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Ffestiniog Railway

Place, Caernarfonshire

 

 At Tan Y Bwich Stataion

 Double ended train

 Narrow rails, wide train
Blaenau Ffestiniog station, notice the different sized tracks.

One of the Great Little Trains of Wales, this and the Welsh Highland Railways run on 2ft (some say 1ft 1.5 inches) gauge line.

Currently the Ffestiniog operates over a 13½ mile of track, linking with the national network at Minffordd, and at Blaenau Ffestiniog. By 2009 the plan is for you to be able to travel for 40 miles from Caernarfon right through to Blaenau Ffestiniog on narrow gauge steam railways. The link between Caernarfon and Porthmadog is currently under construction.

The Ffestiniog Railway is the oldest independent railway company in the World it was founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832.  It was built as a gravity and horse drawn line to transport slate from the quarries in the mountains around Blaenau Ffestiniog. The slate industry flourished, as did the railway and the town of Porthmadog. Slates from Blaenau Ffestiniog were exported all around the world, a lot of it in ships built in Porthmadog.

It opened as a horse-drawn tramway in 1836 to transport slate from the Blaenau Ffestiniog quarries to the harbour at Porthmadog, the horses hauling the empty wagons to the top of the line, then riding down on the 'Dandy' wagon at the rear of the train.  The increase in cargoes (100,000 tons by the 1890s) led to the introduction of steam locomotives from the middle of the 19th century.

This railway  introduced many innovative engineering solutions to cope with the rapid increase in output from the quarries and in the number of passengers it carried. Engineers from around the world came to study the Ffestiniog Railway and, as a result, it has influenced the design and construction of railways in many countries.

It now travels through areas of Snowdonia not accessible by road so providing an interesting opportunity to see these areas.


Further information Grid

 

Location:

Ffestiniog Railway, Caernarfonshire

Ceremonial County: Caernarfonshire

Grid Reference:

SH 570383

Map Link:

multimap

streetmap 

Aerial photo:  

Route(s):

13.5 miles of 2' track

Best Times to Visit:

 

E-mail:

enquiries@festrail.co.uk

Website:

http://www.festrail.co.uk

Other useful websites:

Great little trains of Wales

Railways in Wales 

Wiki     Wiki Images 

Narrow Gauge pleasure 

Nearby Locations:  
Other Relevant pages: Great little trains of Wales article

Classification:

Railways

Date Updated: 06/2008
 

.


Planning Grid

Location:

Ffestiniog Railway, Caernarfonshire

Grid Reference:

SH 570383

Getting there:

The station is situated on the A487 at the eastern end of the town

Access:

 

Parking:

 

Facilities:

 

Things To Do, See and Photograph:

 

What to take:

 

Nature highlights:

 

Address:

Ffestiniog Railway, Harbour Station, Porthmadog, Gwynedd

Postcode:

LL49 9NF

Telephone:

01766 516000

Opening times:

 

Charges:

(Some, other options available)

All Day Rover (round trip Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog or vice versa), Adult £17.50; Concessions £15.75;
Half-way trip (To/from Tan-y-Bwlch from Porthmadog or Blaenau Ffestiniog) Adult £10.80, Concessions £9.75
Travel First Class in Observation Car or traditional vintage carriage compartments for additional charge of £4.00 (single), £8.00 (return), (Concessions £3.60 Single, £7.20 Return)
Early Bird and Sunset Fares Valid on the 0840am and 6.20pm departures from Porthmadog. £13.20 (Adult); £11.90 (Concessions)

Children under 3 travel free, One child 3-15 years travels free with each paying adult, while additional children travel half-fare.

Dogs and bicycles  £2.50

Special
Three-in-One ticket - giving one return journey on any three days in seven on the Ffestiniog Railway, the Welsh Highland Railway (Caernarfon) and the Welsh Highland Railway (Porthmadog). The fares are £32.00 Adults and £29.00 Concessions. Children £16.00.

Photo Restrictions:

 

Other Restrictions:  
Special Needs Access: Porthmadog and Blaenau Ffestiniog stations have ramped access and specially adapted toilet facilities. Carriages on some trains have extra wide doors for standard width wheelchairs. Advance notice is required.
Special Needs Facilities:  
Children Facilities:  
Dogs Allowed:  

CIN Page Ref:

Ffestiniog_Railway

Date Updated: 06/2008

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