e the ceremony
was appointed to take place a large enclosure was railed out, at one end
of which was a pavilion for the accommodation of the ladies, which was
well filled. The parties had not long taken their allotted places before
Lady Vane came upon the ground, and was welcomed in a way that must have
been very gratifying to her, indeed it could not have been otherwise, for
it is generally admitted that a kinder-hearted lady does not exist in the
Principality, and she is most highly and deservedly popular, and well may
Earl Vane be proud of possessing such a wife. She was accompanied by
Lord Vane, and the young family, who appeared all thoroughly to enjoy the
occasion."

[Picture: The late EARL OF POWIS, a prominent supporter of some of the
earlier Montgomeryshire Railway Schemes; The late MR. DAVID HOWELL,
Secretary to the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway Co. from its
inauguration till its amalgamation in the consolidated Cambrian Railways
Co. in 1864]

After speeches by Lord and Lady Vane, her ladyship "having put on a pair
of gauntlets, which were presented by the Committee of Management,
proceeded to cut the first sod, which, having been deposited in the
barrow presented by Messrs. Davies and Savin, the contractors, was
wheeled to the end of the plank, after which Mrs. E. D. Jones, of
Trafeign, performed the same ceremony, and was followed by Lord Seaham,
and the other junior olive branches of the family. The bands played in
their best style, and the cheering was most deafening, and thus ended
this portion of the day's proceedings."

The subsequent proceedings were of a highly convivial nature, as befitted
so auspicious an occasion. There was a generous imbibing of "a bountiful
supply of Mr. Lloyd's prime port, sherry, etc.," and "a procession of
miners and quarrymen, more than 100 of whom dined at the house of Mrs.
Margaret Owen, the White Lion Inn, perhaps the most noted house in the
county for the excellence of its ale."

The work on this line was of a rather different nature to that on which
the contractors had been engaged on the Newtown and Llanidloes, and in
bringing the Oswestry and Newtown line to completion. Instead of
meandering, more or less, along river-side lowlands, the track had to be
carried uphill and down-dale over the shoulder of the Montgomeryshire
highlands, ascending to an altitude of 693 feet above sea level at
Talerddig top by a climb of 2