrs. A. W. Owen.'
Mrs. Owen followed in a carriage.
Guests and Shareholders.
Ladies (two and two).
Gentlemen (two and two).
Streamer. Streamer.
Banner,--'Prosperity to the Towns of Llanidloes and Newtown.'
Excavators (with bannerets).
Flag,--'Live and let Live.'
The Public.
"The procession was marshalled by Mr. Marpole Lewis, and after parading
the streets, was met by Mrs. Owen, of Glansevern, who was accompanied by
some lady friends and Mr. Brace, and at another point by Mr. Whalley, the
chairman of the company. These arrivals were acknowledged with
vociferous cheering. The procession, like a rolling snowball, gained
bulk as it proceeded, and before it reached the station, comprehended a
very large proportion of the inhabitants,--ladies and gentlemen,--with a
good sprinkling of their neighbours. At the station there was a
considerable delay, awaiting the arrival of the train from Newtown. At
last it made its appearance, and the band struck up 'See the Conquering
Hero comes,'--an air far more appropriate when applied to the
'locomotive' than to one-half of the heroes to whom it has hitherto done
honour. The Mayor of Llanidloes, with the Corporation, Mrs. Owen and
party, and Mr. Whalley, accompanied by a very large number of the
inhabitants, then took their seats, and amidst the cheers of those left
behind, and counter cheers of the passengers, the train moved off and
proceeded slowly towards Newtown. {20}
"The train arrived shortly after 12 o'clock, when the procession
re-formed and escorted the Mayor and Corporation of Llanidloes, Mrs.
Owen, of Glansevern, Mr. Whalley, and other visitors, to Newtown Hall,
where an elegant _dejeuner_ had been provided by Dr. Slyman. The
decorations at Newtown Hall were chaste and beautiful. The verandah at
the front, was tastefully ornamented with flowers and evergreens,
surmounted by a number of elegant fuschias, in the centre of which stood
out a prettily worked 'Prince of Wales' Feathers.' A variety of flags
were placed around the pleasure ground, which gave a very striking effect
to the scene."
After the party had partaken of refreshments, there were toasts and
mutual congratulations, and the procession tramped back to the station.
"Again there was a little delay, awaiting the train from Llanidloes (says
our chronicler), and it was half-past three o'clock before _The Train_ of
the day fairly started. Filling the carriages and trucks was no joke.
Admirable arrangements had been made, and the ladies were first
accommodated with seats. One or two gentlemen did attempt to take their
place before this arrangement was fully carried out, but they were very
unceremoniously brought out again, amidst the ironical cheers of the
outsiders. At last the forty-eight trucks and carriages were loaded,
and, at a moderate estimate, we should say, 3,000 people were in the
train. The two new engines, The Llewelyn and The Milford, were attached
to the carriages, and were driven by Mr. T. D. Roberts and Mr. T. E.
Minshall. Although the train was so heavily laden with passengers, there
was a large crowd of people left to cheer as it slowly passed out of the
Station. The appearance of this monster train was magnificent. More
than 2,000 of the passengers were in open trucks, and at certain points,
where there was a curve in the line, and a good sight could be obtained,
the train, as it wound its way through the valley, presented a scene not
easily to be erased from the memory.
"Soon after four o'clock Llanidloes Station was reached, and the
passengers alighted amidst the shouts of the inhabitants, who had come to
welcome them. A large circle was formed in the field adjoining the
Station, and Mr. Whalley introduced to those assembled Mrs. Owen, of
Glansevern, who declared the line to be opened."
It hardly required her stirring words to enlist the enthusiasm of the
company concerning the economic change which the railways were to bring
to Wales. Derelict acres were to be brought into cultivation; "the very
central town of the ancient Principality," in which that ceremony was
taking place, was to become the capital of a new prosperity, and as for
Mr. Whalley, were not that day's proceedings "a chapter more honourable
than any wreath of laurel that could be won on the battle field by
success in war?" The plaudits of the assembled confirmed the sentiment,
and "a rush was then made for the tent where the luncheon was provided.
Here again the ladies had the same proper attention paid to them; the
sterner sex was kept out until they could be accommodated with seats.
After a short delay the tent was well filled with visitors, and upwards
of 300 sat down to lunch. Grace was said by the Rector of Llanidloes,
and for a season the clatter of knives and forks was the only sound to be
heard."
