Alfred Aslett and the Neath & Brecon Railway
Posted: Tue Jan 28, 2014 1:20 pm
I have received this enquiry from Mike Peascod, I wonder if anyone can help?
- Alfred Aslett, General Manager of the Cambrian Railways, served with a number of railways and his final position was with the Furness Railway and because of this, I am doing a monograph about him and his work.
I have read that Edward Watkins (of the MS&LR) took over as Chairman of the Neath & Brecon Railway and got Conacher, then the GM of the Cambrian Railways, to act as General Manager as well. How this came about is a mystery to me, but I was wondering if Aslett continued doing this job after the departure of Conacher. Is there anything in the N&BR records that would support this?
I have been asked if I would do a talk on Aslett for the Harrow Welsh Society, and the prospect fill me with a little dread, though I will use as the title “The Bustling Gentleman”, a term coined by Gasquoine in his ‘Story of the Cambrian Railways’ when he described his career as the “comparatively short but bustling reign of Mr. Aslett“. I will obviously focus on his career with the Cambrian but will also cover the rest of his career – another case of Cambrian to Cumbrian!