The Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway waved goodbye to one of its longest serving volunteers who is retiring after 55 years on the line.

On November 5, as trains on the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway completed their final journey of the 2023 main season, one of their longest serving volunteers marked their final jorueny working on the line.

Tony Thorndike, who has volunteered on the railway for 55 years, called “All aboard” for the last time as he officially retired from the role he first took on in 1969.

During his time volunteering for the railway, Mr Thorndike has also served as a fireman, director, trustee and negotiator for the historic railway, filling a range of roles over his six decades of volunteering.

General manager of the railway James Brett said: “Tony’s decades of service for this railway have been a vital part of why the line has been treasured by so many over the past 55 years and why it is such a beloved community.

County Times: A guard of honour for retiring train guard Tony Thorndike.

“Tony is the epitome of how much heritage lines rely on their versatile volunteers. He's done everything from serving many years on the board of Trustees to being the man in the red suit at the line's Santa Specials.

“He’ll still pay us plenty of visits and remain close to the railway I’m sure, but saying goodbye to his time as guard on our line was a wonderful way to close out the year.”

The railway’s last week of its 2023 season was a dramatic one, with a traffic accident on November 3 temporarily halting train services when a car crashed through the hedges and onto the tracks.

Despite the disruptions on Friday, the Welshpool to Llanfair Light Railway resumed its regular service for the weekend as all trains operated at their normal time, with the line’s team of volunteers carrying out quick repairs to the tracks damaged by the accident.

Mr Brett added: “We were informed in the early hours of the morning that our track in an accident, but our excellent team we were soon up and running again.

County Times: The Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway team carrying our repairs to the tracks.

“It goes to show the value of our volunteers who can rally around whenever we most need them to maintain and support our line and why we’re always on the lookout to welcome new members.

“People think that a serene country railway like this must be easy to run but it’s quite the opposite.

"We’re always facing challenges, but we always like to rise to them with the help of our team and we look forward to doing so next year.”