Allan Garraway obituary

The railwayman Allan Garraway, who has died aged 88, led the restoration of the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways in North Wales. He saw the potential of reviving the then-abandoned railway in 1951, during the first of several working visits to the Talyllyn Railway, which had just been taken over by the first railway preservation society.

The Ffestiniog Railway was famous from its opening in 1836 for the proficiency with which it ran slate trains by gravity (horses hauled the empty wagons back up the line). It was built to carry slate from the mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog to the harbour at Portmadoc. In its later years it became the first passenger service on a narrow-gauge railway, but its decline started in the late 19th century, due in part to the popularity of new roofing materials. After the outbreak of war in 1939, the passenger services were cancelled, and the goods service followed suit in 1946.

The railway company, one of the last to retain its independence, was caught in a legal limbo. It had no funds to restore the railway for passengers, but no powers to close it either, and neither did the ministry of transport, so the track was simply left to become overgrown. Some years later, the British Electricity Authority (later the Central Electricity Authority) appropriated two miles of the route to build a power station at Tanygrisiau.

In 1951, a small group of volunteers, Allan among them, decided to try and reopen the railway. In 1954 another of the group, Alan Pegler, bought a controlling interest in the company, and created a charitable trust to run it. Allan was among the first volunteers to work on the restoration, and on 6 November 1954 drove the first train of the new regime.

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Allan took an interest in railways from an early age. He was born in Cambridge to Ronald Garraway, the London & North Eastern Railway’s assistant district locomotive superintendent, and his wife Connie (nee Smith). At St Catharine’s College, Cambridge, Allan obtained a degree in engineering before being called up in 1947, serving as locomotive superintendent with the 348 Railway Operating Squadron at Detmold, Germany, after training with the Royal Engineers’ railway operating division at Longmoor, Hampshire.

After the war he joined British Railways, training at Doncaster locomotive works before moving to Stratford depot, east London, in 1951. He was not inspired, however, by British Railways’ modernisation plan, and left to become manager and engineer of the Ffestiniog Railway in 1955. Passenger numbers soon exceeded prewar levels, with innovations including on-train catering, corridor connections between carriages, plush seats in observation cars, Sunday trains and draught beer.

Promoted to general manager in 1958, Allan remained very hands-on, taking regular rides on the steam engines; during the 1960s and 70s his secretary would greet the returning train with a fistful of letters for him to sign. He was very particular about the standards he expected, insisting that he did not want railway enthusiasts but enthusiastic railwaymen. His relations with employees were sometimes difficult.

He married Moira MacMillan in 1966, the couple having met through a shared fondness for old-time dancing. He was appointed MBE in 1979, the first such award made for a contribution to a heritage railway.

Restoration of the railway, including building a deviation to bypass the power station, was completed in April 1982. Before the final section was opened, Allan drove the first train the length of the line. Set against this success was the knowledge that the company board had decided he did not have the skills to manage the growing business. He retired to Boat of Garten, Strathspey, in 1983, participating in the Strathspey Railway, the Inverness Rowing Club, the Heritage Railway Association and the Gresley Society, which celebrates the legacy of the London & North Eastern Railway.

Visitors to Allan’s home, first in the flat above the station at Portmadoc, and later at Minffordd and Boat of Garten, were often treated to a session with the extensive self-built model railway in the attic, operated in accordance with proper railway protocols. If a beer train was operated, the beer could not be drunk until it had arrived at the proper siding, which could take two hours or more.

Allan returned to the Ffestiniog Railway for the last time in 2004, meeting many old friends and driving the oldest locomotive, Prince, which he had first driven in 1955. He was presented with a silver medal in recognition of the contribution he had made to the railway.

Moira predeceased him.