BLAENAU FFESTINIOG

 

Blaenau is an old slate mining town, and can seem very drear and grey, especially on a wet day. But in nice weather, you realist just how stunning the surrounding countryside is.

Ffestiniog Railway

The Steam Railway, one of the 'Great Little Trains Of Wales, is well worth a ride.
The Ffestiniog Railway is the oldest independent railway company in the World - being founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832.

It was originally built as a gravity line, to take the wagons full of slate from the quarries down to the estuary. The line was cleverly engineered, so that the heavy wagons would trundle down under their own weight - each with a brakeman on board to control the speed of descent - and then the empties would be pulled back up by horses. Occasionally they do demonstration runs of how this worked. 

In 1863, steam locomotives were introduced, and the horses were spared anymore death-defying trips down in the back wagon of the gravity trains! This change also facilitated the introduction of passenger trains in 1865.

Over the last fifty years, the Ffestiniog Railway has become a leader in railway preservation and is now one of Wales’ top tourist attractions.
It is remarkable for its double-ended 'push-me pull-you' Double Fairlie locomotives. 

Normal engines were not designed to be used in reverse for long periods, and so a turntable or turning loop was required at every terminus. Also, the engine wasted power towing the heavy fuel tender, because the wheels weren't driven. 

Robert Fairlie's design overcame these issues, by designing an engine that was two locomotives joined back to back, that carried all it's fuel on board, and didn't need a separate tender. It was driven by one set of controls in the central cab that enabled it to be driven in either direction.

Unfortunately, the only pictures I took were pre-digital and on a grey, wet day. I need to return soon and take some better ones. This is Tanygrisiau station on a very wet day, with the brooding mountains behind

The first time we travelled on the Ffestiniog, the train was full of Welsh people. We got talking to a man sitting in our carriage, and said we expected it to be full of tourists, even though it was still outside the season. He explained that it was a Sunday, and at that time in Wales, pubs and off-licences weren't allowed to open on a Sunday, but the buffet on the train sold beer. So they all bought tickets and spent the day riding up and down on the train!