In Memorium – Vic Bradley (1938-2022).
Just before Christmas we learned of the death of Vic Bradley (Victor James Bradley) on 11th November. Detailed obituaries are in the railway press, but it is felt we should mark the passing of a good friend. Vic hailed from the Wirral and was a railway enthusiast from his years at grammar school. His interest soon took him on rail trips into North Wales and also widened into narrow gauge and industrial railways and he became a serious researcher and author in these topics. He held key roles within the Industrial Railway Society and Industrial Locomotive Society for many years.
We came to know Vic in 1970 after he had become manager of the Llanberis Lake Railway and he was restoring that Railway’s quarry Hunslets at the same time as we had begun work on restoring Irish Mail. The Llanberis Lake Railway occupied part of the former Gilfach Ddu workshops of the Dinorwic Quarry and the Railway had bought or inherited a quantity of Hunslet spare parts. Vic was a fantastic person, always helpful and, on our periodic visits to the Llanberis Lake Railway, would often dig out items such as injectors and other fittings to assist with the restoration of Irish Mail.
Vic was rightly proud of the railway he had created at Llanberis and we had many footplate trips on the line with him as well as having Irish Mail visit there once it was restored. In connection with the construction of the pumped-storage, electricity generation scheme at Dinorwic, a high voltage cable was laid alongside the Llanberis Lake Railway and it was used as a genuine industrial railway for some time in connection with these works. This was something Vic was very keen to show others and we had a number of interesting visits with him during this period to see the work in progress.
We will always be grateful for his friendship, enthusiasm, generosity and support.
(Dolbadarn of the Llanberis Lake Railway is behind Irish Mail.)
