The survey sampled the views of Who? members on aspects of Europe’s most scenic lines, from views to comfort, cleanliness and value for money. The result is a star-studded line-up of Europe’s best, including Switzerland’s spectacular Glacier Express and Norway’s dizzying Flam Railway, which climbs 867m from the mountaintop fjord on one of the steepest standard-gauge lines ever ever made. Flam Mountain Railway, Norway. Photo: Novarc Images/Alamy However, it all came second to Ffestiniog, a former industrial line brought back from oblivion by groups of volunteers over three decades. While all nominees scored highly on landscape, the North Wales line outshone the competition with its superior customer service. “It’s very gratifying,” says Paul Lewin, general manager who started as a teenage volunteer 43 years ago. “Part of this service tells the story of the landscape, particularly shale mining. We know this can enrich the experience.” The track descends from the old Blaenau Ffestiniog slate quarries to Porthmadog where it meets another top rated line, the Welsh Highland, coming from Caernarfon. A few miles down the coast at Tywyn is another beauty: Tallylyn, also one of the top 10. It was here in the early 1950s that writer Tom Rolt saw the potential of the magnificent scenery and industrial heritage. The route ran to the failed Bryn Eglwys slate quarry and featured a derelict locomotive, the Dolgoch, which was already nearly a century old. In places the track was held in place only by grass. A pioneer of canal boating as a leisure activity in the late 1940s, Rolt gathered a mixed gang of ex-miners, clergy and railway enthusiasts to launch the world’s first heritage railway. His experiences led to a book, Railway Adventure, and inspired the 1953 Ealing comedy The Titfield Thunderbolt. Although the group was dismissed by many as a crackpot, Tallylyn created a successful business model that is still being imitated worldwide. There are now 16 heritage lines in Wales, seven of which are connected to one main line, the Unseen Classic Cumbrian Coast Line. The Train des Pignes in Haute Provence, France. Photo: Hemis/Alamy But competition in the scenic world of railroads is getting fiercer as routes are reinvented and reopened. In Romania the restored Mocanita train, an old logging service, is attracting new visitors. In Slovenia, the classic line of the Habsburg Empire from Bohinj to the Soča Valley is a thrilling end to a ski trip, and France has the stunning Pignes route from Nice to Digne les Bains. Britain has other contenders: among them the North York Moors Railway and the Settle-Carlisle line. Lewin is not worried that Wales may lose its crown as scenic railway champions. “The great work is still going on,” he says. “There’s a big push for quality, helped by an increase in diversity – it’s no longer just about old white men with beards.” David Jones chooses the Vale of Rheidol line from Aberystwyth to Devil’s Bridge. “It has become a real success after years of restoration.” His own passion is the Bala Lake Railway, a 4½-mile lakeside route carried by a collection of five classic Hunslet locomotives built in Leeds between 1885 and 1904. “We’re not that well known yet, but it will happen: the views they are amazing,” he says. Back at Talyllyn, the ancient steam engine that was there to begin with, Dolgoch, built in Cumbria in 1866, is being lovingly restored by volunteer engineers. After a summer makeover, it will return this winter to capture the Christmas offerings.
The top 10
1 Ffestiniog Railway, Wales2 Bergen Railway, Norway3 Bernina Express, Switzerland and Italy4 Glacier Express, Switzerland5 Brocken Railway, Germany6 Talyllyn, Wales7 Welsh Highland Railway, Wales8 West Highland Line, Scotland9 Flam Railway, Norway10 Golden
