Search for:

Menu

Skip to content

MENUMENU

About us
- The Festiniog Railway - a brief history
- Constitution
News
Projects
Research Resources
Ways to help
Membership
- Gift Aid Declaration
Sales
Contact us
Links

0 events found.

Events for 27 July, 2026

Notice

There are no upcoming events.

Notice

There are no upcoming events.

Events Search and Views Navigation

Enter Keyword. Search for Events by Keyword.

Event Views Navigation

List
Month
Day

Select date.

Previous Day

Google Calendar
iCalendar
Outlook 365
Outlook Live
Export .ics file
Export Outlook .ics file

Upcoming Events

Notice

There are no upcoming events.

5,575

Festiniog Railway Heritage Group

The Festiniog Railway Heritage Group aims to research, conserve and recreate many aspects of the Festiniog Railway’s heritage. It supports many projects across the railway, and publishes research conducted by members in its quarterly journal.

Festiniog Railway Heritage Group

5 days ago

This week’s delve shows the plaque from the official opening of the new Blaenau Ffestiniog station. The railway had restarted services on 25 May 1982, the 150th anniversary of the railway gaining its Act of Parliament. The 2nd picture, © Paul Shenton iBase 4462, shows the first passenger working into the station hauled by Earl of Merioneth. 11 months later on 30 April 1983 the official opening was held.The Ffestiniog Railway Society magazine reported, “…Blaenau Ffestiniog's new railway station was duly opened by the then Welsh Speaker of the House of Commons, the Rt. Hon. George Thomas MP. The Speaker had been entertained to dinner by the FR Co. Board on Friday evening and travelled up the line on a special train on the Saturday. The engine's headboard showed his coat of arms and stated 'Trefn! Trefn! Order! Order!' which amused him greatly and which he later autographed. On arrival at the terminus, the Speaker flagged away BR and FR trains simultaneously, neither of which, incidentally, went anywhere except out of sight and he then proceeded to a covered area where other MPs and dignitaries of local government and BR and FR representatives were seated. Curiously, in this Spring of heavy showers, this covering proved to be entirely unnecessary, as the sun shone that morning: here he made a speech, before unveiling a suitably inscribed slate tablet which will, at a later date, be incorporated into the wall of a building… The Royal Oakeley Silver Band and the Brythoniaid Male Voice Choir provided music and song…With the VIPs departed, a smallish party of ‘IPs' was taken for a trip down the line, during which lunch was provided. Prominent among these was Gerald Fox, instigator and initially Engineer of the Deviation, who had flown over from his current home in north-western USA, where he has noticeably swapped his Cambridge accent for a mid-Atlantic one!” The 3rd picture, © Norman Gurley iBase 7170, shows the train ready to depart down the line behind Merddin Emrys. The last picture shows the 1983 timetable provided with the first Society magazine of the year. ... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook

· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share by Email

Festiniog Railway Heritage Group

2 weeks ago

The Ffestiniog Railway Society Bristol Area Group recently shared a picture by John Ryan from June 1970 of the information board that was at Dduallt station. This explained to passengers the story of the railway and showed the future route yet to be completed. Fortunately this hand painted board has been saved and is in the heritage store as pictured here.The eagle eyed amongst you will notice that the board was updated from when photographed in 1970. On 26 May 1975 the Gelliwiog Shuttle was introduced, allowing passengers to change at Dduallt for a push-pull shuttle train operated by Moel Hebog and carriage 110 which would take them on a short trip on the permanent way completed thus far. The completion to Gelliwiog is shown on the board in the heritage store and was clearly painted on when the railway extended. Bristol Area Group picture of the board in 1970 here: www.facebook.com/share/p/19GdjdHYKv/?mibextid=wwXIfr ... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook

· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share by Email

Festiniog Railway Heritage Group

3 weeks ago

The last in our round of old FR signalling brings us to the short-lived “Dorfil shunt” at Blaenau Ffestiniog. What was called the Blaenau Ffestiniog signalling scheme, but generally known as Dorfil Shunt, came from the idea for Bl. Ff. station to be fully signalled with the ability to lock a train in one platform and return the token to a token machine so that a second train could then approach. To enable a locomotive to run round its train a shunt line was installed so that the movement did not take place in section. For locomotive crews, this wasn’t without its frustrations, as, even if in possession of the token, the locomotive had to go down the bottom of Dorfil shunt to clear the blue track circuit before the points could be returned to normal and the locomotive moved onto its train – an operation that added minutes to something that previously could be achieved very quickly. The trackwork was installed in 1998 and 1999, with the Dorfil Shunt buffer stop being a typical White Rose Group sleeper-built affair, with help from the then-student-aged F-Team. For the whole of the 1999 season it was physically but not S&T complete so the crews had to hand wind the electric points every time a loco ran round its train. It came into operation in March 2000 and behaved quite normally until 5 May 2001, the first of a special weekend, sadly aptly called “Anything Goes”. A double-headed 16 coach train went up to split at Blaenau to return in two portions. It was signalled into Platform 2 (the one adjacent to the standard gauge line). An issue caused the points to Platform 2 to normalise under the train resulting in carriage 105 attempting to enter both platforms 2 and 3 simultaneously. No one was hurt and carriage 105 was back in traffic 20 days later, having suffered minor damage colliding with the old decommissioned manual lever frame. This contretemps put the train crews back to winding the points again. The signalling remained out of use for the rest of the year but was modified, inspected, and recommissioned in the winter of 2001/2. It was used for its intended purpose on 1 June 2002 when a special train and a service train occupied platforms 2 and 3 (separately) as part of the Commonwealth Games relay when the baton came down the FR. However the writing was on the wall as by 2002 the railway was planning to split the Tan y Bwlch to Blaenau Ffestiniog section at Tanygrisiau using far less complex weighted points. Tanygrisiau first crossed trains on 29 June 2004. Dorfil shunt was decommissioned (anyone remember when?) and the run-round loop returned to the token release manual frame that had been there previously. In March 2006 the White Rose Group came and took out what they had diligently put in. From the WRG report at the time “Object of the exercise was removal of the Dorfil Siding and plain line the points, so they can be used down on B[oston]lodge curve. Mike [Stringer] regaled us of the various switches of switches and frog migrations…Blaenau top end used to be at Llyn Ystradau! … So, dismantle the trademark WRG buffer stop, lift and trolley out the rails and hoik up the sleepers.”As an interesting aside, in typical FR fashion, the panel seems to have used a disused level crossing sign - waste not want not! ... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook

· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share by Email

Festiniog Railway Heritage Group

4 weeks ago

Many people will recognise this as the original Cob Trident signal middle arm, but its history is much more complicated. It was previously believed the Trident came from Duffws but that was a McKenzie & Holland (McK&H) "heavy" one; this trident was a "light" design, which likely came from Glanypwll. New for the Glanypwll "loop" line in 1899, the McK&H order/proposal diagram is dated 12 Sept 1899 and shows it as No.16. and the FR submission diagram presumably for the inspection is dated by the Board of Trade 12 Feb 1900, showing it as No.15 - likely an error.It’s not clear when Glanypwll ‘box closed and the Trident moved; it was still open in Sept 1925 (letter from Piercy to Evans: "As you must be aware, that the signal box at Glanypwll must be still open, the arrangements for dispensing with it not having being completed, it is impossible to bring into force the five lever frame as instructed by you") That five-lever frame was actually six levers and ended up at Portmadoc, "disappearing" in 1952/53. Col. Stephens asks in a letter dated 19 Mar 1929 "Also, please get the points and signals connected up on Portmadoc 3-arm signal" suggesting the Trident was moved for the 1929 season. It became Home signal 2, controlling access to the Festiniog platform; for a while it was co-acting Outer Home signal 2B working with the old double arm semaphore 2A. The short-lived co-acting came to an end after Lt. Col. Woodhouse's inspection on 22 May 1931 as he felt that it could cause confusion.In preservation it was first worked by the ex-Minffordd lever frame which then went in the ’box at Boston Lodge and is now at Glanypwll. From 1957 it was worked by the ex-Glanypwll Level crossing/LMS Exchange frame which was a Manchester, Sheffield & Lincolnshire Railway "brackets" style-frame from the late 1920s/30s, with the signal having the horizontal stripe added making it a point indicator as shown in iBase 5133. The curtain came down on a long and interesting life when the Trident blew down in a storm on 15 Feb 1967. Interestingly this signal was part of the very last new single-aspect Red semaphore installation in the UK (red lens only on the signals), until the new Porthmadog Harbour scheme, unless anyone can confirm otherwise? There is a slim possibility of a very slightly later Scottish installation, but is proving hard to confirm.Many thanks to MRFS for compiling this history. ... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook

· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share by Email

Festiniog Railway Heritage Group

1 month ago

Next on our potter around old Ffestining Railway signalling, here we have a fascinating diagram of the signalbox at Dduallt, often cited as the most interesting of all the FR’s crossing loops. The loop was built when Dduallt became the railway’s terminus from 6 April 1968 until the terminus became Llyn Ystradau on 25 June 1977. Initially the loop was incomplete and early trains ran utilising a pilot engine stabled in the southern end of the loop to release the train locomotive, either though utilising Tany Bwlch or through swapping locomotives at Dduallt. These modes of operating continued until the full loop was available from 20 May 1968. Given the well-known views today it is interesting to look at early photos from the time when works on the new Rhoslyn Bridge for the spiral had yet to begin. Initially the signalbox was in old No.1 van at the bottom end of the loop, but was later moved to be in a building between the old and new lines at the top end of the station, which is the layout shown in the diagram. From 1975 until early 1977, Dduallt was an interchange station to enable passengers to catch the Gelliwiog shuttle from a temporary platform on the loop to see the Deviation works. The loop closed in 1988 with the signal arms being removed; the signal posts remaining for some years afterwards. The diagram is odd in itself as it appears to be unfinished (look at the Down Home – what should be No.1 signals show the signal arms but no signal posts. Hopefully our elder signallers on here can help tell the story if this was the diagram in the ‘box as there appears to be no other reason why it would be framed. The second picture (© J Mayhead iBase 2176) shows the decommissioned signalling in 1991 with the levelled base for No.1 van clearly visible next to the ground frame in the foreground, and the signalbox in the far background. ... See MoreSee Less

View on Facebook

· Share

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Share on LinkedIn Share by Email

Registered Charity 1199296

Privacy notice