Ffestiniog Railway (Wales) - Driver’s Eye View - Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog

I’d like to say a big thank you to Claire and the booking office staff for their help in making this video possible, along with the locomotive crew and everyone at the Ffestiniog Railway, past and present for all their hard work that has given future generations the wonderful visitor experience we see today. Porthmadog Harbour station is the starting point for both Ffestiniog Railway and the Welsh Highland Railway trains, resulting in busy periods at the start and end of the day when trains return to be stabled overnight and locomotives run across the Cob to Boston Lodge works where they are maintained and prepared for their next duty. On a sunny evening it’s hard to think of a nicer place to enjoy a pint than at the railways very own pub and restaurant where the railway action can be watched from the outside seating area. Trains use both sides of the long island platform and a walk to the end is rewarded with stunning views all around as well as being a great vantage point to watch trains crossing the Cob (the wall separating the sea from the Afon Glaslyn flood plains). Our locomotive has coupled up to its train and we are ready to set of on the picturesque ride to Blaenau Ffestiniog. I could write a book about the views from the train window, but until such time, please join me on a scenic journey through beautiful Wales. The railway holds a special place in history for a number of reasons, it is the oldest surviving railway company in the world, being built by the “Festiniog Railway Company“ spelled with a single ’F’ in the act passed to allow construction to start in 1833 with the line opening on 20th April 1836 . The 13 1⁄2 miles (21.7 km) long line was built on a continuous downhill grade between Blaenau Ffestiniog and the port at Porthmadog to transport slate from the quarries to the port for onward shipping. Loaded waggons used gravity to run down to the port with the empty waggons being hauled back to the quarries by horses that had ridden down hill in special waggons called ’dandy waggons’. By the end of the 1850’s it was clear that more capacity was required leading the board to investigate the possibility of using steam locomotives, the outcome of which was the placing of an order with George England and Co for two narrow gauge 0-4-0 steam locomotives, the first, named ’Mountaineer’ was delivered on 18th July 1863, followed a few days later by ’The Princess’. After running in trials and some modifications they entered service on 23rd October 1863 allowing the use of longer trains to increase capacity and in 1865 they enabled the introduction of passenger trains, making the railway the first narrow gauge railway in Britain to run such trains. The first double Fairlie articulated locomotive was introduced in 1869, these locomotives are now one of the most widely recognised features of the railway. By the 1920s the railway suffered a gradual decline in traffic owing to slate being replaced by modern materials and the loss of overseas trade during WW1. Ordinary passenger services ceased on 15th September 1939 and slate traffic ended on 1st August 1946. The act created to allow the construction of the railway made no specific provision for its closure, thus another act was required to repeal the old one, as luck would have it, the company didn’t have the money to do so, as a result the track was left in place to be reclaimed by nature. The abandoned railway attracted railway enthusiasts and eventually with financial help from Alan Pegler the next chapter in the railways history began resulting in the first train of the new era running across the Cob in 1955. The locomotive for this trip was ’David Lloyd George’. Please click on this link to learn more - For more information about the railway please click on any of the following links - #:~:text=Designed as a means of,one James Spooner of Worcestershire. To book your own Ffestiniog Railway adventure, please click on this link - Track gauge - 1 ft  11½ ins (597mm) Map 00:17 - Google Earth/Maps Map 00:25 - 00:57 - Porthmadog 04:53 - Boston Lodge Works 05:42 - Boston Lodge 09:56 - Minffordd 16:34 - Penrhyn 21:50 - Rhiw Goch 29:12 - Plas Halt 35:22 - Tan y Bwlch 39:49 - Garnedd Tunnel 42:18 - Coed y Bleiddiau 46:06 - Campbell’s Platform 47:51 - Dduallt 49:11 - Start of 1978 Deviation 53:56 - Moelwyn Tunnel 59:26 -Tanygrisiau 01:06:42 - Blaenau Ffestiniog