Ffestiniog Railway
Encyclopedia
The Ffestiniog Railway is a narrow gauge heritage railway
, located in Gwynedd
, Wales
. It is a major tourist attraction
located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park.
The railway is roughly 13+1/2 mi long and runs from the harbour at Porthmadog
to the slate mining
town of Blaenau Ffestiniog
, travelling through forested and mountainous scenery. The line is single track throughout with four intermediate passing places. The track gauge
is allowing trains to interwork through to the Welsh Highland Railway
of 1922 (operated by the Ffestiniog). The first mile of the line out of Porthmadog runs atop an embankment locally called "the Cob", which is the dyke of the Traeth Mawr
"polder
".
), having been founded by the Act of Parliament
on 23 May 1832 with capital mostly raised in Dublin by Henry Archer
, the company's first secretary and managing director. Most British railways were amalgamated into four large groups in 1921 and then into British Rail
ways 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.
Various important developments in the Railway's early history were celebrated by the firing of rock cannon
at various points along the line. Cannon were fired, for instance, to mark the laying of the first stone at Creuau in 1832, the railway's opening in 1836, and the opening of the Moelwyn Tunnel in 1842. The passing of a later act for the railway also saw cannon celebrations but, on this occasion, a fitter at Boston Lodge, who was assisting with firing, lost the fingers of one hand in an accident.
from the quarries around the inland town
of Blaenau Ffestiniog to the coastal town of Porthmadog where it was loaded onto ship
s. 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 horse
s, which travelled down in special 'dandy'
wagons. To achieve this continuous grade (about 1 in 80 for much of the way), the line followed natural contours and employed cuttings and embankments
built of stone and slate blocks without mortar. Prior to the completion in 1844 of a long tunnel
through a spur in the Moelwyn Mountain
, the slate trains were worked over the top via inclines
(designed by Robert Stephenson
), the site of which can still be seen but there are no visible remnants.
Up to six trains daily were operated in each direction and a printed timetable was published on 16 September 1856 by Charles Easton Spooner
who, following his father, served as Manager and Clerk for 30 years. It shows departures from the "Quarry Terminus" (later referred to as Dinas) at 7:30, 9:28, 11:16, 1:14, 3:12 and 5:10. Trains waited ten minutes at the intermediate stations called Tunnel Halt, Hafod y Llyn and "Rhiw Goch". The fastest journey time from Quarry Terminus to Boston Lodge
was 1 hour 32 minutes, including three stops. From Boston Lodge, the slate wagons were hauled to and from Porthmadog harbour by horses. Up trains took nearly six hours from Boston Lodge to the Quarry Terminus and each train ran in up to four sections, each hauled by a horse and comprising eight empty slate wagons plus a horse dandy. This timetable gave a maximum annual capacity of 70,000 tons of dressed slate. Two brakesmen travelled on each down train, controlling the speed by the application of brakes as needed. At passing loops, trains passed on the right and this continues to be a feature of Ffestiniog Railway operation.
There is evidence for tourist passengers being carried as early as 1850 without the blessing of the Board of Trade
but these journeys would also observe the timetable.
Hafod y Llyn was replaced by Tan y Bwlch around 1872. Dinas Station and much of that branch is now all but buried. It was removed many years ago. Whilst these two place names existed in the past on the FR, they also existed on the Welsh Highland Railway
, albeit some 10 miles+ to the northwest of the originals.
s 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.
Down trains continued to run entirely by gravity but faster up journeys and longer trains increased line capacity. A new timetable dated October 1863 shows six departures daily from each terminus at two hour intervals, starting at 7:00 am and taking 1 hour 50 minutes including stops (totalling 20 minutes) at Tanygrisiau
, Hafod-y-Llyn and Penrhyn
. Trains passed only at Hafod-y-Llyn (from 1872 Tan-y-Bwlch
). When passenger services started, the usual practice was for locomotive-hauled up trains to consist of loaded general goods and mineral wagons, followed by passenger carriages, followed by empty slate wagons with brakesmen. Down trains were run in up to four separate (uncoupled) portions: loaded slate wagons, goods wagons, passenger carriages and, finally, the locomotive running light. This unusual and labour-intensive method of operation was short-lived and eventually the passenger and goods portions were combined into a single train headed by the locomotive.
The loaded slate trains continued to operate by gravity until the end of passenger services in 1939. Slate trains eventually became very long - trains of less than eighty slate wagons carried two brakesmen but over eighty wagons (and this became common) required three brakesmen. About one wagon in every six was equipped with a brake, the others being unbraked. Trains continued to pass at Tan-y-Bwlch and, to a lesser extent, at Minffordd. The Summer timetable for 1900 had nine trains daily in each direction and trains had been accelerated to one hour from Porthmadog to Duffws including stops at Minffordd
, Penrhyn, Tan-y-Bwlch, Dduallt
(request), Tanygrisiau, Blaenau (LNWR) and Blaenau (GWR). Speeds in excess of 40 mph (64.4 km/h) were then normal.
The original passenger coaches (some of which still survive) were small four-wheeled vehicles with a very low centre of gravity. In 1872, the FR introduced the first bogie
carriages to operate in Britain, Nos 15 and 16, which were also the first iron-framed bogie coaches in the world. The continuous vacuum brake
was installed in 1893. The line was fully signalled with electric telegraph and staff and ticket working. Electric Train Staff instruments were introduced in 1912 and they continue in use to the present day.
. As a result, the railway suffered a gradual decline in traffic.
In 1921, the Aluminium Corporation at Dolgarrog
in the Conwy Valley bought for £40,000 (£ as of ), a controlling interest in the FR and Henry Jack became Chairman, the FR company's financial administration moving to Dolgarrog. Jack was also chairman of the new Welsh Highland Railway
and was instrumental in getting government backing for its completion on the understanding that the FR and the WHR would be jointly managed from Porthmadog, with maintenance undertaken at Boston Lodge and with other economies of scale. In 1923, the FR line was joined to the WHR line at a station called "Portmadoc New". The Welsh Highland line was almost totally dependent on tourism which proved slow to develop, because firstly, of two slumps in the early 1920s and early 1930s; secondly, the rise of road traffic including 'charabancs'; thirdly the unreliability of the railway with its (even then) ancient carriages and increasingly decrepit locomotives.
To gain additional expertise in light railway operation which was being introduced on the FR and WHR to cut operating overheads, Colonel H. F. Stephens
was, in 1923, appointed part-time as Engineer to both companies. Stephens became Chairman and Managing Director of both companies in 1924. When the WHR was taken into receivership in 1927, Colonel Stephens was appointed as Receiver for the WHR and financial administration of both companies moved to Tonbridge
in Kent
. The fortunes of the WHR, despite great efforts, failed to improve and it became bankrupt in 1933. In order to protect their investments, the joint owners of both companies arranged for the WHR to be leased by the FR but the WHR losses continued with the loss of the Moel Tryfan slate traffic in 1935 so it closed to passengers at the end of the 1936 season and to goods in 1937.
The FR continued to operate its slate traffic, a workmen's train on weekdays throughout the year and a summer tourist passenger service. 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. Slate trains were from then onwards operated three days each week but gravity operation was discontinued. 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. This provided the railway company, which 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 specific provision for its closure or abandonment
. Although the main line had ceased functioning, the company could not dismantle the railway, so the track and infrastructure were left in place. Another Act of Parliament could have been sought to cancel the old one but the Company did not have the money for such an action. However, without maintenance, it soon became overgrown and unusable.
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 Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) in 1954 to build the Ffestiniog Pumped Storage Scheme
, including the creation of Tanygrisiau 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 Compensation Act 1973.
