Ffestiniog Railway
The Ffestiniog Railway (
| Ffestiniog Railway | |
|---|---|
 | |
| locomotive David Lloyd George at Blaenau Ffestiniog. | |
| Locale | Gwynedd, Wales |
| Terminus | Porthmadog |
| Commercial operations | |
| Name | Festiniog Railway Company |
| Built by | Festiniog Railway Company |
| Original gauge | 1 ft 11.5in |
| Preserved operations | |
| Operated by | Festiniog Railway Company |
| Stations | 10 |
| Length | 13.5 miles (21.7 km) |
| Preserved gauge | 1 ft 11.5in |
| Commercial history | |
| Opened | 20 April 1836 |
| Closed | 1 August 1946 |
| Preservation history | |
| 1954 | Restoration started at Boston Lodge works 20 September 1954 |
| 1955 | Reopened from Portmadoc Harbour to Boston Lodge – 23 July |
| 1956 | Reopened to Minffordd |
| 1957 | Reopened to Penrhyn |
| 1958 | Reopened to Tan-y-Bwlch |
| 1965 | Start of the Deviation construction work |
| 1968 | Reopened to Dduallt |
| 1974 | Restoration of Rhiw Goch passing loop |
| 1977 | Reopened to Llyn Ystradau |
| 1978 | Reopened to Tanygrisiau |
| 1982 | Reopened to Blaenau Ffestiniog |
Ffestiniog Railway Media
Two trains of the Ffestiniog Railway at Tan y Bwlch Station
One-inch map of the route of the Ffestiniog Railway about 1840, showing the inclined plane that was used until the Moelwyn tunnel was built in 1842
George England locomotive The Princess with passenger train at Porthmadog harbour station circa 1870
Double Fairlie locomotive James Spooner
Little Giant at Duffws, circa 1875
Ordnance Survey one-inch map from 1921-2 showing the route of the 'Welsh Highland & Ffestiniog Rly'
The old route of the Ffestiniog Railway towards the northern portal of the first Moelwyn Tunnel. It was permanently blocked with a concrete/stone plug during the completion of Llyn Ystradau in the late 1950s/early 1960s. The replacement FR line is in the foreground.
Ordnance Survey 1:25,000 composite map showing the Ffestiniog railway about 1953, after the construction of the Llyn Ystradau reservoir flooded a section of the route, but before the deviation was built to carry the railway around the west bank of the reservoir
Double Fairlie locomotive David Lloyd George at Blaenau Ffestiniog station
Steam locomotive Taliesin at Porthmadog
Welsh: Rheilffordd Ffestiniog) is a heritage narrow-gauge railway in Gwynedd, Wales. It runs between Porthmadog and Blaenau Ffestiniog.
It is a big tourist attraction as it runs through the Snowdonia National Park.
The track used on the railway is 1 ft 11 1⁄2 in (597 mm) wide. It is about 13 1⁄2 miles (21.7 km) long and runs from the harbour at Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog, a town famous for slate mining. It is very picturesque as it runs through very forested and mountainous scenery.
The company that owns the railway, the Ffestiniog Railway Company, is the world's oldest railway company that still exists. It also owns the Welsh Highland Railway that runs from Caernarfon to Porthmadog.
Stations
There is 11 stations that are still open on the route: