Full Steam Ahead - BBC2 on the Ffestiniog

The first episode of this new 6 part series will be on BBC2 at 8pm on Thursday 21st 'EXCEPT WALES'. Sometimes these regional variations can be very frustrating, so we will be watching a little later on the iPlayer.

The TV crew were filming on the Ffestiniog and at Llechwedd for 3 days in mid February with lots of rain. Here's the intro to the series.

Historians Ruth Goodman, Alex Langlands and Peter Ginn bring back to life the golden age of steam and explore how the Victorian railways created modern Britain.

The introduction of steam railways in the early 19th century changed Britain in a way no one could have predicted. This episode explores how they created a domestic revolution, changing the way we lived, from the houses we lived in to the food we ate.

Just a nice photo - nothing to do with the TV!

In the middle of winter and the team arrive at the Ffestiniog Railway in Snowdonia to find out how millions of tons of slate were moved down the mountain. This is the slate that covers roofs in every corner of the country and all of it was moved by rail.

Underground, Alex experiences the brutal conditions faced by miners in Llechwedd quarry who would have endured 12-hour shifts suspended from iron chains. It's an exhilarating ride down the narrow winding track aboard the 'gravity train' with the whole crew hanging on to the brakes all the way.

For more details of the series click here.

Narrow Gauge in the West Indies

LYd2 is no relation to Lyd on the Ffestiniog Railway and I’m told by Wiki that LYd2 stands for; L = narrow gauge locomotive, Y = 3 axles, d = diesel fuel and 2 = hydraulic transmission. Not very romantic. It’s 1 of the 2 or 3 locos that operate on the St Kitts Scenic Railway in the West Indies.

St Kitts was the Mother Colony, the first British colony in the Caribbean – it was also the centre of the British sugar trade. Sugar cultivation had started in the 1640s and it soon became the only crop, a monoculture. Its sugar was a very high quality; yields were high, in terms of how much sugar came from a ton of sugarcane, due to the fertile ground and availability of water – the growing conditions were perfect.

The average sugar estate was 300 acres and as a rule of thumb you needed 1 slave per acre. In 1680 the population was split 50:50 between slaves and the rest but it went on to become a ratio of 10:1 with 20,000 slaves on the island and many of the plantation owners living in luxury back in Britain.

On all the other islands the sugar industry went downhill very fast after slaves were granted their freedom in 1834, but not so here. The law might have changed but otherwise the realities of life were the same. White people owned all the land, controlled the government and there was only one crop – so sugar production marched on, albeit with the former slaves now being paid.

At the centre of each estate, and by now there were 300 estates, would be a mini sugar factory, with a crushing machine to extract the juices from the cane, and a boiling house where the juice was converted into molasses. The first crushing machines were powered by livestock, but then came the windmills, which was a big improvement, provided there was wind. These in turn were converted to steam in the 1870s and as you travel around the island there are these pairs of a fat tower (for a windmill) and close to it, a tall chimney for the fires.

At the start of the 20th century the global sugar cane market was in serious decline, it was being outcompeted by sugar beet production. So the St Kitts plantation owners decided to modernise – instead of having 300 small factories on the 300 estates they built one central sugar factory and to connect the estates to the factory they built a narrow gauge railway.

Double decker carriages coming round the bend at Tabernacle.
Air conditioned carriages beneath.

This investment coincided with World War I, when lots of the land in Europe being used for sugar beet, was now a battlefield, or being used to grow wheat. As a result of modernisation and circumstance, the industry in St Kitts became profitable once more.

But by the 1970s the industry was in bad shape again and the government nationalised it – buying the land and the factory. The estate owners grumbled about the price of their land but the initiative went through and the industry limped on until the factory closed and production stopped in 2005. At the start of the 21st century the costs of production were more than double the price for which the sugar could be sold, despite the majority of the export being bought by Britain at an inflated price. The Government subsidy was an unsustainable burden on the economy.

St Kitts had been outcompeted by producers with large tracts of land which could be harvested mechanically – the rugged landscape of St Kitts meant that 80% of the sugarcane had to be cut by hand.

A small trolley precedes the train to open the level crossings
and a 4 x 4 follows by road to close them.

The railway construction, to deliver sugar cane from the plantations to the new central sugar factory, began in 1912 and took 14 years to complete. It is a narrow gauge railway and was run during the harvest season between February and June - for the train buffs the gauge was 30” which is not as narrow as the 23 ½” gauge of the Ffestiniog Railway.

The Sugar Train rattled into the yard for the last time in 2005, that was the year when the government pulled the plug on the loss making sugar factory.

