Ffestiniog Railway

Porthmadog, Gwynedd
Home of
the Ffestiniog Railway

The Ffestiniog Railway (in Welsh Rheilffordd Ffestiniog) is a narrow-gauge heritage railway, located in North West Wales. It is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Wales, as it weaves in and out of the Snowdonia National Park.

The railway is about 13.5 miles (21.5 km) long and runs from the harbour at Porthmadog to the slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog. The line travels through spectacular mountainous scenery and has a track gauge of . The first part of the line runs along "the Cob", which is the dyke of the Traeth Mawr "polder".

History

The railway company is properly known as the "Festiniog Railway Company" and this contemporary spelling (correct for the period) is still the official title of the company as defined by the Act (2 William IV cap.xlviii) that created the railway. It is the oldest surviving railway company in the world, having been founded by the Act of Parliament on 23 May 1832 with capital mostly raised in the Dublin area. Most British railways were amalgamated into four large groups in 1921, and then into British Railways in 1948, but the Festiniog Railway Company, in common with most narrow gauge railways, remained independent: in 1921 this was due to political influence, whereas in 1947 it was left out of British Railways because it was closed for traffic despite vigorous local lobbying for it to be included.

Slate-transporting period

The line was constructed between 1833 and 1836 to transport slate from the quarries around the inland town of Blaenau Ffestiniog to the coastal town of Porthmadog, where it was loaded onto ships. The railway was graded so that loaded wagons could be run by gravity downhill all the way from Blaenau Ffestiniog to the port. The empty wagons were hauled back up by horses, which travelled down in special 'dandy' wagons. There is good evidence for tourist passengers being carried as early as 1850, without the blessing of the Board of Trade. In October 1863 steam locomotives were introduced, to allow longer slate trains to be run, and this also enabled the official introduction of passenger trains in 1865: the Ffestiniog was the first narrow-gauge railway in Britain to carry passengers. In 1869 the line's first double Fairlie articulated locomotive was introduced, and these double-ended machines have since become one of the most widely recognised features of the railway.

By the 1920s the demand for slate as a roofing material dropped owing to the advent of newer materials and to the loss of the overseas trade in World War I. As a result, the railway suffered a gradual decline in traffic. In 1923, the FR was linked with the new Welsh Highland Railway (WHR), which went bankrupt in 1933, and the FR leased it. The WHR proved to be a financial liability and closed in 1937. Ordinary passenger services ceased on the FR on 15 September 1939, shortly after the outbreak of World War II. The workmen's passenger service ran for the last time on Saturday 16 September 1939 and slate traffic ceased on 1 August 1946, apart from the section from Duffws to the North Western yard through Blaenau Ffestiniog town centre, which was leased on 7 October 1946 to the quarry owners and provided the railway company, that retained the services of a resident manager at Porthmadog, with a small income throughout the moribund years.

The original Act of Parliament which permitted the building of the line made no provision for its closure or abandonment. Although the line had ceased functioning, the company could not dismantle the railway, so the track and infrastructure were left in place. However without any maintenance, it soon became overgrown and unusable.

Restoration

From 1949, various groups of rail enthusiasts attempted to revitalise the railway. Eventually, in 1954 a group of volunteers funded by Alan Pegler purchased the company to run it as a tourist attraction, and gradually restored the line to working order. This was not helped by a decision by the CEGB (Central Electricity Generating Board) in 1954 to build the Ffestiniog Pumped Storage Scheme, including the Tan y Grisiau reservoir (Llyn Ystradau), which flooded part of the northern end of the line. The Festiniog Railway Company was able to obtain compensation in 1972, after the second-longest legal battle in British legal history, having taken eighteen years and two months. Two years later, as a result of the case, the British Parliament passed the Land Occupancy Act 1973.

The work of restoration began on September 20 1954 when Morris Jones the foreman fitter who had last worked for the railway in March 1947 rejoined the staff to complete the rebuilding of the locomotive 'Prince' on which he had been engaged when the works closed. He was joined at Boston Lodge works by two volunteers. The first Passenger train from Porthmadog to Boston Lodge ran on July 23 1955. The passenger service was extended to Minffordd on May 19 1956, to Penrhyn on June 5 1957 and to Tan-y-Bwlch on April 5 1958. A long period of consolidation followed before the extension to Duallt on April 6 1968.

The Deviation

Between 1965 and 1978, a 'Deviation' route from Dduallt to Tanygrisiau (reopened on June 24 1978), including the only rail spiral in Britain and a tunnel, was built around the reservoir largely by volunteer labour. The through route to Blaenau Ffestiniog was completed in 1982; the group building this deviation were officially called the Civil Engineering Group, but were usually called the Deviationists. The new joint station with British Rail at Blaenau Ffestiniog was officially opened on April 30 1983 by George Thomas, Speaker of the House of Commons, who unveiled a plaque at the station recording his visit.

Welsh Highland Railway

In the late 1980s the Festiniog Railway Company was involved in a highly controversial plan to stop the neighbouring Welsh Highland Railway being rebuilt. The plan would have involved the Company buying the original track bed of the Welsh Highland Railway from the old company's receiver and giving it to Gwynedd County Council, as long as no railway-related developments were allowed on the land. This, and other actions, may have delayed the start of rebuilding of the Welsh Highland Railway by upto to 10 years.

From 1990 the Festiniog Railway Company has been totally committed to the reopening of the Welsh Highland Railway and following protracted legal procedures the first section from Caernarfon to Dinas was opened and operated by the FR on October 11 1997. Restoration to Waunfawr was completed in 2000 and to Rhyd Ddu in 2003. Reconstruction of the remaining section through to Porthmadog is in progress from both ends. In 2009 the Ffestiniog Railway intends to reconnect with the Welsh Highland Railway, comprising parts of the former London and North Western Railway (1867), North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway (1877-81), Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway and Welsh Highland (1922-3) Railway when the Rheilffordd Eryri (its Welsh name) is completed from Caernarfon to Porthmadog. The link would join the FR at Harbour Station, with the rebuilt WHR at Pen-y-Mount Station, north of Porthmadog.

Locomotives

For more detailed information on current and past locos, visit the Railways own Heritage Group Wikipedia

Where the name of the locomotive is linked, the link points to the person or place that the locomotive is named after.

These are the existing locomotives that are owned by or are permanently housed at the Ffestiniog Railway:-

Steam Locomotives

Number	Name	Wheel arrangement	Date built	Builder	Notes
1	Princess	0-4-0ST	1863	George England	Currently on static display at Porthmadog Harbour Station
2	Prince	0-4-0ST	1863	George England	In service
4	Palmerston	0-4-0ST	1864	George England	In service
5	Welsh Pony	0-4-0ST	1867	George England	Out of service, cosmetically restored to 1930s light blue livery.
10	Merddin Emrys	0-4-0+0-4-0T	1879	Boston Lodge	In service. The oldest operating Double Fairlie on the railway. Named after the 6th century Welsh poet Merddyn Emrys.
11	Livingston Thompson	0-4-0+0-4-0T	1886	Boston Lodge	Withdrawn and restored as a static display at the National Railway Museum in York.
-	Earl of Merioneth	0-4-0+0-4-0T	1979	Boston Lodge	In service. The first Double Fairlie built by the restored Ffestiniog Railway.
12	David Lloyd George	0-4-0+0-4-0T	1992	Boston Lodge	In service. The most recent Double Fairlie in the world.
9	Taliesin	0-4-4T	1876/1999	Vulcan Foundry/ Boston Lodge	In service. The railway's only Single Fairlie. The original 1876 locomotive was scrapped in the 1930s and a replica built in 1999 using a few parts from the original. Named after the 6th century Welsh poet Taliesin.
-	Blanche	2-4-0ST	1893	Hunslet Engine Co.	In service. Originally an 0-4-0ST running on the Penrhyn Quarry Railway, purchased by the Ffestiniog Railway in 1963.
-	Linda	2-4-0ST	1893	Hunslet Engine Co.	Under overhaul. Originally an 0-4-0ST running on the Penrhyn Quarry Railway, bought by the Ffestiniog Railway in 1962. Named after Linda Blanche Douglas-Pennant.
-	Mountaineer	2-6-2T	1917	ALCO	Withdrawn for overhaul. Built for the British Army's use in WWI, later ran on the Tramway Pithivers à Toury in France, purchased by the Ffestiniog Railway in 1967.
-	Britomart	0-4-0ST	1899	Hunslet Engine Co.	Withdrawn for overhaul. Originally built for Pen-yr-orsedd slate quarry at Nantlle. Bought by a private group in 1965 and runs occasional specials on the Ffestiniog Railway.
-	Lilla	0-4-0ST	1891	Hunslet Engine Co.	Withdrawn for overhaul. Originally built for the Cilgwyn Quarry tramway, later ran at Penrhyn Quarry. Purchased for private preservation in the 1960s and was purchased by a private consortium for the Ffestiniog Railway in the 1990s.
-	Lyd	2-6-2T	under construction	Boston Lodge	Replica of a Manning Wardle locomotive of the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway.

