History Of The FR
From Festipedia, hosted by the FR Heritage Group
Contents |
A Brief History of the Festiniog Railway
In the eighteenth century, when Porthmadog and Blaenau Ffestiniog did not exist, this part of Wales was a remote mountain area. As far back as 1798, William Alexander Madocks had acquired land and soon afterwards carried out reclamation projects, first on the shore of Traeth Mawr, which then extended several miles inland to Pont Aberglaslyn, and culminating in the great embankment, the Cob, right across the estuary. The workmen for this project were housed in a building at the eastern end of the Cob, where now the workshops of the Railway are situated. Since Madocks was the Member of Parliament for Boston in Lincolnshire, he called the building Boston Lodge. At the other side of the estuary the Cob diverted the River Glaslyn, which scoured a channel to form the natural harbour that was to play a dominant role in the history of slate mining and the Ffestiniog Railway. The town that swiftly grew up around this harbour was named Port Madoc, known today as Porthmadog.
Meanwhile, high up in the mountains around Blaenau Ffestiniog, slate deposits were being exploited in small quantities and laboriously taken by pack animal and farm carts over rough roads down to the River Dwyryd. Here the slate was loaded into shallow-draft river boats for transport downstream where it was loaded yet again, this time into sea-going sailing ships.
In 1830, shortly after Madocks death, Samuel Holland, who was quarrying slate at Rhiw, joined Henry Archer, a young businessman from Dublin, to promote the Festiniog Railway, incorporated by Act of Parliament on 23 May 1832. James Spooner from Worcestershire was responsible for the survey and construction of the Railway. The route, whose final mile crossed the Cob, enabled loaded slate trains to run down by gravity while the horses that were used to haul the empty wagons back up the line could feed and rest in Dandy wagons.
The 23.5 inch gauge, corresponding to that being used in the quarries, was wide enough to allow the horses to work efficiently when pulling the empty wagons and narrow enough to enable the Railway to negotiate the sharp curves made necessary by the mountainous terrain. The wagons were also small enough to be loaded easily and man-handled in the quarry and at the port.
As slate traffic increased, the horse and gravity system of operation came under strain and thoughts turned to the form of power then making such an impact on transport elsewhere - the steam engine - an improvement that would also permit the development of the FR from a mineral tramway into a public passenger carrier. But in the 1840s steam locomotives on so narrow a gauge were thought impracticable; and carrying passengers was illegal on new railways of less than the British standard gauge of 4 feet 8.5 inches.
These factors delayed the introduction of steam and it was only after Charles Easton Spooner (James son) took control of the Railway in 1856 that he looked more closely into the question of steam locomotives. In 1862 he invited tenders to design and build. At length in 1863 contracts were signed with George England and Co., London, for four small, locomotives. In July 1863 The Princess and Mountaineer were brought to Caernarfon by rail and thence to Port Madoc by horse and cart; they entered service in October. The other two, The Prince and Palmerston, arrived in 1864.
In the same year, the Board of Trade gave the Railway permission to run passenger trains, the first on a narrow gauge in Britain. The four-wheeled carriages were very low, with people sitting back to back to keep the weight as central as possible. Some of these unique vehicles survive (often referred to as bug boxes) as part of the Railways valued heritage. From 1866 primitive open carriages offered a cheap service for quarrymen. Traffic increased and two more engines, Welsh Pony and Little Giant, arrived in 1867. However, the limitations of a single line were becoming too restrictive and in 1869 an Act was passed permitting the line to be doubled.