In parallel with the final years of the Sugar Train, it began its new life starting to operate as the tourist train in 2003.

Prices on heritage railways are never cheap – they cost a fortune to run – but included within a ride on the St Kitts are complimentary drinks, such as rum punch, frozen daiquiris and soft drinks. There is a tour director who provides the commentary and sometimes there is even an acapella choir!

As for the St Kitts equivalent of Harbour Station, that's called the NEEDSMUST TRAIN STATION. To find out more about the St Kitts Railway click here.

Prince Double Heading at Campbell's

On August 3rd, 1955, the Ffestiniog Railway's Prince hauled its first passenger train of the restoration era, comprising carriages 23 (now in regular use on the Welsh Highland Railway) and 12. It entered regular passenger service two days later. To mark the 60th anniversary of this landmark in steam preservation, the 152 year-old loco (complete with flags) double headed the 1010 from Porthmadog. Here he is passing Campbell's Platform.

First Sod

50 years ago today the first sod was cut; the deviationists were on their way to Blaenau. I walked up expecting to see a garland or maybe some people reliving old memories but it was all peace and quiet at the stone.

Christmas trains have been great to watch. This is what it was like on the day after Boxing Day:

TrailFfest at Campbell’s

20^th September was the first ever TrailFfest with something like 200 people running close to the railway from Blaenau to Port. Unlike the Talyllyn’s ‘Race the Train’ the Ffestiniog carriages seemed to be dawdling to pick up potential stragglers.

The original route through the farm gate by our garden was changed the day before the race, because it was full of sheep. Instead the runners were directed over a stile next to the railway and then down the steep path. On the day of the race the sheep had all been moved up the mountain and five runners took the short cut. Intentionally? or did they miss the signs?

Building work in Coed y Bleiddiau

I took Molly for a walk this afternoon, through the nature reserve. The bracken had started to fall over and patches of purple heather were sprouting forth. Some impressive mushrooms too. But the biggest good news was to see scaffolding around Tŷ Hovendon, the railway inspector’s house in Coed y Bleiddiau. This might be a preliminary stage to secure the roof before the long awaited restoration of the house.

I’ve heard that The Landmark Trust is taking a long lease from the Ffestiniog Railway and will run it as a very special holiday cottage; targeted at people wanting to get away from it all, maybe penning the final chapters of a book. Holiday guests and their provisions will be transported by special trains from Porthmadog with daily deliveries of milk. They will be our nearest neighbours!

Larch Lumberjack

Larch trees on the slopes of Moelwyn Bach are being clear felled in an attempt to slow down the spread of the disease phyotphthora ramorum.  It’s also known as ‘sudden oak death’ and affects over a hundred different species of tree and shrub including the oak. But larch is the most susceptible and once the larch is removed other infected species tend to recover; I certainly hope so as the oaks in the Maentwrog nature reserve are priceless.

The disease was confirmed in spring 2013 and orders were issued for immediate felling. Due to the large number of infected woods and forests across Wales there has been an excess of work and a glut of wood for the mills forcing the price down. As a consequence the Welsh government has allowed the work to be prolonged. Whatever replaces the trees will need to be phytophthora resistant as the disease remains in the soil for up to 15 years.

Coed y Bleiddiau Uchaf is an old farmhouse with walled paddock just beside the railway and near the former railway inspector’s cottage. For years it has been engulfed by trees but the trees have been removed from all around and hopefully the ones inside the boundary will be felled without damage to the walls. In 1841 it was lived in by William and Mary Roberts and their five children.

The Circumnavigation of Mount Snowdon by Train and Bus

In the nineteen twenties and thirties, the real hardcore railway fanatic would attempt the ‘Circumnavigation of Mt Snowdon by Rail’, it was often referred to, probably sarcastically, as ‘The Grande Tour’. Having been present by pure chance at the official re-opening of the first part of the Ffestiniog Railway, and keeping an interest in the gradual reopening through to Blaenau Ffestiniog, I vowed to do the journey myself as soon as possible after the re-opening of the Welsh Highland through to Porthmadog. There was just one snag, there is no longer a railway between Bangor and Caernarfon. After much studying of timetables it looked to me to be possible. I outlined it to my wife and she was keen to try it.

Why would you want to repeat our exploit? Well, if you don't already know the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways it's a marvelous way to experience them for the first time, it's also a good way to see the Conwy Valley line which is worth it for the scenery. If you are any kind of railway enthusiast you don't need an excuse, it's just there to be done.