On 18 August 1954, prior to commencing the restoration, in an inspection, the first of many, Colonel McMullen of the Ministry of Transport, Railways Inspectorate
, accompanied by Alan Pegler, several directors and other supporters, walked the line from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog. The work of restoration began on 20 September 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, Bill Harvey and Allan Garraway. The completion of sixty years service with the FR by Robert Evans (for almost 25 years as Manager) was marked on 6 November 1954 and a special train was run (with difficulty) from Minffordd to Porthmadog to celebrate the occasion and convey Mr Evans, his wife, Alan Pegler (Company Chairman) and guests en route to a clock presentation ceremony. Mr Evans continued in service as Manager until his retirement on 1 June 1955 when Allan Garraway was appointed as Manager.
The first public passenger train from Porthmadog
to Boston Lodge ran on 23 July 1955. Prince returned to service on 3 August 1955 and, following extensive boiler repairs, Taliesin, then the latest of the FR Fairlie
articulated engines, returned to service on 4 September 1956. The passenger service was extended to Minffordd
on 19 May 1956, to Penrhyn
on 5 June 1957 and to Tan-y-Bwlch
on 5 April 1958. Increasing traffic was putting severe demands on the track - over 7 miles (11 km) had been reopened in four years. A long period of consolidation, rolling stock restoration and track renewal followed before the extension to Dduallt
on 6 April 1968. Extension to Dduallt was celebrated on 28 May 1968 by the re-introduction of the Ffestiniog Railway Letter Service
.
Between 1965 and 1978, the Ffestiniog Railway Deviation, a 2+1/2 mi long diversionary route was constructed between Dduallt and Tanygrisiau in order to avoid the works of Tanygrisiau hydro-electric
power station and its reservoir (Llyn Ystradau). The Deviation (this is the conventional name for such railway works) was built mostly by volunteers. At the southern end is the spectacular Dduallt spiral formation
(unique on a public railway in the United Kingdom). It was constructed with its bridge entirely by volunteers and gains an initial height rise of 35 feet (10.7 m) in order (after a further mile of new volunteer built railway and a new tunnel) to clear the flooded track bed north of the former Moelwyn tunnel, which is plugged near its normally submerged northern end. Parts of the trackless former route can be clearly seen below the new route between Dduallt and the old tunnel.
The new 310 yards (283.5 m) long tunnel was constructed between 1975 and 1977 by three Cornish
tin mining engineers with a small team of employees. It had to be blasted through a granite
spur of the Moelwyn mountain. The tunnel plant included stone crushing and grading plant to produce track ballast
and other aggregates from the spoil for use on the railway. Following completion, the new tunnel first had to be lined throughout its length with liquid cement reinforced with steel mesh in a process called 'shotcreting
'.
A pull and push
service, officially called The Shuttle and powered by diesel locomotive Moel Hebog with carriage 110, was operated from Dduallt to Gelliwiog from 26 May 1975, during two summers, to enable tourists to experience the Deviation route in advance of the opening of the new Moelwyn Tunnel.
North of the new tunnel is a long stretch along the west bank of the new reservoir. Full-length passenger trains first ran from Dduallt through the new tunnel to a temporary terminus known as 'Llyn Ystradau (now dismantled) on 25 June 1977. This station was alongside the Tanygrisiau reservoir but passengers could not leave the station other than by train as it was on Central Electricity Generating Board land without public access.
The remaining section included some specialised engineering work at its summit where the new line passes over the power station pipelines. This was followed by two public road crossings with automatic signalling, during a fall in height to rejoin the old route in Tanygrisiau
station, which was reopened on 24 June 1978.
The largely volunteer group building the Deviation was officially called the Civil Engineering Group but its members were popularly known (and are still remembered) as the Deviationists who completed an enormous task over 13 years.
The completion of the railway through to Tanygrisiau left the FR with just one and a half miles to go to its goal of Blaenau Ffestiniog but the complexities of reconstructing that unique but very derelict urban section of narrow gauge railway took a further four years. As well as 1½ miles (2.4 km) of new track and its formation, which was the responsibility of the FR permanent way department and its volunteers, much other work needed to be done. Most of the work, like the deviation itself, was undertaken by volunteers who, in many cases, assumed full responsibility for the design as well as the execution of discrete projects, each under a volunteer project leader. There were four decrepit footbridges each needing to be demolished and rebuilt to the new FR loading gauge
. The primitive railway bridge across the Afon Barlwyd required total replacement but in similar form. Walls and fences throughout had to be repaired or replaced. These and the many other varied tasks formed Project Blaenau.
One major task near Tanygrisiau was the responsibility of Gwynedd County Council, which had at some time after 1955 taken advantage of the absence of trains to demolish what was probably Britain's lowest road under railway bridge. In early 1980, therefore, they replaced Dolrhedyn bridge and even managed to give it a few inches extra headroom for road vehicles.
Civil engineering contractors were employed in conjunction with British Rail
and Gwynedd County Council for the new route with its bridges and roadworks and the new joint station on the former Great Western Railway
station site. British Rail commenced using the new station on 22 March 1982. Ffestiniog trains returned to Blaenau on Tuesday, 25 May 1982, thus marking the 150th Anniversary of Royal Assent to the Festiniog Railway Act of 1832. The new joint station with British Rail
at Blaenau Ffestiniog
was officially opened on 30 April 1983 by George Thomas
, Speaker of the House of Commons
, who unveiled a plaque that records his visit.
With the major project of track restoration to Blaenau finally complete, attention could be turned to other matters. More Fairlie
locomotives were built or restored and new carriages were built. At Minffordd, a new hostel was built for volunteers who support the permanent staff by working in every department of the railway. Stations were given new buildings, canopies and platforms, often replacing the previous temporary structures and improving the image of the railway for the future.
This action may have delayed the start of rebuilding of the Welsh Highland Railway, although the alternative plan was dependent on the continued co-operation of Gwynedd County Council to ensure that the track bed was used solely for railway purposes. This was not guaranteed, as pressure from various groups who objected to the rebuilding of the railway was significant and it was the stated intention of the council to apply for an abandonment order on gaining the track bed. This would have left the track bed open for use in other ways such as footpaths, road improvement schemes etc., as the statutory designation of the track bed as a railway would have been discontinued. Over the years, the presence of plans for footpaths and roads had indeed made it difficult for anyone wishing to rebuild the line.
This led a group to form called 'Trackbed Consolidation Limited' (TCL) and, after some detective work, TCL managed to trace and purchase shares and debentures in the original WHR company. They felt that an alternative plan was available, one where the original company could be brought out of receivership. It was originally the intent of TCL to provide the track bed to the WHR (1964) Company to rebuild the line.
TCL were introduced to the FR and decided that the aims and objectives of TCL and the FR were similar thus, since 1990, the FR company has been totally committed to the reopening of the Welsh Highland Railway
. All TCL-owned shares/debentures were transferred to the FR.
The next few years were marked by protracted legal procedures before the assets of the old company could be transferred and before final consent to rebuild the railway was given. The first section from Caernarfon
to Dinas
was opened and operated by the FR on 11 October 1997. This section was not hampered by these extended legal procedures and was built as a Light Railway Order, as it was not part of the original Welsh Highland Railway route and the site of Dinas station had been sold off and thus was not part of the assets of the old WHR company. Restoration to Waunfawr
was completed in 2000 and to Rhyd Ddu
in 2003. Hafod y Llyn
was reached in 2009, and Pont Croesor
in 2010. By 2010, the tracks of the WHR and Ffestiniog Railway had been reconnected at Harbour Station, linking Caernarfon
to Porthmadog
, and passenger services started in 2011.
The completed Welsh Highland Railway or Rheilffordd Eryri (its Welsh name) comprises parts of the former London and North Western Railway
(1867), North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways
(1877–81), Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway
and Welsh Highland (1922-3) Railway. The FR also links with the WHR (Porthmadog) at Pen-y-Mount Station, north of Porthmadog.