Diesel Locomotives

Name	Type	Built	Builder	Notes
Mary Ann	4wd	1917	Motor Rail	The first locomotive to work the revived Ffestiniog Railway in 1954. Built for British Army use in WWI and bought by the Ffestiniog Railway in 1923.
Moelwyn	2-4-0d	1918	Baldwin	Another ex-WWI locomotive, purchased by the Ffestiniog Railway in 1925.
Upnor Castle	4wd	1954	F.C. Hibberd	Built for the Chattenden and Upnor Railway to 2 ft 6 in gauge, bought from the Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway in 1968. Now sold to the Welsh Highland Railway.
Moel Hebog	4wd	1955	Hunslet Engine Co.	Originally built for the National Coal Board as a flameproof mines locomotive. Purchased in 1969 and mainly used for permanent way maintenance trains.
Conwy Castle	4wd	1958	F.C. Hibberd	Built for the Admiralty's line at Ernsettle, purchased in 1991. Now in use at the Welsh Highland Railway.
Ashover	4wd	1948	F.C. Hibberd	Built for the Ashover Light Railway and purchased by the Ffestiniog Railway in 1981.
Diana	4wd	1957	Motor Rail	Purchased by the Ffestiniog Railway in 1974.
The Colonel	4wd	1943	Motor Rail	Built for the St. Albans Sand and Gravel Company, purchased by Colonel Campbell of Dduallt Manor for his private use on the Ffestiniog Railway. Purchased by the railway in 1982.
Criccieth Castle	6wd	1995	Boston Lodge	Built by the railway from parts supplied by Baguley Drewry. Used on passenger services.
Harlech Castle	6wd	1983	Baguley Drewry	Built for service in Mozambique, but purchased by the Ffestiniog Railway in 1998 after the order was cancelled.
Harold	4wd	1979	Hunslet Engine Co.	Built for the railway at North Bierley sewage farm and bought by the Ffestiniog in the early 1990s.
Vale of Ffestiniog	B-Bd	1967	Funkey	Built for the South African Railways, purchased by the Ffestiniog Railway in 1996 and extensively rebuilt. Used for passenger services.