Staying at Campbell's Cottage is a help as you can do part of the journey using the Campbell's Platform weekly pass. You will need to check the timetables as those for the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland have different service patterns on different days. I found that for all of the Summer 2014 timetables, on yellow days for the two narrow gauge lines, it could be done starting at Blaenau Ffestiniog at just gone half past eight in the morning.

As well as the scenery being quite different on the Welsh Highland compared to the Ffestiniog you will also discover how different are the locomotives and coaching stock of the two lines. What follows is a commentary on our journey.

We got ourselves to Blaenau for just gone 08:30, there was plenty of space in the car parks so we put an all day ticket on the windscreen and walked towards the mainline platform. If it is raining it's worth knowing there is a waiting shelter on the platform, hidden from view the other side of the old building. About ten minutes before its allotted time a two car Arriva Trains unit rolled into the station. Tickets are bought from the guard, don't forget your travel card, they might not all be as accommodating as ours who overlooked the fact that unlike my wife I'd left home without mine. The train left exactly on 08:46 and for the first few minutes picks its way through the slate strewn slopes around Blaenau. It then dives into a two mile tunnel before coming out at the top of the Conwy Valley which is as full of greenery as can be. For the next hour or so the train speeds downhill between stations stopping for some, slowing then accelerating away from others which are request stops. Sometime around 10:00 you'll arrive in Llandudno Junction.

The next stage is fraught with difficulty. You need to find the correct bus stop for the X5 to Caernarfon. No matter how many people you ask and no matter how likely they should know, you'll get a different answer from them all. It's the one on the approach road to the bridge over the estuary, not the bridge over the railway. The bus numbering is unfathomable; ours was an X5 which morphed into a 5C when it changed drivers at Bangor. I don't know what it is about Arriva buses, but like every other one I've travelled on it's best to sit at a seat with an adjacent grab rail. On arrival in Caernarfon it's a walk straight ahead to the T junction, turn left and walk ahead again until you can see the castle across an open square on your right, then take the road which slopes down to your left at the foot of the castle wall and you'll see the railway station straight in front of you. Take care as you walk down the slope, traffic emerges on your left from the old railway tunnel. You should have time to purchase sandwiches and drinks and consume them in the square, before buying your tickets and boarding the train.

The Welsh Highland station is on the trackbed of the former main line heading west out of the town. For the first couple of miles the railway uses the old trackbed which it shares with a cycle/footpath. At Dinas the line abandons the old mainline, does a short sharp wiggle to the left, and picks up the course of the original Welsh Highland Railway, and its predecessor the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway. The line snakes from left to right affording a view of the locomotive at its head as it struggles to gain height, the landscape on the way to the summit is mainly boggy moorland. On the descent towards Beddgelert the loops are bigger and at one point the track is parallel to two previous sections higher up the hillside, and the whole area is wooded.

From Beddgelert the train passes through the Aberglaslyn Pass, on a ledge cut into the rock high above the river. This short section is the jewel in the crown of the Welsh Highland. Don't waste your time photographing it, look and take it in, there are better photographs of it than you will take on sale at the stations. The train leaves the pass by a short tunnel and makes its way first across and then down the Glaslyn estuary. On the Approach to Porthmadog the line crosses the Cambrian Coast line on the level, the only place in the UK that a narrow gauge railway crosses the national network. The line threads between river and the car park before the train halts with the locomotive at the side of the main road out of town. Sirens sound and lights flash and once all of the traffic has cleared, with much hooting the train snakes forward, across the road and into the long platform of Porthmadog Harbour station.

The Welsh Highland and Ffestiniog trains stand on either side of the platform, looking at them it's difficult to accept that  both run on the same track; by comparison to the WHR trains the FR ones are minute. The first surprise for those new to the FR is that before departure the guard comes along checking tickets and locking the doors. There are warnings above the windows not to put your head out. They mean it! In places there's barely six inches between the train and solid rock or stone walls. Whereas the Welsh Highland crossed open moorland and wooded slopes the FR is very different. It starts crossing the wide embankment known as the Cob, which it shares with a road and a footpath. Then it swings left on top of a vertical slate wall with no space between the sides of the carriages on the drop to the road below. There's a halt for the company workshops at Boston Lodge then it's narrow cuttings, squeezing between buildings and crossing the tops of more vertiginous walls, constantly climbing. In places there are extensive woodlands all around but on the right hand side the train is at the treetop level giving views over the whole of the Vale of Ffestiniog.