Since restoration commenced in 1954, tourism has been the only significant source of income. The role of the Ffestiniog Railway in the promotion and fulfilment of tourism and in preserving railway heritage has been recognised many times, and notable mentions have included:
Recognition of the railway’s importance to tourism and heritage has been increasingly marked by financial assistance given to the company towards capital expenditure. Prior to September 1987, the FR had received £1,273,127 in gifts and grants. Of this: £450,476 was Gifts from the FR Society and FR Trust and other supporters; £379,335 from Wales Tourist Board; £134,320 from EEC Grants and £308,996 from other public sources.
Major grants received subsequently have been: In 1989 a grant of £430,000 (£ as of ), mainly from The EEC (National Programme of Community Interest for the promoting of tourism in Dyfed, Gwynedd and Powys); in 1995 a grant of £500,000 (£ as of ), to promote work in Blaenau Ffestiniog
and in 1998 a Heritage Lottery Fund
grant of £375,000 (£ as of ), for the construction of workshops to facilitate the restoration of historic vehicles.
Today the railway is promoted as one of The Great Little Trains of Wales, a joint marketing scheme launched in 1970 that encompasses ten narrow gauge railways in the country, mostly found in north and mid Wales.
passenger trains from 1923 to 1936. The line over the bridge was last used in 1958, and then dismantled. It was reopened as part of the WHR in 2011.
"polder
". The Cob was built between 1807 and 1811 by William Madocks
and, in addition to its land reclamation function in conjunction with sluice gates at the Britannia bridge, it serves also as a roadway (which, since 1836, has been at a lower level on the landward side) and as a bridge across the Afon Glaslyn. Tolls were charged with a tollgate at Boston Lodge
until 2003, when the rights were purchased by the National Assembly for Wales
. The higher, original, section of the Cob carries, in addition to the railway, a public footpath throughout virtually its entire length. There is no fencing between the footpath and the railway.
As of the 1988 season, in part due to the challenges in maintenance of the top end points at Dduallt and the planned automation of Minffordd, Dduallt and Rhiw Goch were taken out of service for crossing trains. At the end of May 1988, Dduallt ceased to be a token station and Dduallt loop was taken out of service altogether and became a siding. Rhiw Goch ceased to be used except on odd occasions and was taken out of use as a means to cross passenger trains in 1989. The short section token instruments and the signal heads were removed, although the loop could still be used as a refuge for Engineers' trains.
In the late 1990s, Rhiw Goch was recommissioned as a passing loop. From the 2005 season, the box has been regularly manned during the summer to provide additional operational flexibility. In 2006, an appeal was launched, through the FR Society, for funds to replace the life-expired signal box with a building of more traditional appearance. Fundraising has gone well and work was completed during the closed season of 2006/7.
Elsewhere, Tanygrisiau had been provided with a run-round loop whilst it had been the terminus between June 1978 and May 1982. This loop was removed when the line was re-opened to Blaenau Ffestiniog. In the mid-1990s, a project was launched to install a fully signalled passing loop. This proceeded as a volunteer project, including the building of a signal box. However, prior to commissioning, the project was abandoned in 2001. The trackwork (apart for the siding off the Up Loop) remained in situ. In June 2002, the loop was once again used to run trains around as part of the 2002 Gala to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the restoration of services to Blaenau Ffestiniog. The intended platform starter signals (posts, brackets and arms) have been recovered and are now in use on the Isle of Man Railway. In 2004, with new disc starter signals and spring-loaded points installed, Tanygrisiau became a passing loop for the first time.
System (ETS) using a mixture of miniature and large train staffs, under the overall control of the Duty Controller based at Porthmadog
.
Miniature train staffs are provided for:-
Large train staffs are provided for:-
The Short Section train staffs are brought into service by opening Rhiw Goch Signalbox, hence trapping the Minffordd to Tanybwlch Long Section Miniature train staff in the lever frame, when the signal box is opened and manned by a signalman.
The signalling and ETS equipment is primarily designed for train crew operation. To obtain permission to withdraw a train staff to enter a single line section, Control has to be contacted.
The Control Office regulates train running, giving permission for trains to enter the single line sections, recording train movements on the Train Graph, ensuring trains are formed of an appropriate number of carriages (depending on the expected train loadings), acting as the single point of contact in the rare event of a failure occurring with rolling stock, and making station announcements at Porthmadog
The Control Office is also responsible for the Train Operation on the Welsh Highland Railway
and it also regulates trains from the Welsh Highland Railway Limited, when they require access to the main Caernarfon to Porthmadog line.
Heritage railway
thumb|right|the Historical [[Khyber train safari|Khyber Railway]] goes through the [[Khyber Pass]], [[Pakistan]]A heritage railway , preserved railway , tourist railway , or tourist railroad is a railway that is run as a tourist attraction, in some cases by volunteers, and...
, located in Gwynedd
Gwynedd
Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
. It is a major tourist attraction
Tourist attraction
A tourist attraction is a place of interest where tourists visit, typically for its inherent or exhibited cultural value, historical significance, natural or built beauty, or amusement opportunities....
located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park.
The railway is roughly 13+1/2 mi long and runs from the harbour at Porthmadog
Porthmadog
Porthmadog , known locally as "Port", and historically rendered into English as Portmadoc, is a small coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd, in Wales. Prior to the Local Government Act 1972 it was in the administrative county of Caernarfonshire. The town lies east of...
to the slate mining
Slate industry in Wales
The slate industry in Wales began during the Roman period when slate was used to roof the fort at Segontium, now Caernarfon. The slate industry grew slowly until the early 18th century, then expanded rapidly until the late 19th century, at which time the most important slate producing areas were in...
town of Blaenau Ffestiniog
Blaenau Ffestiniog
Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It has a population of 5,000, including Llan Ffestiniog, which makes it the third largest town in Gwynedd, behind Caernarfon & Porthmadog. Although the population reached 12,000 at the peak of the slate industry, the population fell due to...
, travelling through forested and mountainous scenery. The line is single track throughout with four intermediate passing places. The track gauge
Rail gauge
Track gauge or rail gauge is the distance between the inner sides of the heads of the two load bearing rails that make up a single railway line. Sixty percent of the world's railways use a standard gauge of . Wider gauges are called broad gauge; smaller gauges, narrow gauge. Break-of-gauge refers...
is allowing trains to interwork through to the Welsh Highland Railway
Welsh Highland Railway
The Welsh Highland Railway is a long restored narrow gauge heritage railway in North Wales, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations including Beddgelert and the Aberglaslyn Pass. At Porthmadog it connects with the Ffestiniog Railway...
of 1922 (operated by the Ffestiniog). The first mile of the line out of Porthmadog runs atop an embankment locally called "the Cob", which is the dyke of the Traeth Mawr
Traeth Mawr
The Traeth Mawr is a polder near Porthmadog in Gwynedd in Wales. It was formerly the tidal estuary of the Afon Glaslyn, and many travellers sank in its quicksands trying to cross it. Much of it is between high mountains...
"polder
Polder
A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...
".
History
The railway company is properly known as the "Festiniog Railway Company" and this anglicised contemporary spelling is 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 (although not the oldest working - a record which goes to the Middleton RailwayMiddleton Railway
The Middleton Railway is the world's oldest continuously working railway. It was founded in 1758 and is now a heritage railway run by volunteers from The Middleton Railway Trust Ltd...
), having been founded by the Act of Parliament
Act of Parliament
An Act of Parliament is a statute enacted as primary legislation by a national or sub-national parliament. In the Republic of Ireland the term Act of the Oireachtas is used, and in the United States the term Act of Congress is used.In Commonwealth countries, the term is used both in a narrow...
on 23 May 1832 with capital mostly raised in Dublin by Henry Archer
Henry Archer
Henry Archer was the son of an Irish landowner and was educated at Trinity College, Dublin. He was called to the Irish Bar and spent most of his time between North Wales and London.- Ffestiniog Railway :...
