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Welcome to Festipedia,
the FR Heritage Group wiki.
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This month's featured article |
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Minffordd Yard is located to the north of the FR main line just west of Minffordd station. The very extensive slate wharves and exchange sidings with the Cambrian Railways were established in 1872. There is some confusion over dates here. Having originally leased the land from the Huddart Family estate the FR Co. bought the land for £2500 in mid 1876.
Slate storage sheds were built at the FR main line end of the yard, adjacent to the Maeofferen wharf and continued in use, leased to Davies Bros., slate merchants, until the 1960s. They are now fully used for railway purposes.
The only rail access is via the bottom end of the Down line at Minffordd, originally the Mineral Line. Trains leave the present loop and join a line which runs parallel to the FR main line, passing over the road access to the yard and in front of the former weigh house before reaching a set of weighted points that are normally set for the small fan of post-preservation sidings that comprise the Upper Yard. In order to gain access to the steep, sharply curved, line into the lower (main) yard the weighted points must be held over by the guard or second man of the train. Trains 'rushing the bank' in order to leave the yard simply trail through the weighted points so that their progress up the bank is not hindered.
The weighted points have considerable heritage significance as there has been a set on this location ever since the yard was established and they have been operated by the same method throughout that time! The only other set of points having a similar pedigree is at Boston Lodge, though their operating lever has been changed over time.
The steepness and curvature of the line down into the main yard places limits on the locomotives and stock that can use it; double engines are forbidden, as are some of the older bogie carriages. (more...)
Recently featured: Coed y Bleiddiau – Charles Easton Spooner – Horse operation |
Purpose |
| This wiki is dedicated to recording the history of the Festiniog Railway from the 19th Century to the present day. There is a user friendly index to this wiki to help you find your way around the main categories. You will also find much detail on the Welsh Highland Railway |
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This month's featured picture |
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Gelert's Farm Works is the operating centre for the Welsh Highland Railway (Porthmadog) (WHR(P)). It was, as the name suggests, a working farm. After the WHR(P) purchased Beddgelert Siding in 1975 from British Rail the ramshackle collection of farm buildings known as Gelert's Farm came up for sale. The farm which is situated between Beddgelert Siding and the Cambrian line and was purchased to become the operating centre for the rebuilt WHR (P). After possession of the land was obtained in late 1975 track was laid into the site. Over the next couple of years five sidings were laid into the yard and another back towards Pen-Y-Mount. The old hay barn was converted into a Loco shed and a large pole barn became the Carriage Shed. The stone buildings were converted to workshops and a machine shop. This photo shows Jack Lane at rest in the main shed.
Photo credit: Chris Dearden
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