Old, far-off, forgotten things:
Stop me if I've expressed this view before, but I might just have commented that there is change and there is improvement but they don't necessarilygotogether. Such was the thought in my mind when I revisited my old school during July as it celebrated 60 years since its opening and the class of '64 marked 50 years since we put down our pens, stopped writing and handed in our 'O' level papers. The band of '64ers was given a tour of the school the morning after the 60th anniversary event and naturally we wondered how much the old place would have changed. And of course it had to have, no matter that we might have wished to find it familiar and just as we'd left it: the walls would surely have been repainted, the ink-stained desks replaced. They had been - and computers installed everywhere, a new sports hall built... On the other hand the railway behind the school, once busy with trains and from which I'd learnt so much just by watching what happened, now only sees the quiet passing of 'Metro' trams. So yes, the old Alma Mater had moved on, but by and large positively: and I suppose it's not too judgemental if you can go that far. Though its Latin curriculum is not what it was: we were each given a badge on arrival identifying us as an'Alumni' but actually what we were individually was an 'Alumnus' or indeed an 'Alumna'; only when gathered together did we collectively constitute 'Alumni'. What would our fearsome old headmaster, MA (Cantab.) in Classics as he was, have said?
I recall, on my final day at school, walking out of the gates for the last time and turning to look back, wondering 'what next?' I walked out this time reflecting on good times and bad there, directions not taken, opportunities not seized, girls I'd let get away... but grateful for the 'O' and 'A' level courses on Industrial and Social History which in the end signposted the path I was to take and it reminded me not to forget that.
It was with just such a sense of apprehension that I revisited the Vale of Rheidol Railway during the summer for the first time in over 30 years - and only the third time ever. The first was in 1966 during a family holiday in Aberystwyth based around 'doing' narrow gauge railways and the Rheidol was my introduction to that particular world. I was quite impressed for starters - big, chunky engines with 'British Railways' on the side tanks, great scenery, carriages agreeable enough for narrow gauge. I hadn't yet been to the Festiniog Railway so wasn't aware you could have upholstered seats and carpets in narrow gauge coaches.

It was twenty years before I went to the VoR again but it was all somewhat disappointing. The day itself was a gloomy one and the railway, sunk in its despondent British Rail blue period, seemed of the same outlook, to the extent that I rather regretted having returned. Another three decades were to go by before I was back in Aberystwyth and much had changed in the intervening period, not the least being that the VoR had been sold into private ownership in 1989. By then it had obviously become an anachronism as part of a modern national railway system but reports seemed to indicate that with a dedicated management and new investment the Rheidol's fortunes were gradually improving. So what would I find this time on my third visit after such a long time away? Change for better or for worse?
Well, I found a railway in encouragingly buoyant form. As our article 'Reviving the Vale of Rheidol' in last December's Backtrack showed, British Rail managers had done as well as could reasonably be expected with it and clearly did care about it, but it can't be denied that the railway by then was overshadowed in its general 'presence' by lines in the 'heritage' sector, especially those further up the Cambrian coast. Today it has a fresh vibrancy about it, refurbished locomotives and rolling stock (with upholstered seats available!) and now a brand-new terminus at Aberystwyth - with toilets deserving an award of their own. Not only the passenger amenities are on the up; a busy engineering workshop has been established with contract locomotive overhauls being undertaken. I take no idealogical stance on railway nationalisation and privatisation; neither
is inherently right or wrong, though the form of privatisation adopted could hardly have been more ill-conceived. But I reckon it has been the salvation of the Vale of Rheidol Railway; for once change and improvement have gone hand in hand.
The Rheidol article was the first of two which inspired holiday ideas; the other was the one earlier this year on the Aberystwyth Cliff Railway which prompted me to cross the town and make the ascent in one of its distinctive compartment cars. As cliff railways go it's certainly worth a visit, suitably steep and with great views from the top. Well done, Backtrack, for suggesting it!