, the company's first secretary and managing director. Most British railways were amalgamated into four large groups in 1921 and then into British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
ways 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.
Various important developments in the Railway's early history were celebrated by the firing of rock cannon
Rock cannon
A rock cannon, also known in Welsh as a cerrig cannan, craig cannan, or in the 19th century, craig fagnel , is a rock or boulder which has been bored with holes which can be partly loaded with black powder and ignited to make explosive sounds during traditional celebrations...
at various points along the line. Cannon were fired, for instance, to mark the laying of the first stone at Creuau in 1832, the railway's opening in 1836, and the opening of the Moelwyn Tunnel in 1842. The passing of a later act for the railway also saw cannon celebrations but, on this occasion, a fitter at Boston Lodge, who was assisting with firing, lost the fingers of one hand in an accident.
Horse and gravity operation
The line was constructed between 1833 and 1836 to transport slateSlate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. The result is a foliated rock in which the foliation may not correspond to the original sedimentary layering...
from the quarries around the inland town
Town
A town is a human settlement larger than a village but smaller than a city. The size a settlement must be in order to be called a "town" varies considerably in different parts of the world, so that, for example, many American "small towns" seem to British people to be no more than villages, while...
of Blaenau Ffestiniog to the coastal town of Porthmadog where it was loaded onto ship
Ship
Since the end of the age of sail a ship has been any large buoyant marine vessel. Ships are generally distinguished from boats based on size and cargo or passenger capacity. Ships are used on lakes, seas, and rivers for a variety of activities, such as the transport of people or goods, fishing,...
s. 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 horse
Horse
The horse is one of two extant subspecies of Equus ferus, or the wild horse. It is a single-hooved mammal belonging to the taxonomic family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today...
s, which travelled down in special 'dandy'
Dandy waggon
The dandy waggon is a type of railroad car used to carry horses on gravity trains. They are particularly associated with the narrow gauge Festiniog Railway in Wales where they were used between 1836 and 1863.- The challenge :...
wagons. To achieve this continuous grade (about 1 in 80 for much of the way), the line followed natural contours and employed cuttings and embankments
Embankment (transportation)
To keep a road or railway line straight or flat, and where the comparative cost or practicality of alternate solutions is prohibitive, the land over which the road or rail line will travel is built up to form an embankment. An embankment is therefore in some sense the opposite of a cutting, and...
built of stone and slate blocks without mortar. Prior to the completion in 1844 of a long tunnel
Tunnel
A tunnel is an underground passageway, completely enclosed except for openings for egress, commonly at each end.A tunnel may be for foot or vehicular road traffic, for rail traffic, or for a canal. Some tunnels are aqueducts to supply water for consumption or for hydroelectric stations or are sewers...
through a spur in the Moelwyn Mountain
Moelwyn Bach
Moelwyn Bach is a mountain in Snowdonia, North Wales and forms part of the Moelwynion. It is connected to its parent peak Moelwyn Mawr via the Craigysgafn ridge.It overlooks the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog and the Vale of Ffestiniog.-External links:*...
, the slate trains were worked over the top via inclines
Cable railway
A cable railway is a steeply graded railway that uses a cable or rope to haul trains.-Introduction:...
(designed by Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson
Robert Stephenson FRS was an English civil engineer. He was the only son of George Stephenson, the famed locomotive builder and railway engineer; many of the achievements popularly credited to his father were actually the joint efforts of father and son.-Early life :He was born on the 16th of...
), the site of which can still be seen but there are no visible remnants.
Up to six trains daily were operated in each direction and a printed timetable was published on 16 September 1856 by Charles Easton Spooner
The Spooners of Porthmadog
The Spooners of Porthmadog refers to the Spooner family of Porthmadog, North Wales who made important contributions to the development of narrow gauge railways both locally and throughout the world. James Spooner, together with his sons James Swinton and Charles Easton and other members of their...
who, following his father, served as Manager and Clerk for 30 years. It shows departures from the "Quarry Terminus" (later referred to as Dinas) at 7:30, 9:28, 11:16, 1:14, 3:12 and 5:10. Trains waited ten minutes at the intermediate stations called Tunnel Halt, Hafod y Llyn and "Rhiw Goch". The fastest journey time from Quarry Terminus to Boston Lodge
Boston Lodge
This article is about the locomotive works. For the station see Boston Lodge Halt.Boston Lodge is situated at Penrhyn Isa, Minffordd, Penrhyndeudraeth, on the A487 road about 1 mile SE across the Afon Glaslyn causeway from Porthmadog, Gwynedd in north-west Wales.It has a station on the Ffestiniog...
was 1 hour 32 minutes, including three stops. From Boston Lodge, the slate wagons were hauled to and from Porthmadog harbour by horses. Up trains took nearly six hours from Boston Lodge to the Quarry Terminus and each train ran in up to four sections, each hauled by a horse and comprising eight empty slate wagons plus a horse dandy. This timetable gave a maximum annual capacity of 70,000 tons of dressed slate. Two brakesmen travelled on each down train, controlling the speed by the application of brakes as needed. At passing loops, trains passed on the right and this continues to be a feature of Ffestiniog Railway operation.
There is evidence for tourist passengers being carried as early as 1850 without the blessing of the Board of Trade
Board of Trade
The Board of Trade is a committee of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, originating as a committee of inquiry in the 17th century and evolving gradually into a government department with a diverse range of functions...
but these journeys would also observe the timetable.
Hafod y Llyn was replaced by Tan y Bwlch around 1872. Dinas Station and much of that branch is now all but buried. It was removed many years ago. Whilst these two place names existed in the past on the FR, they also existed on the Welsh Highland Railway
Welsh Highland Railway
The Welsh Highland Railway is a long restored narrow gauge heritage railway in North Wales, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations including Beddgelert and the Aberglaslyn Pass. At Porthmadog it connects with the Ffestiniog Railway...
, albeit some 10 miles+ to the northwest of the originals.
Police force
The railway employed just one police officer. Board of Trade returns for 1884 show a police inspector was based at the company's head office.Steam and gravity operation
In October 1863, steam locomotiveSteam locomotive
A steam locomotive is a railway locomotive that produces its power through a steam engine. These locomotives are fueled by burning some combustible material, usually coal, wood or oil, to produce steam in a boiler, which drives the steam engine...
s 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
Fairlie
A Fairlie is a type of articulated steam locomotive that has the driving wheels on bogies. The locomotive may be double-ended or single ended...
articulated locomotive
Articulated locomotive
Articulated locomotive usually means a steam locomotive with one or more engine units which can move independent of the main frame. This is done to allow a longer locomotive to negotiate tighter curves...
was introduced and these double-ended machines have since become one of the most widely recognised features of the railway.
Down trains continued to run entirely by gravity but faster up journeys and longer trains increased line capacity. A new timetable dated October 1863 shows six departures daily from each terminus at two hour intervals, starting at 7:00 am and taking 1 hour 50 minutes including stops (totalling 20 minutes) at Tanygrisiau
Tanygrisiau railway station
Tanygrisiau station is a passenger station on the narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway, which was built in 1836 to carry dressed slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog for export by sea....
, Hafod-y-Llyn and Penrhyn
Penrhyn railway station
Penrhyn station on the Ffestiniog Railway is located on a restricted site at Pen-y-Bwlch above the town of Penrhyndeudraeth ....
. Trains passed only at Hafod-y-Llyn (from 1872 Tan-y-Bwlch
Tan-y-Bwlch railway station
Tan-y-Bwlch station is the principal intermediate passenger station on the narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway, which was built in 1836 to carry dressed slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog for export by sea...
