c from Barmouth to Pwllheli on October
10th, 1867. But the number of trains often depended on the state of the
exchequer, and sometimes quaint incidents would occur to break the
monotony of events. One driver arriving from Pwllheli at Portmadoc, in
the early days, discovering that there was no "staff" available to enable
him to proceed to Penrhyndeudraeth according to regulations, was in
considerable perplexity as to what to do, when an ingenious sub-official
bethought him of a scheme, and fetching an old carpenter's auger, wrapped
it round with paper, and thus armed by what perpetrated to be the badge
of authority to go forward, the driver blew his whistle and off the train
went on its hazardous way.

On another occasion an official of the line visiting one station master
on this section was startled, in reply to his cheery inquiry as to
whether all was well with him, to learn that "the only drawback was that
he had the devil in his parlour." On his exclamation of incredulous
alarm, the stationmaster said that he would show the official, if he
would come and see. Entering the station house with some trepidation, he
beheld in the middle of the parlour one of the iron fire-brackets, used
to prevent water troughs from freezing in cold weather, popularly known
among railway men as "devils." It seems that the builders had neglected
to put in a grate, and the poor man had had to fall back on this
diabolical method of keeping himself warm! The matter, no doubt, was
quickly righted, for stationmasters, even then, were important
functionaries, often wearing tall silk hats, though some of them were
regarded as passing rich on 15/- or 16/- a week.

It was something, however, that, in the face of all these difficulties,
financial and constructive, a line should be completed along this
wandering coast at all. Only in one respect, indeed, did the original
project fall short of attainment. The great objective of which the
shareholders heard so much in earlier days--Porth Dinlleyn--was never
reached. The line still terminates at Pwllheli, where, up to 1901, the
station lay at arm's length from the town close to the harbour, which, in
hot weather, used sometimes to alarm arriving visitors by its fishy
odours. In 1901 power was obtained to carry the line into the centre of
the town, where a new and commodious station now serves this popular
health resort, the gateway to the mysterious fastnesses of Lleyn.

CHAPTER VIII