Bob Smith
Bob was an early PW volunteer. He had seen the FR in 1939 on a family holiday to North Wales. In 1954 he heard of the FR revival and volunteered to help. He booked leave from his spell of National Service. He was on the first Simplex hauled passenger train of two carriages in September 1954. He visited again in February 1955 and worked with Robert Smallman. One job they were given was clearing rubbish from the track behind the houses in Glan-y-Pwll to allow the Simplex to get to Blaenau to bring back wagons. He spent his demob leave from Easter 1955 working on the FR and lived in a carriage in the old loco shed. Much of that spell was track work on the Cob.
Later he was secretary of the Hampshire & Sussex Group (HANSAG) from 1961 to 1966.[1] He published an article in the FRS Bristol Area Group Newsletter (The Fairlie No. 8 of Sep 1965) about a trip to the metre gauge railways of Brittany in Witsun week of that year along with David Meek, Brian Harding & Jim Perkins of HANSAG. He was still volunteering on P. Way in 2013. Bob was also at the celebration meal at Tan y Bwlch of 60 years of the Ffestiniog Railway Society on 2nd May 2014. For his account of early visits to the reviving FR see The Pioneers' Story. [2]
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