). When passenger services started, the usual practice was for locomotive-hauled up trains to consist of loaded general goods and mineral wagons, followed by passenger carriages, followed by empty slate wagons with brakesmen. Down trains were run in up to four separate (uncoupled) portions: loaded slate wagons, goods wagons, passenger carriages and, finally, the locomotive running light. This unusual and labour-intensive method of operation was short-lived and eventually the passenger and goods portions were combined into a single train headed by the locomotive.
The loaded slate trains continued to operate by gravity until the end of passenger services in 1939. Slate trains eventually became very long - trains of less than eighty slate wagons carried two brakesmen but over eighty wagons (and this became common) required three brakesmen. About one wagon in every six was equipped with a brake, the others being unbraked. Trains continued to pass at Tan-y-Bwlch and, to a lesser extent, at Minffordd. The Summer timetable for 1900 had nine trains daily in each direction and trains had been accelerated to one hour from Porthmadog to Duffws including stops at Minffordd
Minffordd railway station
Minffordd station, is actually two adjacent stations operated entirely independently of each other...
, Penrhyn, Tan-y-Bwlch, Dduallt
Dduallt railway station
Dduallt station is a passenger station on the narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway in northwest Wales, which was built in 1836 to carry dressed slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog for export by sea....
(request), Tanygrisiau, Blaenau (LNWR) and Blaenau (GWR). Speeds in excess of 40 mph (64.4 km/h) were then normal.
The original passenger coaches (some of which still survive) were small four-wheeled vehicles with a very low centre of gravity. In 1872, the FR introduced the first bogie
Bogie
A bogie is a wheeled wagon or trolley. In mechanics terms, a bogie is a chassis or framework carrying wheels, attached to a vehicle. It can be fixed in place, as on a cargo truck, mounted on a swivel, as on a railway carriage/car or locomotive, or sprung as in the suspension of a caterpillar...
carriages to operate in Britain, Nos 15 and 16, which were also the first iron-framed bogie coaches in the world. The continuous vacuum brake
Vacuum brake
The vacuum brake is a braking system employed on trains and introduced in the mid-1860s. A variant, the automatic vacuum brake system, became almost universal in British train equipment and in those countries influenced by British practice. Vacuum brakes also enjoyed a brief period of adoption in...
was installed in 1893. The line was fully signalled with electric telegraph and staff and ticket working. Electric Train Staff instruments were introduced in 1912 and they continue in use to the present day.
Decline of slate and development of tourism
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 during World War IWorld War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. As a result, the railway suffered a gradual decline in traffic.
In 1921, the Aluminium Corporation at Dolgarrog
Dolgarrog
Dolgarrog is a small village in the Conwy County Borough in North Wales situated between Llanrwst and Conwy, very close to the Conwy River. The village is well known for its industrial history since the 18th century and the Eigiau dam disaster, which occurred in 1925...
in the Conwy Valley bought for £40,000 (£ as of ), a controlling interest in the FR and Henry Jack became Chairman, the FR company's financial administration moving to Dolgarrog. Jack was also chairman of the new Welsh Highland Railway
Welsh Highland Railway
The Welsh Highland Railway is a long restored narrow gauge heritage railway in North Wales, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations including Beddgelert and the Aberglaslyn Pass. At Porthmadog it connects with the Ffestiniog Railway...
and was instrumental in getting government backing for its completion on the understanding that the FR and the WHR would be jointly managed from Porthmadog, with maintenance undertaken at Boston Lodge and with other economies of scale. In 1923, the FR line was joined to the WHR line at a station called "Portmadoc New". The Welsh Highland line was almost totally dependent on tourism which proved slow to develop, because firstly, of two slumps in the early 1920s and early 1930s; secondly, the rise of road traffic including 'charabancs'; thirdly the unreliability of the railway with its (even then) ancient carriages and increasingly decrepit locomotives.
To gain additional expertise in light railway operation which was being introduced on the FR and WHR to cut operating overheads, Colonel H. F. Stephens
H. F. Stephens
Colonel Holman Fred Stephens was a British light railway civil engineer and manager. During his lifetime he was engaged in engineering and building, and later managing, 16 light railways in England and Wales.- Biography :...
was, in 1923, appointed part-time as Engineer to both companies. Stephens became Chairman and Managing Director of both companies in 1924. When the WHR was taken into receivership in 1927, Colonel Stephens was appointed as Receiver for the WHR and financial administration of both companies moved to Tonbridge
Tonbridge
Tonbridge is a market town in the English county of Kent, with a population of 30,340 in 2007. It is located on the River Medway, approximately 4 miles north of Tunbridge Wells, 12 miles south west of Maidstone and 29 miles south east of London...
in Kent
Kent
Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...
. The fortunes of the WHR, despite great efforts, failed to improve and it became bankrupt in 1933. In order to protect their investments, the joint owners of both companies arranged for the WHR to be leased by the FR but the WHR losses continued with the loss of the Moel Tryfan slate traffic in 1935 so it closed to passengers at the end of the 1936 season and to goods in 1937.
The FR continued to operate its slate traffic, a workmen's train on weekdays throughout the year and a summer tourist passenger service. Ordinary passenger services ceased on the FR on 15 September 1939, shortly after the outbreak of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. The workmen's passenger service ran for the last time on Saturday, 16 September 1939. Slate trains were from then onwards operated three days each week but gravity operation was discontinued. 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. This provided the railway company, which 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 specific provision for its closure or abandonment
Abandonment
The term abandonment has a multitude of uses, legal and extra-legal. This "signpost article" provides a guide to the various legal and quasi-legal uses of the word and includes links to articles that deal with each of the distinct concepts at greater length...
. Although the main line had ceased functioning, the company could not dismantle the railway, so the track and infrastructure were left in place. Another Act of Parliament could have been sought to cancel the old one but the Company did not have the money for such an action. However, without maintenance, it soon became overgrown and unusable.
Restoration
From 1949, various groups of rail enthusiasts attempted to revitalise the railway. Eventually, on 24 June 1954, a group of volunteers funded by Alan PeglerAlan Pegler
Alan Francis Pegler OBE FRSA is a British railway preservationist, best known for saving LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman and his involvement with the Ffestiniog Railway. He was awarded an OBE in the 2006 New Years Honours list. He is a Member of Jesus College, Cambridge, 1938.-Notes:...
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 Central Electricity Generating Board (CEGB) in 1954 to build the Ffestiniog Pumped Storage Scheme
Ffestiniog power station
The Ffestiniog Power Station is a 360 MW pumped-storage hydroelectricity scheme near Ffestiniog, in Gwynedd, north-west Wales, United Kingdom. The power station at the lower reservoir has four water turbines, which can generate 360 megawatts of electricity within 60 seconds of the need arising. ...
, including the creation of Tanygrisiau 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
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
passed the Land Compensation Act 1973.
On 18 August 1954, prior to commencing the restoration, in an inspection, the first of many, Colonel McMullen of the Ministry of Transport, Railways Inspectorate
Department for Transport
In the United Kingdom, the Department for Transport is the government department responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland which are not devolved...
, accompanied by Alan Pegler, several directors and other supporters, walked the line from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog. The work of restoration began on 20 September 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
Boston Lodge
This article is about the locomotive works. For the station see Boston Lodge Halt.Boston Lodge is situated at Penrhyn Isa, Minffordd, Penrhyndeudraeth, on the A487 road about 1 mile SE across the Afon Glaslyn causeway from Porthmadog, Gwynedd in north-west Wales.It has a station on the Ffestiniog...
works by two volunteers, Bill Harvey and Allan Garraway. The completion of sixty years service with the FR by Robert Evans (for almost 25 years as Manager) was marked on 6 November 1954 and a special train was run (with difficulty) from Minffordd to Porthmadog to celebrate the occasion and convey Mr Evans, his wife, Alan Pegler (Company Chairman) and guests en route to a clock presentation ceremony. Mr Evans continued in service as Manager until his retirement on 1 June 1955 when Allan Garraway was appointed as Manager.