This would, however, have been extremely costly and instead the Railway turned to the ingenuity of the engineer Robert Francis Fairlie, who had designed a locomotive that could pull longer trains and so improve the capacity of the line. The problem had been how to build a more powerful locomotive that could nevertheless get around the sharp curves and up steep gradients. The solution was a double Fairlie bogie engine. It looked like two locomotives back-to-back but was in fact one long rigid boiler with central fireboxes and driving position. Each end of the boiler was mounted on a swivelling powered bogie. The same principle is used in most of todays diesel and electric locomotives
In 1870, before a distinguished assembly of railway engineers, including the Imperial Russian Commission, the first Festiniog double Fairlie engine Little Wonder was demonstrated and proved to have more than double the power of the earlier locomotives. This impressive demonstration of the capability of a narrow gauge railway was but one of the ways in which the Festiniog Railway pioneered their development throughout the world.
Soon the Railway introduced improved Fairlie engines. In 1872 James Spooner entered service, followed in 1876 by a single-bogie version Taliesin. Boston Lodge, which had by now become a fully equipped workshop, rose to the task of building two more double engines, Merddin Emrys in 1879 and Livingston Thompson in 1886. It is interesting to record that when the Railway required a new large locomotive in 1979 it again chose the double Fairlie design for Earl of Merioneth, which was also built at Boston Lodge. From 1872 the bogie principle was applied to passenger carriages but, because of the nature of its principal traffic, slate, bogie goods vehicles were not developed; they could not go up inclines into the quarries. The passenger carriages 15 and 16, were amongst the first bogie carriages in service in Great Britain and were the first iron-framed bogie carriages in the world. Both these vehicles are still in service.
This pioneering work in the 1860s and 1870s and its contribution to British exports Worldwide was recognised by a commemorative plaque presented to the Ffestiniog Railway in 1985 by the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. The plaque was on display in the Museum at Harbour Station, Porthmadog.
By 1872 coastal sea transport was being overtaken by the network of inland railways; and as well as slates being taken to Porthmadog, exchange sidings with the Cambrian Railway were built at Minffordd. Shortly afterwards other standard gauge railways, the London & North Western and the Great Western, arrived in Blaenau Ffestiniog from Llandudno Junction and Bala respectively. They were able to take slates direct without using the Festiniog Railway, and as far as slate traffic was concerned, the heyday of the railway was coming to an end.
Although the standard gauge railways captured a share of slate traffic, they also brought visitors to the area. The increasing importance of tourism was accelerated by the development of the motor car after the turn of the century. The popularity of new roofing materials and a series of disastrous strikes hastened the decline of the slate industry, and by the 1920s the Railway depended as much on its summer tourists as on its traditional slate traffic. There was even a new railway, the Welsh Highland Railway, built to link the former North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways to the Festiniog, thus making a continuous narrow-gauge route from Dinas (near Caernarfon) to Blaenau Ffestiniog. This line was opened in 1923 but the combined journey time was too long for an average day trip and lack of traffic doomed the venture to failure.
The outbreak of the Second World War cut short the summer holiday season in 1939 and on 15 September passenger services ceased. Slate continued to be carried in small quantities during the war, being transhipped to the standard gauge at Minffordd. Hopes of a revival in this traffic after the war were not realised and by 1945 there was no money to rehabilitate the worn-out track and rolling stock. In addition the quarries found that more versatile road transport could meet their distribution needs. So on 1 August 1946, before the start of the quarry holidays, the last train ran. Officially the line closed on 9th August. The original Act of Parliament had made no provision for abandonment, so everything was left where it stood, exposed to souvenir hunters, vandals and the weather.
Pioneers to the rescue
In 1951, on the initiative of Leonard Heath-Humphrys, a small group of people met in Bristol to see if anything could be done to restore the Railway. This group included Allan Garraway who was later to become General Manager, a position he was to hold until 1983. In 1954, after many difficulties, a controlling interest in the company was acquired by Alan Pegler, whose shares were subsequently transferred to a charitable trust - the Ffestiniog Railway Trust. Guided by a wholly volunteer board of directors, enthusiastic volunteers and a small paid staff set about rebuilding the line to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Colonel McMullen of the Ministry of Transport Railway Inspectorate made an informal visit and advised that the finely engineered track foundations were sound although most of the line was heavily overgrown. Clearance started at Boston Lodge and during the winter of 1954-5 enough track was cleared to enable the Simplex tractor to run through to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
Scrap metal was sold to buy necessities, for there was still much to do before passengers could be carried to provide any income. But on 23 July 1955, after a formal Ministry of Transport inspection, a passenger service started from Porthmadog across the Cob to Boston Lodge, first with the Simplex and then with Prince, which had meanwhile been reassembled. In 1956 services were restored to Minffordd and in that autumn the double Fairlie Livingston Thompson, by this time renamed Taliesin, ran trial trips. Easter 1957 saw trains running to Penrhyn Station and in the summer a tremendous effort was made to get the track cleared to Tan y Bwlch. The service to Tan y Bwlch began at Easter 1958.
Meanwhile, in 1954 the British Electricity Authority had produced a scheme for a pumped storage installation near Tanygrisiau designed to boost the grid at peak demand times. It was to have upper and lower reservoirs with the power station lying in between. The Ffestiniog Railway opposed the Parliamentary Bill in 1955 because its route was to be submerged by the lower reservoirs. At this time the Authority regarded the Railway's directors and supporters as mere amateurs playing trains and compulsory acquisition of the line above Moelwyn Tunnel went ahead in 1956. The company was determined to build back to Blaenau Ffestiniog so it decided to reopen the line as far as Dduallt, the last station before the reservoir. By establishing its commercial and tourist value it would prove that it had a legitimate compensation claim. It would then, somehow, reinstate a line around the reservoir.
A key event in 1962 was the survey for a route on the east side of the reservoir which gained height by a spiral around Dduallt and rejoined the old line at Tanygrisiau by running over the crest of the Authority's dam. In 1964 the company and its supporters announced their determination to build this line with largely volunteer labour, no money and no plant, across land they did not own!
To allow work to start on this Deviation, land was given to the Railway by the Economic Forestry Group and on 2 January 1965 the first sod was turned. Many of the Deviationists, as the workers on the project became known, had no interest in railways as such, relishing rather their weekend battles with stubborn rock and glutinous peat amid superb mountain scenery as a change from their full-time activities. Meanwhile, on the working part of the Railway, traffic was growing steadily; all the existing carriages were overhauled, new ones were being built and much of the track was being relaid. On 6 April 1968 Dduallt was reopened.
In 1970 an alternative route to the west of the Tanygrisiau reservoir was agreed and the Dduallt spiral to raise the line was completed in 1971. In the same year the crucial legal battle for compensation, which had been going on since the 1950s, culminated in a hearing at which the Company was awarded £106,000 for loss of profits - a princely sum. But much more was needed of both money and resources to get to Blaenau Ffestiniog. First there was the new Moelwyn Tunnel, completed in 1977, which allowed trains to run as far as Llyn Ystradau, just short of the new power station. Then bridges had to be built over the four power station water pipes to reach Tanygrisiau and get back on the old track bed. On 24 June 1978 the opening of the deviation between Dduallt and Tanygrisiau was celebrated with speeches, a party and a golden spike ceremony. The impossible had been achieved.
Only one mile of track remained to be restored to bring trains back to Blaenau Ffestiniog, but there were still many problems. The rock face just beyond Tanygrisiau was unstable and a serious rock fall demanded costly remedial action when money was tighter than ever.
Meanwhile, it had been generally agreed that Blaenau Ffestiniog would benefit from a joint British Rail/Ffestiniog Railway station near the town centre. By autumn 1977 the Gwynedd County Council had adopted a scheme, involving a road rearrangement, to allow the Ffestiniog Railway access to the centre. Without financial support at national level, and internationally from the European Economic Community, the work could not have been completed as early as 1982. As with the Deviation, the slog back to Blaenau Ffestiniog became a joint effort of Company, volunteers, engineering contractors and labour provided under a Manpower Services Commission scheme. The Deviation organisation was reshaped and Project Blaenau was launched in July 1980 to co-ordinate the volunteer share of the work.
