Trevor Bailey

Trevor Bailey
Official positions held:
FR Co. Director	1954 - 1966
FR Soc. Director	10.02.1955-30.04.1966
FR Trust	1954–1991
FR People | WHR People

Henry Trevor Selborne (Trevor) Bailey, who died 16 September 1991, was educated at Radley and Caius College, Cambridge, thus being part of the link between Cambridge University graduates and the FR which included Alan Pegler, John Routly, David Lindsay, Francis Wayne, Allan Garraway, Gerald Fox and Mike Schumann. He knew Les Smith from the war years when as a raw recruit they had adjoining beds and shared the Railway Magazine. He was involved with both Alan Pegler and Les Smith in organising two special trains on the Eastern Region of British Railways, the Centenaries Express in 1952 and the Plant Centenarian in 1953. The latter train was probably unique in that the two GN Atlantics were brought out of retirement from York Museum specially for the occasion. One driver involved was Bill Hoole and on the first trial run, from Kings Cross to Peterborough, Trevor and Les rode with him. Bill became a friend. It was from Les Smith that Trevor learned of the efforts to revive the FR and Trevor in turn involved Alan.

In June 1953 he travelled with Fred Gilbert to visit the liquidator of the Welsh Highland Railway Company in Llandudno to see if through the WHR it might be possible to take a lease on the FR through some obscure power. That turned out to be a dead end. (Whitehouse, 1963) It was at Trevor's suggestion that his brother-in-law John Routly became involved, a wise move because John and Nic Nicholson were able to unravel many of the legal problems regarding the railway, enabling Alan to purchase the controlling interest in the Festiniog Railway Company on 24th June 1954 with an interest free loan from Mr Pegler senior. On an evening in May 1954 Trevor Bailey and Bill Broadbent went along to the Hyde Park Hotel where they were handed the cheque by Mr Pegler senior for £2,000 (presumably made out to the National Provincial Bank which held debenture stock in the FR Co.) that made possible the transfer of control of the FR. (Whitehouse, 1963 and Garraway, 1985) Trevor was a director of the FR Company from 1954 to 1966 and when the company was first taken over he was made its Commercial Director. He was also the Company's representative on the Society board and a Festiniog Railway Trust Trustee from the same time. He was editor of the Festiniog Railway Magazine from its first issue in 1958 until 1961 and before that he edited the "News Sheets" which the Magazine superseded. He organized the special trains from London for Society annual general meetings from 1958 onwards. Motive power for these included City of Truro and Flying Scotsman. For sixteen years he was a director of a family surgical instrument and hospital equipment company and from 1962 he was a director of Ian Allan Travel. Trevor's involvement with the expansion of Ian Allan's travel business was such that he retired from the Company Board but retained his connection with the Railway as an active Trustee. He died on 16th September 1991.

See also

• Directors, Festiniog Railway Company
• Directors, Ffestiniog Railway Society
• Personalities
• Ffestiniog Railway Society
• Festiniog Railway Trust

References

Whitehouse P.B. (1963) Festiniog Railway Revival, p 59, Ian Allan, Hampton Court, Surrey, UK.

Garraway A.G.W. (1985) Garraway Father & Son, Middleton Press, p 112, Midhurst, West Sussex, GU29 9AZ, UK.