The first public passenger train from Porthmadog
Porthmadog Harbour railway station
Porthmadog Harbour station in North Wales is the southern passenger terminus of two narrow gauge railways: the Ffestiniog Railway, which was built in 1836 to carry dressed slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog for export by sea, and the Welsh Highland Railway, built in 1923, which runs to...
to Boston Lodge ran on 23 July 1955. Prince returned to service on 3 August 1955 and, following extensive boiler repairs, Taliesin, then the latest of the FR Fairlie
Fairlie
A Fairlie is a type of articulated steam locomotive that has the driving wheels on bogies. The locomotive may be double-ended or single ended...
articulated engines, returned to service on 4 September 1956. The passenger service was extended to Minffordd
Minffordd railway station
Minffordd station, is actually two adjacent stations operated entirely independently of each other...
on 19 May 1956, to Penrhyn
Penrhyn railway station
Penrhyn station on the Ffestiniog Railway is located on a restricted site at Pen-y-Bwlch above the town of Penrhyndeudraeth ....
on 5 June 1957 and to Tan-y-Bwlch
Tan-y-Bwlch railway station
Tan-y-Bwlch station is the principal intermediate passenger station on the narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway, which was built in 1836 to carry dressed slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog for export by sea...
on 5 April 1958. Increasing traffic was putting severe demands on the track - over 7 miles (11 km) had been reopened in four years. A long period of consolidation, rolling stock restoration and track renewal followed before the extension to Dduallt
Dduallt railway station
Dduallt station is a passenger station on the narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway in northwest Wales, which was built in 1836 to carry dressed slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog for export by sea....
on 6 April 1968. Extension to Dduallt was celebrated on 28 May 1968 by the re-introduction of the Ffestiniog Railway Letter Service
Ffestiniog Railway Letter Service
The Festiniog Railway Letter Service is an officially authorised service within the United Kingdom railway system for posting and transmission of letters, and under certain circumstances also delivering the letters directly to intended recipients...
.
The Llyn Ystradau Deviation
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity
Pumped-storage hydroelectricity is a type of hydroelectric power generation used by some power plants for load balancing. The method stores energy in the form of water, pumped from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation. Low-cost off-peak electric power is used to run the pumps...
power station and its reservoir (Llyn Ystradau). The Deviation (this is the conventional name for such railway works) was built mostly by volunteers. At the southern end is the spectacular Dduallt spiral formation
Spiral (railway)
A spiral is a technique employed by railways to ascend steep hills.A railway spiral rises on a steady curve until it has completed a loop, passing over itself as it gains height, allowing the railway to gain vertical elevation in a relatively short horizontal distance...
(unique on a public railway in the United Kingdom). It was constructed with its bridge entirely by volunteers and gains an initial height rise of 35 feet (10.7 m) in order (after a further mile of new volunteer built railway and a new tunnel) to clear the flooded track bed north of the former Moelwyn tunnel, which is plugged near its normally submerged northern end. Parts of the trackless former route can be clearly seen below the new route between Dduallt and the old tunnel.
The new 310 yards (283.5 m) long tunnel was constructed between 1975 and 1977 by three Cornish
Cornwall
Cornwall is a unitary authority and ceremonial county of England, within the United Kingdom. It is bordered to the north and west by the Celtic Sea, to the south by the English Channel, and to the east by the county of Devon, over the River Tamar. Cornwall has a population of , and covers an area of...
tin mining engineers with a small team of employees. It had to be blasted through a granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
spur of the Moelwyn mountain. The tunnel plant included stone crushing and grading plant to produce track ballast
Track ballast
Track ballast forms the trackbed upon which railway sleepers or railroad ties are laid. It is packed between, below, and around the ties. It is used to facilitate drainage of water, to distribute the load from the railroad ties, and also to keep down vegetation that might interfere with the track...
and other aggregates from the spoil for use on the railway. Following completion, the new tunnel first had to be lined throughout its length with liquid cement reinforced with steel mesh in a process called 'shotcreting
Shotcrete
Shotcrete is concrete conveyed through a hose and pneumatically projected at high velocity onto a surface, as a construction technique....
'.
A pull and push
Push-pull train
Push–pull is a mode of operation for locomotive-hauled trains allowing them to be driven from either end.A push–pull train has a locomotive at one end of the train, connected via some form of remote control, such as multiple-unit train control, to a vehicle equipped with a control cab at the other...
service, officially called The Shuttle and powered by diesel locomotive Moel Hebog with carriage 110, was operated from Dduallt to Gelliwiog from 26 May 1975, during two summers, to enable tourists to experience the Deviation route in advance of the opening of the new Moelwyn Tunnel.
North of the new tunnel is a long stretch along the west bank of the new reservoir. Full-length passenger trains first ran from Dduallt through the new tunnel to a temporary terminus known as 'Llyn Ystradau (now dismantled) on 25 June 1977. This station was alongside the Tanygrisiau reservoir but passengers could not leave the station other than by train as it was on Central Electricity Generating Board land without public access.
The remaining section included some specialised engineering work at its summit where the new line passes over the power station pipelines. This was followed by two public road crossings with automatic signalling, during a fall in height to rejoin the old route in Tanygrisiau
Tanygrisiau railway station
Tanygrisiau station is a passenger station on the narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway, which was built in 1836 to carry dressed slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog for export by sea....
station, which was reopened on 24 June 1978.
The largely volunteer group building the Deviation was officially called the Civil Engineering Group but its members were popularly known (and are still remembered) as the Deviationists who completed an enormous task over 13 years.
Project Blaenau
Loading gauge
A loading gauge defines the maximum height and width for railway vehicles and their loads to ensure safe passage through bridges, tunnels and other structures...
. The primitive railway bridge across the Afon Barlwyd required total replacement but in similar form. Walls and fences throughout had to be repaired or replaced. These and the many other varied tasks formed Project Blaenau.
One major task near Tanygrisiau was the responsibility of Gwynedd County Council, which had at some time after 1955 taken advantage of the absence of trains to demolish what was probably Britain's lowest road under railway bridge. In early 1980, therefore, they replaced Dolrhedyn bridge and even managed to give it a few inches extra headroom for road vehicles.
Civil engineering contractors were employed in conjunction with British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
and Gwynedd County Council for the new route with its bridges and roadworks and the new joint station on the former Great Western Railway
Great Western Railway
The Great Western Railway was a British railway company that linked London with the south-west and west of England and most of Wales. It was founded in 1833, received its enabling Act of Parliament in 1835 and ran its first trains in 1838...
station site. British Rail commenced using the new station on 22 March 1982. Ffestiniog trains returned to Blaenau on Tuesday, 25 May 1982, thus marking the 150th Anniversary of Royal Assent to the Festiniog Railway Act of 1832. The new joint station with British Rail
British Rail
British Railways , which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was the operator of most of the rail transport in Great Britain between 1948 and 1997. It was formed from the nationalisation of the "Big Four" British railway companies and lasted until the gradual privatisation of British Rail, in stages...
at Blaenau Ffestiniog
Blaenau Ffestiniog railway station
Blaenau Ffestiniog railway station serves the slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, Wales, and is the passenger terminus of the Conwy Valley Line from Llandudno Junction. Arriva Trains Wales operate through services to Llandudno Junction and Llandudno...
was officially opened on 30 April 1983 by George Thomas
George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy
Thomas George Thomas, 1st Viscount Tonypandy PC was a British Labour Party politician and Speaker of the House of Commons. Born in Port Talbot, Wales, he initially worked as a teacher in both London and Cardiff...