Stations and halts

Station	Place	Opened	Closed	Distance from Porthmadog	Notes
Porthmadog Harbour	Porthmadog	1865	Open	0
Pen Cob Halt	Boston Lodge	1956	1967	1 mile (1.61 km)	opened 19 May 1956 used regularly only until 5 November 1957.
Boston Lodge	Boston Lodge	1928	Open	1 mile 5 chains (1.71 km)	temporary terminus 23 July 1955 to end of 1955 season.
Minffordd	Minffordd (near Portmeirion)	1872	Open	2 miles 5 chains (3.31 km)	Joint station with the Cambrian Line. Temporary FR terminus 19 May 1956 to end of 1956 season.
Pen y Bryn Halt	Penrhyndeudraeth	1957	1967	3 miles (4.83 km)	opened 20 April 1957 used regularly only until 5 November 1957.
Penrhyn	Penrhyndeudraeth	1865	Open	3 miles 8 chains (4.99 km)	temporary terminus 20 April 1957 to 5 November 1957.
Rhiw Goch	Rhiw Goch	1836	Open	4 miles 16 chains (6.76 km)	Passing loop for horse-drawn trains until 1863 and for at least the next two years by steam trains. Re-instated as a passing loop for use by passenger trains in 1975.
Plas Private Station	Tan y Bwlch	1865	c. 1920	6 miles 2 chains (9.70 km)	used only by the Oakeley household at Plas Tan y Bwlch.
Plas Halt	Tan y Bwlch	1963	Open	6 miles 19 chains (10.04 km)	opened 31 May 1963.
Hafod y Llyn	Tan y Bwlch	1836	1873	?	used for passing slate trains until 1865 and as passenger station 1865 to 1873.
Tan-y-Bwlch	Tan y Bwlch	1873	Open	7 miles 35 chains (11.97 km)	temporary terminus 5 April 1958 to 5 April 1968.
Coed y Bleddiau	Coed y Bleddiau	1865?	Open	?	private platform serving Coed y Bleddiau cottage which is only accessible by rail or footpath.
Campbell's Platform	Y Dduallt	1968	Open	9 miles 7 chains (14.62 km)	Private halt serving Plas y Dduallt, a 15th Century Welsh Manor House.
Dduallt	Moel Dduallt	1880?	Open	9 miles 44 chains (15.37 km)	temporary terminus 6 April 1968 to 24 June 1978.
Gelliwiog	Moel Dduallt	1975	1978	?	temporary terminus of push-pull shuttle trains from Dduallt 26 May 1975 to 24 June 1978.
Tunnel South loop	Moelwyn Mawr	1842	c1865	?	used for passing horse drawn trains and early steam trains.
Tunnel Halt	Moelwyn Mawr	1920's?	1939	10 miles 60 chains (17.30 km)	at the northern end of the old Moelwyn tunnel.
Llyn Ystradau	Tanygrisiau reservoir	1977	1978	?	temporary terminus 25 June 1977 to 23 June 1978.
Tanygrisiau	Tanygrisiau	1866	Open	12 miles 10 chains (19.51 km)	temporary terminus 24 June 1978 to 24 May 1982.
Dinas	Blaenau Ffestiniog	1865	1870	13 miles 2 chains (20.96 km)	the original northern terminus opened 6 January 1865 until Duffws opened in 1866. Until closure in 1870, alternate trains continued to run to Dinas.
Blaenau Ffestiniog (LNWR)	Blaenau Ffestiniog	1881	1939	13 miles 2 chains (20.96 km)	‘Stesion Fein’ (narrow station) - transit station for LNWR/LMS
Blaenau Ffestiniog (GWR)	Blaenau Ffestiniog	1883	1939	13 miles 50 chains (21.93 km)	joint station with GWR. Terminus from 31 May 1931.
Duffws	Blaenau Ffestiniog	1866	1931	13 miles 75 chains (22.43 km)	alternate trains only ran to Duffws until 1870 when Dinas was closed to passengers.
Blaenau Ffestiniog	Blaenau Ffestiniog	1982	Open	13 miles 50 chains (21.93 km)	Joint station with British Rail (Conwy Valley Line) opened 25 May 1982.

