UPDATE

The waggon described below is now in place, as Harbour Station shop opens again from 9th February:

Replica wooden slate waggon completed

A replica wooden slate waggon, started by a volunteer as a home work project in the South East, assembled at Kids Training Week in 2010 and funded by the FR Heritage Group, has been completed at Boston Lodge.

The waggon will be used in the redeveloped shop at Porthmadog Harbour Station, scheduled to open again in time for February half-term (the online shop remains open throughout). Although it can't claim to be anywhere near the long-held ambitions for an FR Museum, this does place a representation of the railway's heritage in a prominent position (complete with information panel), to be seen by a large proportion of the railway's visitors.

Design-wise, the waggon is rare in that it is built with inside-bearings as opposed to the later outside axleboxes. Another such waggon was completed last year for use in the railway's gravity train - this ran across the Cob at the Vintage Weekend in October 2010.

The colour for this shop waggon was carefully matched to paint found on an original 'bobbin' (the cast uprights between the wooden body rails), donated recently by an FR supporter, so we're sure that this is an authentic appearance for the waggon.

Waggon working parties later this year will be focussing on completion of another replica waggon - a one-plank general freight vehicle, again to an early design. In addition, some of the slate waggons bought from a quarry in Blaenau some years ago are reaching their final stages of restoration with only the very expensive items like wheels to be found.

With this large amount of progress on waggons, thoughts are now turning to secure, covered storage solutions for the waggon fleet and this should be subject to an appeal to FR supporters very soon.