, Speaker of the House of Commons
British House of Commons
The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which also comprises the Sovereign and the House of Lords . Both Commons and Lords meet in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members , who are known as Members...
, who unveiled a plaque that records his visit.
With the major project of track restoration to Blaenau finally complete, attention could be turned to other matters. More Fairlie
Fairlie
A Fairlie is a type of articulated steam locomotive that has the driving wheels on bogies. The locomotive may be double-ended or single ended...
locomotives were built or restored and new carriages were built. At Minffordd, a new hostel was built for volunteers who support the permanent staff by working in every department of the railway. Stations were given new buildings, canopies and platforms, often replacing the previous temporary structures and improving the image of the railway for the future.
Welsh Highland Railway
In 1988, the Festiniog Railway Company was involved in a controversial plan to stop the neighbouring Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) being rebuilt, as it was concerned at the effect a nearby heritage railway competitor could have on the FR business. The initial plan would have involved the FR Company buying the original track bed of the WHR from the old company's receiver and giving it to Gwynedd County Council, provided no railway-related developments were allowed on the land. This was greeted with dismay by the WHR (1964) Company, which had been attempting to preserve the line since the 1960s.This action may have delayed the start of rebuilding of the Welsh Highland Railway, although the alternative plan was dependent on the continued co-operation of Gwynedd County Council to ensure that the track bed was used solely for railway purposes. This was not guaranteed, as pressure from various groups who objected to the rebuilding of the railway was significant and it was the stated intention of the council to apply for an abandonment order on gaining the track bed. This would have left the track bed open for use in other ways such as footpaths, road improvement schemes etc., as the statutory designation of the track bed as a railway would have been discontinued. Over the years, the presence of plans for footpaths and roads had indeed made it difficult for anyone wishing to rebuild the line.
This led a group to form called 'Trackbed Consolidation Limited' (TCL) and, after some detective work, TCL managed to trace and purchase shares and debentures in the original WHR company. They felt that an alternative plan was available, one where the original company could be brought out of receivership. It was originally the intent of TCL to provide the track bed to the WHR (1964) Company to rebuild the line.
TCL were introduced to the FR and decided that the aims and objectives of TCL and the FR were similar thus, since 1990, the FR company has been totally committed to the reopening of the Welsh Highland Railway
Welsh Highland Railway
The Welsh Highland Railway is a long restored narrow gauge heritage railway in North Wales, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations including Beddgelert and the Aberglaslyn Pass. At Porthmadog it connects with the Ffestiniog Railway...
. All TCL-owned shares/debentures were transferred to the FR.
The next few years were marked by protracted legal procedures before the assets of the old company could be transferred and before final consent to rebuild the railway was given. The first section from Caernarfon
Caernarfon railway station
Caernarfon Station is the northern terminus of the narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway, located in the town of Caernarfon. It was opened on 11 October 1997 when the line was constructed from Dinas.- History :...
to Dinas
Dinas railway station
Dinas is a station on the narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway, which was built in 1877 as the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways Moel Tryfan Undertaking to carry dressed slate for trans-shipment to the LNWR. Passenger services ceased on 26 September 1936 until which time Dinas had been a joint...
was opened and operated by the FR on 11 October 1997. This section was not hampered by these extended legal procedures and was built as a Light Railway Order, as it was not part of the original Welsh Highland Railway route and the site of Dinas station had been sold off and thus was not part of the assets of the old WHR company. Restoration to Waunfawr
Waunfawr railway station
Waunfawr is a station on the narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway, which was built in 1877 as the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways Moel Tryfan Undertaking to carry dressed slate to Dinas Junction on the LNWR. Passenger services ceased on 26 September 1936 and the station was reopened on 7 August...
was completed in 2000 and to Rhyd Ddu
Rhyd Ddu railway station
Rhyd Ddu is a station on the narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway, which was built in 1881 as the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways Moel Tryfan Undertaking to carry dressed slate to Dinas Junction on the LNWR. The railway was extended southwards to Beddgelert and Porthmadog in 1923, and in its...
in 2003. Hafod y Llyn
Hafod y Llyn railway station
Hafod y Llyn is a disused halt in North Wales on the Welsh Highland Railway, located between and . It had been a halt, with a siding for a period on the original WHR, and a temporary terminus during the rebuilding of the line....
was reached in 2009, and Pont Croesor
Pont Croesor railway station
Pont Croesor is a railway station in Wales, on the Welsh Highland Railway, which runs through the Snowdonia National Park from Caernarfon to Porthmadog. It is located on the section between the stations of and ....
in 2010. By 2010, the tracks of the WHR and Ffestiniog Railway had been reconnected at Harbour Station, linking Caernarfon
Caernarfon
Caernarfon is a Royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,611. It lies along the A487 road, on the east banks of the Menai Straits, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is to the northeast, while Snowdonia fringes Caernarfon to the east and southeast...
to Porthmadog
Porthmadog
Porthmadog , known locally as "Port", and historically rendered into English as Portmadoc, is a small coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd, in Wales. Prior to the Local Government Act 1972 it was in the administrative county of Caernarfonshire. The town lies east of...
, and passenger services started in 2011.
The completed Welsh Highland Railway or Rheilffordd Eryri (its Welsh name) comprises parts of the former London and North Western Railway
London and North Western Railway
The London and North Western Railway was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. It was created by the merger of three companies – the Grand Junction Railway, the London and Birmingham Railway and the Manchester and Birmingham Railway...
(1867), North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways
North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways
The North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways was a gauge railway running from Dinas to Bryngwyn, Wales, which was authorised by Act of Parliament 1872. The same act authorised a branch from Tryfan Junction to South Snowdon...
(1877–81), Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway
Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway
The Porthmadog, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway was a narrow gauge railway intended to connect Porthmadog with the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways link terminus at Rhyd Ddu...
and Welsh Highland (1922-3) Railway. The FR also links with the WHR (Porthmadog) at Pen-y-Mount Station, north of Porthmadog.
Tourism and heritage
One of the earliest references to tourism is in the LNWR Tourist Guide for 1876, which waxed lyrical about the Ffestiniog Railway, which it illustrated with a drawing of a lady in Welsh national dress (then still in regular local use) travelling on an FR up train (since many empty slate wagons – with two standing brakesmen – were attached at the rear) with the caption "On the Ffestiniog Railway". The guide uses the "double F" spelling throughout. It was, however, in the inter-war years from 1919 to 1939 that tourism, though always valued, came to acquire a major importance.Since restoration commenced in 1954, tourism has been the only significant source of income. The role of the Ffestiniog Railway in the promotion and fulfilment of tourism and in preserving railway heritage has been recognised many times, and notable mentions have included:
- 1964 Wales Tourist Board certificate for conspicuous service to Welsh tourism.
- 1972 Wales Tourist Board lists the FR as fifth most popular tourist site in Wales, after Caernarfon Castle, the Swallow Falls, the National Museum of Wales at Cardiff and Conwy Castle.
- 1979 The FR was one of only six sites in Wales to receive the British Tourist Authority’s Golden Jubilee Award.
- 1987 The FR was the outright winner of the Independent Railway of the Year award.
- 2004 The "Talking Train" (an internal audio guide) was awarded the Heritage Railway Association 'interpretation' Award.
Recognition of the railway’s importance to tourism and heritage has been increasingly marked by financial assistance given to the company towards capital expenditure. Prior to September 1987, the FR had received £1,273,127 in gifts and grants. Of this: £450,476 was Gifts from the FR Society and FR Trust and other supporters; £379,335 from Wales Tourist Board; £134,320 from EEC Grants and £308,996 from other public sources.