On 24 May 1981 came the historic day when, for the first time since 1957, the track of the Ffestiniog Railway was continuous from Porthmadog to Glanypwll. Work was pushed ahead despite appalling weather to reach the opening date, 25 May 1982, the 150th Anniversary almost to the day of the Companys first Act of Parliament.
This was the day towards which all efforts since 1951 had ultimately been directed; the Ffestiniog Railway once again ran from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog. The Rt. Hon. George Thomas M.P., then Speaker of the House of Commons and later Viscount Tonypandy, officially opened the station at Blaenau Ffestiniog on 30 April 1983. A plaque commemorating the event is now on view in the booking hall.
Recent Times
Extending the undertaking to Blaenau Ffestiniog marked the end of the pioneering era but new challenges presented themselves. Economic recession and the popularity of cheap overseas package holidays caused a fall in traffic. There was a backlog of maintenance work, bank borrowings were high, the longer line was more expensive to operate and fuel prices were rising sharply. It was now necessary to improve the locomotives, rolling stock, signalling and amenities and to modernise behind the scenes to improve efficiency. With grant-aid assistance and sponsorship, platform canopies and toilets were built, car parks resurfaced and the double Fairlie engine Merddin Emrys rebuilt.
Costs were reduced, while at the same time the train service was improved by introducing diesel-hauled trains at off-peak times. The diesel locomotive Conway Castle was built in Boston Lodge workshops in 1986 and this was followed in 1989 by new and refurbished carriages with heating and public address systems, both innovations on the Railway. New Fairlie locomotives were built in 1992 ('David Lloyd George', a double engine) and in 1999 ('Taliesin', a single Fairlie, one of a now rare type replicating a favourite locomotive originally built in 1876).
Automated signalling at Tan y Bwlch and Minffordd passing loops was completed in 1988 and 1989 respectively and work proceeded on automating most of the remaining level crossings. Computerised ticket issuing and accounting, introduced in 1985, further reduced costs and a Debenture stock issue, launched in October 1987, eliminating the high bank borrowings.
Welsh Pony was brought out of store and exhibited for some years in front of Porthmadog Harbour Station in its bright red livery and more variety was introduced into the liveries of locomotives and carriages. The appearance of the Railway has been made more attractive through the efforts of a Parks and Gardens volunteer section, which builds and stocks colourful flowerbeds, tubs and hanging baskets.
More attention has been given to displaying the Railways heritage both in the Museum at Porthmadog and by refurbishing the double Fairlie engine Livingston Thompson for display on loan at the National Railway Museum, York.
Thus the Railway is being continually developed to keep it as one of the most successful tourist attractions in North Wales, run by both volunteers and permanent staff to give enjoyment to thousands.
(Based on text from the FR Co. website)
Unique Features of the Festiniog Railway
- It is operated by the oldest railway company in the world, which is alsoone of the few statutory companies still trading in the UK.
- It was the first sub-standard gauge railway in Britain to be authorised to carry passengers.
- Prince is the oldest working locomotive on its original railway.
- Merddin Emrys is the oldest working articulated steam locomotive in the world..
- Carriages 15 and 16 are probably the oldest surviving bogie coaches in the world, probably the world's oldest sub-metric bogie coaches, possibly the world's first iron framed bogie coaches and almost certainly Europe's first iron framed bogie coaches.
- The Bug Boxes are quite possibly the world's first (not just oldest) sub-metric gauge passenger coaches still in normal service in the world.
- Arguably the world's oldest locomotive depot - as a site / institution. Horses are locomotives, if not locomotive engines, and locomotives have therefore been maintained or stored continuously somewhere around Boston Lodge since the opening of the railway.
| Chronology | |||||||||
| Pre 1830 | 1830 - 1862 | 1863 - 1889 | 1890 - 1926 | 1927 - 1946 | 1947 - 1954 | 1955 - 1958 | 1959 - 1982 | 1983 - 1994 | 1995 - date |
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