Corris Railway will mark 200 years of passenger rail travel with a gala celebration.

Railway200 events are being held across Wales this year and Corris Railway’s main celebration - the Corris Railway Gala - will take place on Saturday, 24 May.

The first train of the day will depart Corris at 10.30am.

The gala will be an opportunity to see older locos from the fleet less often seen in recent years heading a variety of consists, alongside the railway’s newly built loco, No. 10 Hughes 0-4-2 ‘Falcon’ as well as No. 11 Orenstein & Koppel 0-4-0 ‘Vlad’.

For Corris Railway members there will be opportunities to ride on the Gravity Train, for those wishing to eschew the more usual comforts of the saloon coaches. Ride down the Dulas valley like slate mine workers of yesteryear.

Only current members of the Corris Railway can ride on a gravity train but it’s not too late to become a member for the gala. Adult annual membership is £22 and can be purchased at https://www.corris.co.uk/membership-application/

Depending on crew availability, the railway hopes to use Loco No. 5 Motor Rail Simplex 4w ‘Alan Meaden’ to offer rides in exchange for a small donation, in Guard’s Van 204 down to the railhead of the Southern Extension when No. 5 is not required for its timetabled duties. ‘Alan Meaden’ was the first locomotive acquired by the Corris Railway Society and she worked the first formal train of the revival between Maespoeth and Corris in 1985.

The workshops at Maespoeth Junction will be open to the public and there will be fun games for children of all ages to play. Visitors to the Gala will also be able to see the work being carried out by the Corris’ volunteer workforce, including carriage number 24, which, once complete, will allow first class travel on the line for the first time in at least 90 years.

The museum and shop at Corris station will also be open. The recently completed reconstruction of a manrider or ‘Velocipede’ using original wheels and axles will be on display in the museum.

Light refreshments will be available from the shop but if something more substantial is wanted it is a short walk from Corris station to the village shop and cafe or the Slaters Arms, which once had its beer delivered in casks rolled across the street from the railway’s waggons.

The Corris Craft Centre also has an excellent cafe and visitors may park their cars there and walk to the station down the zig-zag path (which is a steep journey on the return).

Parking is available at the station and Lloyd’s bus service number FF2 stops outside the station yard and bus service T2 (Aberystwyth - Dolgellau - Bangor) stops outside the Braich Goch Hotel at the top of the hill into Corris centre.

Advance Gala Day Rover tickets can be purchased via www.corris.co.uk and are £10 for adults, £5 for children aged 5-15, children under 5 are free and dogs are £1.