Route

Trains on the Gwili start from Abergwili junction station on a site that is being constantly improved that currently houses 2 platforms, carriage shed, large car park, caffe and a booking office. The next stop is Bronwydd Arms where the replica GWR station is dominated by a Signal Box saved from Llandybie railway station on the Heart of Wales Line. The Signal box, which is open to the public, was built in 1885 and has been restored to operate signalling within the station area.

Typical features on the line include the gradients such as the 1 in 60 on the bank immediately north of Bronwydd Arms, the meandering River Gwili and the A484 road which are never far away and the wooded forests and sharp curves as the railway twists its way through the valley.

From Bronwydd, the line climbs between rural hills and meadows alongside the River Gwili past the site of the first terminus of the newly opened Gwili Railway next to the old mill at Cwmdwyfran. From here, the line continues climbing until it passes under a rusticated brick bridge at the second terminus at the now defunct Penybont station.

The line carries over a redecked bridge crossing the River Gwili. This expansion was achieved in time for its 10th anniversary celebrations in 1988. At the same time, the new terminus of Llwyfan Cerrig was opened to the public.

In 2001, a further one-half mile (0.8 km) extension built by volunteer labour was opened to a new halt at Danycoed.

Llwyfan Cerrig (in English, Stone Platform) was a former quarrymen's halt and the Gwili Railway has created a nature trail which winds through the old quarry and emerges above the stock sheds. The station building, which originally stood at Felin Fach on the Aberaeron branch and dates from 1911, was dismantled by volunteers and re-erected in the early 1990s. It has been restored and furnished to an authentic 1950s style.

From the platform, a path leads to a picnic area on the bank of the Gwili River where kingfishers and heron can sometimes be glimpsed. A miniature railway runs from this station and refreshments can be bought.

From Llwyfan Cerrig, the line runs uphill for another one-quarter mile (0.40 km) with the River Gwili on one side and a rock face on the other, until it reaches the present end of the line at Danycoed (English translation being 'under the wood') where a typical GWR rural halt has been recreated.

Operationally, the railway is normally run on a 'one engine in steam' basis.

Incident

On 19 July 2006, a volunteer was killed in an accident when coupling carriages together for the train that was due to run that day.^[3]

Northwards

Restoring the line northwards has proven to be more difficult than the Gwili Railway had initially anticipated, volunteers' high hopes of reaching either Cynwyl Elfed or Llanpumsaint having been hindered by the cost of repairing a number of bridges en route. There are a total of nine bridges between Danycoed Halt and Llanpumsaint, all of which are in poor condition and require extensive refurbishment to be made worthy for rail traffic once more. Eight of the bridges cross the River Gwili, whilst the ninth crosses a road immediately south of the site of Llanpumpsaint railway station.

An attempt was made in the early to mid 1990s to extend the railway by laying track southwards from the disused Conwil station site towards the railhead at Llwyfan Cerrig, but was frustrated by the escalating cost of repairing the three river bridges en route.

Beyond Llanpumsaint, the track-bed is virtually intact through the tunnel and up to just south of the site of Pencader station; however, the Gwili Railway has no plans to extend further in that direction as it neither owns the land nor has the necessary statutory powers to operate a railway north of Llanpumsaint, due to donations of track they have more than enough to extend to Conwil.^[4]

Southwards

The closure of the former Swansea Vale Railway in 2007 resulted in a merger of that society with the Gwili. This has provided a boost to the southern extension (to Abergwili) with track materials, a footbridge, water tanks/cranes and signalling equipment from Swansea now earmarked for use on the Abergwili extension.

In 2011, over one mile (1.6 km) of track was laid on the southern extension to Abergwili Junction and work started to improve signalling and the level crossing at Bronwydd Arms for future passenger operation.

By 2016, the track had extended all the way down and into Abergwili Junction station itself. The extension of the railway to Abergwili Junction finally opened in July 2017, this brings the line up to a total of 4+1⁄2 miles (7.2 km) in length. On 1 July the extension opened for 150 invited guests, with the extension opening to the public the day after, on 2 July.

Abergwili Junction is the permanent southern terminus of the Gwili Railway. The Carmarthen East by-pass (constructed 1997 -1999) followed the course of the old line from Carmarthen to Llandeilo, rendering any extension of the line south beyond Abergwili Junction impossible. Abergwili Junction station has one platform, with a run-round loop. However the Aberystwyth-Carmarthen Feasibility study states there is sufficient land alongside the west side of the bypass to reconnect the 2 km to Carmarthen station though it would require a new 100m skew bridge across the Afon Tywi just north of Carmarthen station.^[5]

Former steam locomotives

• 71516 War Department 0-6-0ST built in 1944 by Robert Stevenson Hawthorns (works number 7170) Named WELSH GUARDSMAN. Returned to service in 2013 following overhaul. Left for the Severn Valley Railway in February 2020.^[8]

GWR 6400 Class 6430 is visiting until January 2024.

7058 Olwen || 0-4-0ST || Built by Robert Stephenson and Hawthorns in 1942|| || Painted as Percy || Used as Percy at Thomas events. Olwen left the railway in late November 2023