Major grants received subsequently have been: In 1989 a grant of £430,000 (£ as of ), mainly from The EEC (National Programme of Community Interest for the promoting of tourism in Dyfed, Gwynedd and Powys); in 1995 a grant of £500,000 (£ as of ), to promote work in Blaenau Ffestiniog
and in 1998 a Heritage Lottery Fund
Heritage Lottery Fund
The Heritage Lottery Fund is a fund established in the United Kingdom under the National Lottery etc. Act 1993. The Fund opened for applications in 1994. It uses money raised through the National Lottery to transform and sustain the UK’s heritage...
grant of £375,000 (£ as of ), for the construction of workshops to facilitate the restoration of historic vehicles.
Today the railway is promoted as one of The Great Little Trains of Wales, a joint marketing scheme launched in 1970 that encompasses ten narrow gauge railways in the country, mostly found in north and mid Wales.
Stations and halts
At Porthmadog, the original line came via the streets and across the Britannia bridge from the 1836 terminus at the northernmost end of the Welsh Slate Company’s Wharf where the FR officially started. This was the second datum point for all pre-1954 mileage calculations. (the first being in Blaenau Ffestiniog). The line over the bridge also connected with the Gorseddau and Croesor Tramways and was later used by Welsh Highland RailwayWelsh Highland Railway
The Welsh Highland Railway is a long restored narrow gauge heritage railway in North Wales, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations including Beddgelert and the Aberglaslyn Pass. At Porthmadog it connects with the Ffestiniog Railway...
passenger trains from 1923 to 1936. The line over the bridge was last used in 1958, and then dismantled. It was reopened as part of the WHR in 2011.
The Cob
Between Porthmadog Harbour station and Boston Lodge, the railway runs on the Cob, the dyke of the Traeth MawrTraeth Mawr
The Traeth Mawr is a polder near Porthmadog in Gwynedd in Wales. It was formerly the tidal estuary of the Afon Glaslyn, and many travellers sank in its quicksands trying to cross it. Much of it is between high mountains...
"polder
Polder
A polder is a low-lying tract of land enclosed by embankments known as dikes, that forms an artificial hydrological entity, meaning it has no connection with outside water other than through manually-operated devices...
". The Cob was built between 1807 and 1811 by William Madocks
William Madocks
William Alexander Madocks was a landowner and Member of Parliament for the town of Boston in Lincolnshire from 1802 to 1820, and then for Chippenham in Wiltshire from 1820 to 1826...
and, in addition to its land reclamation function in conjunction with sluice gates at the Britannia bridge, it serves also as a roadway (which, since 1836, has been at a lower level on the landward side) and as a bridge across the Afon Glaslyn. Tolls were charged with a tollgate at Boston Lodge
Boston Lodge
This article is about the locomotive works. For the station see Boston Lodge Halt.Boston Lodge is situated at Penrhyn Isa, Minffordd, Penrhyndeudraeth, on the A487 road about 1 mile SE across the Afon Glaslyn causeway from Porthmadog, Gwynedd in north-west Wales.It has a station on the Ffestiniog...
until 2003, when the rights were purchased by the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
. The higher, original, section of the Cob carries, in addition to the railway, a public footpath throughout virtually its entire length. There is no fencing between the footpath and the railway.
Infrastructure
As the line was extended, passing loops were brought into operation at Minffordd, Penrhyn and Tan-y-Bwlch. Due to the restrictions to the length of trains that could be passed at Penrhyn, Rhiw Goch was opened on 14 May 1975. Penrhyn loop remained in service for several more years before it was closed. By the end of the 1970s, the passing loops were at Minffordd, Rhiw Goch, Tan-y-Bwlch and Dduallt, and an intensive service was run in the peak summer seasons (although there were empty "slots" in the timetable which could be used by works trains). From the early 1980s, the peak summer timetable had three train sets in operation, generally passing at Rhiw Goch and Dduallt. Automatic signalling was installed at Tan-y-Bwlch in 1986.As of the 1988 season, in part due to the challenges in maintenance of the top end points at Dduallt and the planned automation of Minffordd, Dduallt and Rhiw Goch were taken out of service for crossing trains. At the end of May 1988, Dduallt ceased to be a token station and Dduallt loop was taken out of service altogether and became a siding. Rhiw Goch ceased to be used except on odd occasions and was taken out of use as a means to cross passenger trains in 1989. The short section token instruments and the signal heads were removed, although the loop could still be used as a refuge for Engineers' trains.
In the late 1990s, Rhiw Goch was recommissioned as a passing loop. From the 2005 season, the box has been regularly manned during the summer to provide additional operational flexibility. In 2006, an appeal was launched, through the FR Society, for funds to replace the life-expired signal box with a building of more traditional appearance. Fundraising has gone well and work was completed during the closed season of 2006/7.
Elsewhere, Tanygrisiau had been provided with a run-round loop whilst it had been the terminus between June 1978 and May 1982. This loop was removed when the line was re-opened to Blaenau Ffestiniog. In the mid-1990s, a project was launched to install a fully signalled passing loop. This proceeded as a volunteer project, including the building of a signal box. However, prior to commissioning, the project was abandoned in 2001. The trackwork (apart for the siding off the Up Loop) remained in situ. In June 2002, the loop was once again used to run trains around as part of the 2002 Gala to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the restoration of services to Blaenau Ffestiniog. The intended platform starter signals (posts, brackets and arms) have been recovered and are now in use on the Isle of Man Railway. In 2004, with new disc starter signals and spring-loaded points installed, Tanygrisiau became a passing loop for the first time.
Train control and regulation
The Ffestiniog Railway operates on the Electric TokenToken (railway signalling)
In railway signalling, a token is a physical object which a locomotive driver is required to have or see before entering onto a particular section of single track. The token is clearly endorsed with the name of the section it belongs to...
System (ETS) using a mixture of miniature and large train staffs, under the overall control of the Duty Controller based at Porthmadog
Porthmadog Harbour railway station
Porthmadog Harbour station in North Wales is the southern passenger terminus of two narrow gauge railways: the Ffestiniog Railway, which was built in 1836 to carry dressed slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog for export by sea, and the Welsh Highland Railway, built in 1923, which runs to...
.
Miniature train staffs are provided for:-
- Porthmadog to Minffordd (Intermediate Instrument at Boston Lodge)
- Minffordd to Tanybwlch - Long Section (Intermediate Instrument at Rhiw Goch)
- Tanybwlch to Tanygrisiau (Intermediate Instrument at Dduallt)
- Tanygrisiau to Blaenau Ffestiniog
Large train staffs are provided for:-
- Minffordd to Rhiw Goch - Short Section
- Rhiw Goch to Tanybwlch - Short Section
The Short Section train staffs are brought into service by opening Rhiw Goch Signalbox, hence trapping the Minffordd to Tanybwlch Long Section Miniature train staff in the lever frame, when the signal box is opened and manned by a signalman.
The signalling and ETS equipment is primarily designed for train crew operation. To obtain permission to withdraw a train staff to enter a single line section, Control has to be contacted.
The Control Office regulates train running, giving permission for trains to enter the single line sections, recording train movements on the Train Graph, ensuring trains are formed of an appropriate number of carriages (depending on the expected train loadings), acting as the single point of contact in the rare event of a failure occurring with rolling stock, and making station announcements at Porthmadog
The Control Office is also responsible for the Train Operation on the Welsh Highland Railway
Welsh Highland Railway
The Welsh Highland Railway is a long restored narrow gauge heritage railway in North Wales, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations including Beddgelert and the Aberglaslyn Pass. At Porthmadog it connects with the Ffestiniog Railway...
and it also regulates trains from the Welsh Highland Railway Limited, when they require access to the main Caernarfon to Porthmadog line.