Passengers on Snowdon Mountain Railway at the time of the First World War have been revealed following the discovery of its original visitor books.
The owners of the railway, the only one of its kind in the UK, decided to make the books contents public to mark the hundredth anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War in 1914.
Now it’s appealing to the families of those visitors to come forward for a special commemoration event.
The last entries before the war on 20th February 1914 are Charles White and P.J.C. Campbell, both of Putney, London and A.P. Richardson of Belgravia, London.
There are no further entries until eight months after Armistice Day with three entries A.E. Marker, Hankow, China and A.H. Marker, London on the 31st July 1919 and J.W. Tomlinson, Bradford on 2nd August 1919.
The archive also reveals in minutes from a meeting of the Directors that the ‘European War had sadly affected the Company’s receipts’ and how the General Manager Gowrie Aitchison’s job was kept open for him after he was called up.
Two of the Company’s horses were also ‘taken over by the War Office’ at a cost of £55, becoming war horses whose role has been well documented in recent years.
Alan Kendall, general manager at Snowdon Mountain Railway said:
“The books and other archived material really do provide a fascinating insight into events and who knows what we may be able to find out.
“We are hoping to trace the families and relatives of any of the people who signed the book, to help build a picture of life just before and just after the war.
If you are a relative of any of the visitors who are mentioned in the book, please contact Snowdon Mountain Railway by telephone on 01286 873489 or email info@snowdonrailway.co.uk
For more information visit www.snowdonrailway.co.uk or follow on Twitter @SnowdonMR