Small wonder! For the afternoon was well advanced, and the time-table
had gone rather awry. But that did not in the least damp the ardour of
the company. Refreshed by their belated meal, more toasts were honoured,
more speeches made, and the future continued to assume the most roseate
hue. The district, declared one orator, was destined to become "the
abode of smiling happiness," and Newtown and Llanidloes "the haunts and
hives of social industry." It was, said another, the first link in a
chain "which must, ere long, form one of the greatest and most important
trunk lines in the kingdom." "People," exclaimed a third, "laughed at it
because it had no head or tail"; but let the scoffers wait and see! With
all these glowing anticipations, proceedings became so protracted that
the ladies had to withdraw, but the gentlemen went on drinking toasts
with undiminished energy. They drank to the Chairman; they drank to the
Secretary; they drank to the Engineer, and the Contractors, and the
Bankers who had lent them the money, and to the success of the other
railways springing up around them, including the Mid-Wales, the first sod
of which was to be cut in a few days' time, with what strange
accompaniment will be noted in a subsequent chapter. Not until the
health of the Press,--"may its perfect independence ever expose abuses
and advocate what is just, through evil and through good report,"--had
been duly honoured did the company disperse.
The workmen, too, were entertained, with good fare and more speeches.
Salvers and cake baskets were presented to Messrs. Davies and Savin.
Master Edward Davies, aged 5, and Master Tom Savin, aged 6, were held up
aloft, and presented with watches, and the cheering, which had gone on
almost continuously for hours, broke forth afresh. One of the workmen,
who was also, at any rate, in the opinion of his colleagues, something of
a poet, stepped forward, and, "amidst roars of laughter and tremendous
cheering," sang his thanks as follows:--
Well now we've got a railway,
The truth to you I'll tell,
To be opened in August,
The people like it well;
We've heard a deal of rumour
O'er all the country wide,
We'll never get a railway,
The people can't provide.
Well now we have the carriages,
For pleasure trips to ride;
The Milford it shall run us,
And Henry lad shall drive;
There's also Jack the stoker,
So handy and so free,
He lives now at Llandiman,
A buxom lad is he.
We have a first rate gentleman
Who does very nigh us dwell,
And he has got a partner,
The people like him well;
Look at the trucks my boys,
Their names you'll plainly see;
They've took another Railway,
There's plenty of work for we.
Well now our gen'rous masters
Do handsomely provide
A store of meat and drink my boys,
Come out and take a ride;
For we are in our ribbons,
And dress'd so neat and trim;
Drink up my charming Sally,
We'll fill it to the brim.
When these few days are over,
The navvies they will part,
And go back to their gangers
With blithe and cheerful heart;
And Jack he will be hooting,
And getting drunk full soon;
I wish there was a railway
To be opened every moon.
And now I have to finish,
And shall conclude my song;
I hope and trust my good friends,
I've stated nothing wrong;
All you young men and maidens,
That are so full of play,
I hope you'll all take tickets
On that most glorious day.
"When the song was concluded, Colonel Wynn purchased the first copy, for
which the fortunate bard received a shilling. Several other gentlemen
followed this example, and the poet must have regretted that his stock in
trade was so limited.
"During the latter part of the proceedings, several had left the
enclosure to join the merry dance, to the strains of the Welshpool Band,
in the adjoining field. We cannot use the usual stock phrase of the
penny-a-liner and say to 'trip it on the light fantastic toe,' for in
several instances a pair of stalwart navvies might be seen in anything
but dancing pumps kicking out most gloriously. In another part of the
field, a party were deeply engaged in an exciting game of football. All
was mirth and jollity. From the oldest to the youngest, the richest to
the poorest, every one seemed to try to get as much enjoyment out of the
evening as possible, and if there were any grumblers to be found at
Messrs. Davies and Savin's monster picnic, the fault must have been with
themselves.
"The same evening rejoicings were being kept up at Llanidloes. All the
school children of the place were feasted in the tent. Mr. Whalley (the
'champion of the people's rights,' as the flag had it) was chaired
through the town, and the evening was finished by a ball. And on the
following day, several loaves of bread and gallons of porter were sent by
Messrs. Davies and Savin to the poor people of Llandinam." Finally, a
medal was struck in commemoration of the event, and presented to the
workmen.
Thus, sixty-three years ago, did the community, already conscious of the
momentous influence the steam engine was exerting upon the social and
economic condition of the countryside, but yet to discover the not less
remarkable potentialities of the electric or the petrol spark applied to
the problems of transport, herald the birth of the infant Cambrian.