Welshpool, Powys

THE TRAIN THAT CROSSED THE STREET

From my childhood in Welshpool in the 1940s and 50s I have fond memories of the little steam train which crossed over Church Street, originally on a daily basis then later on Mondays only, carrying livestock from farms in the Llanfair Caereinion area to and from the Smithfield Market in Welshpool. My grandfather was one of the engine drivers who drove the train and often when I came out of Berriew Road School at lunchtime I would hear the train whistle and would run as fast as I could so that I would be in time to see it cross the road. The fireman would get down from the footplate and open the gate on the Vicarage side of the street, then he would stand in the road with a red flag while the driver shunted the train into the roadway. The fireman would then open the gate on the other side (next to Barclays Bakery), the train would shunt off the road along the line and the fireman would close both gates before getting back up onto the footplate. If I was lucky enough to be in time to see the train cross, my grandad would throw down a threepenny bit for me to catch and I would buy sweets from 'Passants' or 'The Broadway Cafe' on my way home from school. The railway line across the road and bakery are long gone now, as is my beloved grandad, but the little engines 'The Earl' and 'The Countess' are still operating on the Llanfair Light Railway, a narrow gauge  railway which runs steam trains from Raven Square, at the top end of Welshpool, to Llanfair Caereinion during the tourist season. The place where the train crossed the road can be seen in the photograph at almost the exact place where the line of shadow ends.

Childhood in Welshpool

I was born & spent my childhood in Welshpool. St Mary's was our Parish Church, it has beautiful stained glass windows which always fascinated me as a child. I was christened and confirmed in this Church and later in May 1965 my husband and I were married there by the Curate, the Reverand Michael Butler. I remember that it was a sunny day but there was a stiff breeze so, instead of having our Wedding photographs taken on the Church steps (which are just out of sight below the entrance porch in the picture) we had to move to the Red Bank entrance steps just outside Grace Evans' Cottage for most of the photographs, because my wedding veil kept blowing up in the air! We walked to our wedding reception which was held in the Church House on Church Bank, just opposite the church. I left Welshpool when I married but have fond childhood memories of a lovely little town. Patricia.

The rope swing at the Leighton bridge

I remember spending many a summer swimming at this spot. Then they seemed to be long hot summers but maybe that's the memory loss of an older man. I noticed that the rope was stiil hanging from the tree which was used to swing out into the river. This would have been in the mid 1950s and so much has changed. Still they can't take away the memories of childhood

Fishing by the Bridge

This picture brings back fond memories of my childhood, I remember fishing in the pool just under these trees, I caught my first pike and perch there and I was only 11 yrs old. There used to be a beach just next to the pool and I remember other older fishermen, fishing there, casting across the river and landing 6-8lb chub, I never did manage to get one of those. Lucky for me, I have relatives who live in Welshpool, so every summer I would visit for 4-5 weeks. I used to live in Coventry. I now live in Canada but still visit every year. I know the bridge was damaged in a flood and last time I looked the pool and beach were gone, the weir is still there and so are my memories.

Mid-Wales - Ceredigion and Powys Photographic Memories

The symmetry and lack of individuality in the houses to the right of the photograph point to this being a modern 20th-century housing estate.

Mid-Wales - Ceredigion and Powys Photographic Memories

As we look down from the church we can see the premises known as Corfield's Garage on the right, but judging from the mass of bicycles outside perhaps his sideline (or main line) was in the repair of pushbikes.

Mid-Wales - Ceredigion and Powys Photographic Memories

Advertising has always existed, though today it is controlled by the local authority. The van on the left was ahead of its time by using the back door for the slogan: ‘If it’s tractors ask Reginald Tildesley’. In the background is the turreted tower of St Mary’s parish church.