The first Compton Down, 1949
Back in 1949 a very small Peter Jones was taken for a day trip to the Talyllyn Railway from his home in Portsmouth. Railways were already in the blood with the childhood home standing above a gap between bridges on the busy mainline through Fratton, billowing steam & smoke through his bedroom window. Something about the grass grown narrow gauge Talyllyn lodged in a young mind, and the first forms of a garden railway began to evolve around the cameos & landscapes seen on that trip. The first Compton Down was a simple Hornby inspired affair, a fictional railway named after another trip out – a railway which over the years began to gain momentum & ambition and followed Peter through several locations until its longest serving incarnation in Pembrokeshire, West Wales.
Peter Jones rebuilding Compton Down
Here it continued to gather pace over 30 years, evolving and radically changing, whilst still keeping that link with Talyllyn & North Walian slate inspirations. It always had industry and particularly slate quarrying at the heart of its community. It grew to be one of the major garden railways of its field – with Peter as one of the pioneers of the art well known amongst the 16mm community with many articles published internationally spanning 30 years or so.
When Peter died in 2009, a safe haven and a group of willing volunteers needed to be found for the wealth of buildings that would need to be restored, maintained and ultimately enjoyed by those who would continue to see them used in the manner they were intended – with live 16mm steam at the heart. Llechfan was a garden railway that wanted some buildings, Compton Down was a collection of buildings that needed a garden railway – this combined with Peter’s fondness for the TR meant it couldn’t have been a better solution.
Peter Jones
Llechfan proved to be more than could possibly have been hoped for, with an idyllic location in the grounds of Tywyn station, Talyllyn smoke wafting gently down over the 16mm layout. The Llechfan gang were all familiar with the Compton legacy and shared a passion & approach with Peter that is at times uncanny. They were well able to identify further Talyllyn connections hidden in amongst the buildings and archives whilst involved in the epic move of the infrastructure to Tywyn (still underway!) 2 van loads have now made the migration North – with more due to follow as dismantling progresses.
Workshop built by Peter Jones in the style of a Talyllyn coach
Work is now underway on the new branch of the Llechfan Railway – with the first stage being the reconstruction of Compton Down station with track plans in place to extend to what will be the terminus at Llanbedr Road – incorporating other Compton cameos on the way – with other buildings to be blended into the existing layout. It will take a while, but the care & enthusiasm at Llechfan will see great progress.
Kes Jones, May 2010