References

Ove Arup & Partners; Report on a Rock Fall at Penlan, Ffestiniog Railway, 1979
E.Beazley; Madocks and the Wonder of Wales, 1967
R.F.Bleasdale; Spooner Album, 1887, also repub. with commentary by A. Gray, 2003
D.Blenkinsop; Linda & Blanche 1993
J.I.C.Boyd; Narrow Gauge Rails to Portmadoc, 1949
J.I.C.Boyd; On the Welsh Narrow Gauge, no date (1970s)
J.I.C.Boyd; The Festiniog Railway, 1959, revised edns 1965,1975
J.Buck; Didcovering Narrow Gauge Railways, 1972
D.J.Charlton; FR Spotter's Guide; 2001
C.F.Cliffe; Book of North Wales, 1850
W.J.K.Davies; Narrow Gauge Railways, 1962
R.Edwards & P.Moss (eds); Festiniog Railway Historic Drawings, 1997
R.F.Fairlie; Battle of the Gauges renewed, 1872
R.F.Fairlie; Locomotive Engines, what they are and what they should be, 1881, reprint 1969
Ffestiniog Railway Co.; Share prospectus, Traveller's Guides, Stock Books, Guide Books (about 40 in all), 1957-2005
Festiniog Railway Society; Newsletters 1954-7;
Ffestiniog Railway Society; FR Magazine, quarterly since 1958
A. Gray; The Spooner Album, 2003. See also Bleasdale.
N.F.Gurley; Narrow Gauge Steam out of Portmadoc, 1980
L.Heath-Humphrys; letter to Railway Gazette, 27 July 1951
G.T.Heavyside; Narrow Gauge into the 80s, 1980
B.Hollingsworth; Ffestiniog Adventure, 1981
F.H.Howson; Narrow Gauge Railways of Britain, 1948
P.N.Jarvis; Adeiladu Muriau Cerrig Sych - dry stone walling on the Ffestiniog Railway, 1993, revised edn 1995
P.Johnson; Ffestiniog Railway - a View from the Past, 1997
P.Johnson; Immortal Rails; the Story of the Closure and Revival of the Ffestiniog Railway 1939-1983 Vol.1 2004, 2004, ISBN 1-9000622-08-4 £35; Vol II 2005 ISBN 1-900622-09-2 £35. Rail Romances, Chester.
P.Johnson; Portrait of the Ffestiniog, 1992
P.Johnson; Welsh Narrow gauge; a view from the past, 1992
P.Johnson; Welsh Narrow Gauge in colour, 1992
P.Johnson & C.M.Whitehouse; Ffestiniog mewn lliw, 1995
J.R.Jones & A.Pritchard; Great Little Steam Railways of Wales, 1991
F.Jux; British Narrow gauge Steam, 1960
R.W.Kidner; Narrow Gauge Railways of Wales, 1947
M.Kington; Steaming through Britain, 1990
C.E.Lee; Narrow Gauge Railways in North Wales, 1945
M.J.T.Lewis; How Ffestiniog got its Railway, 1965, revised edn 1968
J.G.V.Mitchell & A.G.W.Garraway; Ffestiniog in the Fifties, 1997
J.G.V.Mitchell & A.G.W.Garraway; Ffestiniog in the Sixties, 1997
J.G.V.Mitchell & A.G.W.Garraway; Return to Blaenau 1970-82, 2001
J.C.V.Mitchell, Smith, Seymour, Gray; Branch lines around Porthmadog, 2 vols, 1993
F.H.Pole (ed); Welsh Mountain Railways, 1924, reprint 1985
J.D.C.A.Prideaux; Welsh Narrow Gauge Railway, 1976
P.J.G.Ransom; Narrow Gauge Steam, 1996
P.J.G. Ransom; Locomotion, 2001
A.Roberts; Gossiping Guide to North Wales, 1879 (the 5/- version is much superior to the 6d. edition)
L.J.Roberts; Festiniog & Welsh Highland Holiday book, 1923
H.R.Schwabe; Mit Volldampf nach Ffestiniog, 1978
C.E.Spooner; Narrow Gauge Railways, 1871, revised edn 1879
H.Stretton; Past & Present Companion; Ffestiniog Railway, 1998
M.J.Stretton; Festiniog Railway in Camera, 1971-1971, revised edn 1999
'Taliesin' (C.R.Weaver et al.); Festiniog Railway locomotives, 1988
J.Timpson; Little Trains of Britain, 1992
E.Vignes; Étude technique sur le chemin de fer Festiniog, 1878, English translation by Don Boreham 1986
F.T.Wayne; When Accounts become misleading Nonsense, Accountancy, Nov 1961
P.B.Whitehouse; Festiniog Railway Revival, 1963
P.B.Whitehouse; Welsh Narrow Gauge Album, 1969
P.B.Whitehouse & P.C.Allen; Round the World on Narrow Gauge, 1966
P.B.Whitehouse & P.C.Allen; Narrow Gauge the World over, 1976
C.Winchester & C.J.Allen,(eds.); Railway Wonders of the World, Vol 2, pp.1224-28. ca.1938.
J.Winton; Little Wonder, 1975, revised edn 1986

External links

Early British railway companies | Transport in Gwynedd | Narrow gauge railways | Visitor attractions in Wales | Rheilffordd Ffestiniog

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