At various stops along the way the train crosses with one heading down hill to Porthmadog, shortly after crossing at Tan-y-Bwlch you will pass through Campbell's Platform, don't miss it, climbing trains can't afford to stop here, then at Dduallt comes another unique in the UK feature; to get back to the original route the train needs to gain height to pass above the lake created for the Tanygrisiau pumped storage power station. It does this with a spiral, curving round through a full circle passing above the line just traversed, before striking off towards a higher ridge. A new tunnel was needed to breech the ridge, fortunately they made it a bit bigger than the original, which dictated the small size of the original trains. Out of the tunnel the train passes the back door of the power station and threads its way through the houses and slate mines to arrive in the station where this journey started all those hours ago.

For all those who just want to get on with it, here are the times using time tables for the summer of 2014.

• Blaenau Ffestiniog – Arriva Trains 08:46 to Llandudno Junction.
• Llandudno Junction Arriva bus X5C to Caernarfon via Bangor. There are two or three buses per hour and there's plenty of time. The bus may be numbered X5 or 5C. The one we got was an X5 which got a new driver at Bangor and became a 5C.
• Welsh Highland Railway Caernarfon – 13:20 to Porthmadog. Summer 2014 timetable, yellow day.
• Ffestiniog Railway Porthmadog -15:50 to Blaenau Ffestiniog. Summer 2014 timetable, yellow day.

This blogpost was contributed by John Williams in June 2014. Many thanks.

Gardens at Campbell's

May is my favourite garden month with a riot of colours and so much promise. Tender young plants are hardening off on tables and chairs ready for release into the wild where they’ll have to combat the slugs. Slugging is a twice daily chore and beer traps are planted in amongst the runner beans which are surrounded by a ring of wood ash.

Up on the platform Bird’s-foot Trefoil is poking through the grass. It takes precision strimming to cut the grass and not the flowers! Penstemon and wild geranium are immune to the goats and sheep. On the far side of the track on that steep bit of rock beneath the fence we’ve planted nasturtiums which hopefully will cascade down without being eaten. Will the FR herbicide reach up there?

Words can't do it justice. In case you don’t visit at this time of year this is what the cottage garden, platform garden, vegetable garden and Dduallt garden were looking like on 21^st May.

Baby Tawny by the Ffestiniog

It was the sort of day for hippos and ducks, but Molly doesn’t mind a bit of rain, so off we went, into the woods with wet bluebells all around.

At the base of an oak was a cute little Tawny owl and I think I caught a glimpse of its parent flying away from the scene. For a few minutes I watched from behind a tree, and then another, but all the while the baby was transfixed, not a move of the head, just the tiniest slit of a motionless eye and its claw set into the moss on the bark. I left it where it was and hope the parent will be back to protect and feed.  

Two summers ago I found a baby Tawny being attacked by crows which I shooed away. I approached that baby and off it flew, into the trees; with dusk approaching it would be safe. For a couple of weeks I followed the progress of that owl and its fellow nest mates as they moved from tree to tree calling out for food. 

As if finding a Tawny was not enough excitement for one day there was a grey coloured Fairlie on the Ffestiniog - Dafydd Lloyd George after a paint job! Is this just an undercoat or here to stay? Rainy days can be good.

Up and Down at Campbell's

Good Friday and such a lovely day in the garden. Cherry blossom, magnolia, camelia and blue skies. Birds singing their hearts out, bees a buzzing and water trickling into the ponds with every now and then the sound of a train going up and the sound of a train going down. What perfect bliss – if only the magic could be bottled!

The week beginning Friday 25th April is still available if anyone would like to book a piece of heaven on earth. www.campbellscottage.co.uk

Snowdonian steaming past Campbell’s

The Snowdonian covered the complete 80 mile round trip, with a return journey over the Welsh Highland to Caernarfon first, followed by the run up to Blaenau Ffestiniog. The train departed from Porthmadog at 0845 and was due back at 1835 ..... it was at about this time that it was on its way downhill past Campbell’s.

Breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea were included. This consisted of tea/coffee etc., plus Danish pastries on the way to Caernarfon. Then a stop for lunch on the way back at the Goat Inn at Beddgelert for a hot & cold buffet lunch. A cream-filled scone and jam, with tea was served on the late afternoon trip to Blaenau Ffestiniog.

Despite being late everyone seemed very happy and the train looked full. Third class tickets were £160 and I think first class was £300.

Winter gales and the birds

Nineteen months ago I enjoyed watching woodpeckers in Coed y Bleiddiau, next to the Ffestiniog Railway.

Oblivious to steam and whistles the parents kept up the relentless supply of food. I mentioned this nest to a fellow walker the following summer, saying we might be lucky and see them there again. He politely explained that they never nest in the same place and recent gales explained their wisdom as the tree lay on its side. It was a good opportunity to see the inside of an old woodpecker nest; deep with lots of soil and a few worms.

