This narrow gauge railway was the world's first to be saved from closure and run by volunteers. It follows the Fathew valley 7 miles inland to the village of Abergynolwyn. Most trains are hauled by steam locomotives, and some of the locomotives and rolling stock date back to the original opening of the railway in the 1860s. Readers of the "Railway Series" of books by Rev W Awdry may recognise it as the Skarloey Railway, which Awdry based on the Talyllyn Railway after working as a volunteer in the 1950s. An enjoyable excursion from the railway is to alight at Dolgoch, where a woodland walk gives access to some spectacular waterfalls.