Entrance hole into the nest

Several years ago a good friend gave us an owl box as a Christmas gift. Each new year, just before he comes to stay, I check for pellets at the base of the tree but to no avail. I went to check this December and the box had been blown off the tree. Lots of leaves which could have been blown into the box but the woven grass and moss must have been carried in. Molly loves squirrels and can spend hours patrolling the base of a lone tree; I think she recognised their scent.

Molly inside the owl box

Filming the photographers

Every November at the end of the summer timetable a special charter travels the line with enthusiasts who share the twin passions of steam trains and photography. The train drops them at Campbell’s Platform and positions are taken at the seaward end and along the wall below. Bristling with lenses, tripods and bags full of gadgets, some stand on stools and step ladders. Down the line, Taliesin, with a string of heritage carriages, waited patiently in the trees.

A big blob of cloud arrived with the charter so it was time for a chat and sandwich break; I recognised Geoff from the same event nine years ago who subsequently stayed at Campbell’s Cottage and is threatening to return for New Year. ‘You’ll be very welcome Geoff, tell the others how great it is!’ It used to be known as Dduallt Mess sleeping eighteen volunteers in bunk bed accommodation but these days sleeps four in two en-suite bedrooms.

I asked a man with an American accent how much he’d paid to join the train; he’d thought it was about £50 a day for three days but that was small beer compared to the plane ticket from Detroit!  

Sunshine moved slowly up the valley like a giant floodlight and the walkie-talkie gave the driver the signal. Spectacular plumes of steam spouted out of the chimney and jetted forwards from beneath the engine. A sixty second burst of click-click-clicks, like you hear on the news, followed the train as it rounded the corner. The driver reversed and repeated the journey twice to give the chance of a better shot or a better angle with a different lens. Then another engine pulled a string of slate wagons up and free-wheeled down. Likewise this happened several times until it was time for the circus to carry on down the line. And this is what it was like:

Prince at Campbell's Platform

Great to see Prince back in action after some five years of absence. Looking beautiful on a sunny first of May.

Campbell's Snowmen

At this time of year we tend to get visitors who want to chill out. Not a care in the world so long as there's a steam train. And finally the train came rattling through.

Paddington Princess dragged out of pub

Don’t worry, it’s not Kate Middleton on a night out with the lads, but the world’s oldest, narrow gauge steam engine. She was delivered to the Ffestiniog Railway in 1863 and was retired from service in 1946 as the last working loco when the railway ran out of steam. For some years she was at Blaeanu Ffestiniog, a symbol of the epic reconstruction of the line. In the last 31 years she has been in the museum and latterly the expanded bar at harbour station.

A bit of oil to cross The Cob

On 10^th November, she was dragged out of her corner having first been jacked up and then jacked across on a pair of metal sheets lubricated with Fairy Liquid. Shifting ten tonnes of loco within the confines of a pub is no easy task – the first ten metres took about three hours. With the help of a tractor with forklift she was eventually dumped onto the railway track and towed across The Cob for a bit of restoration.

Today, St David’s Day, she was unveiled at Paddington Station where she'll spend the next 6 weeks brightening up the daily commutes. Thereafter she has several other ambassadorial appearances to make.

This is how she was dragged out and her corner in the pub taken by a steam (horse drawn) fire engine.

Boxing Day Train

No fluffy white snow this year but the steam looked good through the trees.

The best things in life are worth waiting for

I was busy working in the garden when I heard an up train that sounded different and sure enough it was the fourth gravity train of the Alan Pegler weekend. Tools down and cameras collected, I raced up to Campbell’s Platform and waited and waited. Eventually I heard it, but what came round the bend was much bigger than the head brakesman. Surely the gravity train will be hot on its heels. I hung around until lunchtime and, seeing as the family was relying on me to prepare it, I went down to the house. I was just about to go in when a lone engine came rolling past. Surely this time there will be a gravity train in pursuit? I need not have run back up the hill, it was ages before it came but as ever it was worth the wait. By the time I got back to the kitchen there were three empty bowls of soup and one that needed a quick blast in the microwave.

Goat Train, Gravity Train

It was all happening at Campbell’s Platform this afternoon. First we had a goat train and then  we had a gravity train, a particularly long and impressive one - apart from the head brakesman who showed a distinct lack of puff with his bugle. For a while I thought he was going to forget his duty. The train marked the start of a weekend of celebrations to celebrate the life of Alan Pegler OBE, the late president of the Ffestiniog Railway.