The Abandoned Ffestiniog Railway & Deviations
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- čas přidán 27. 06. 2024
- We're at the world famous narrow gauge railway - the Ffestiniog Railway today. One of the jewels in Wales great little train attractions.
The railway opened in 1830s. It's role was to transport slate from the many quarries up the line to Bleanau Ffestiniog down to the sea at Porthmadog, where it would be shipped worldwide. The line travels through some spectatular landscapes. In the 1940s the line fell into disrepair and closed down. It was saved by a group of volunteers and piece by piece restored all the way to the destination of Bleanau.
In this video we're looking at one section of the railway that was lost for different reasons. In the 1950s, plans for a hyro-electric power station near the town of Tanygrisiau caused the course of the line to be lost under water. Despite protests and the railway already having plans to reopen, the flooding went ahead. This has left the railway with some interesting disused sections of the original railway. As in the 1960s and 1970s, volunteers would work away building a new line - known as the Deviation - or the Llyn Ystradau Deviation. These were called the Deviationists. At Dduallt station, the line entered a new spiral formation that raised the railway 36 feet to the new alignment around the flooded valley.
The original route when the line opened was horse drawn, with gravity doing the work on the gentle gradient going down, and horses pulling the empty wagons back up. However after only a handful of years, this route was found to be not fit for purpose due to incline plains needed to navigate the bottom of the Moelwyn Mountains. In 1842, a new tunnel was built - what is now known as the old Moelwyn tunnel. This was abandoned and plugged when the line was flooded.
The new deviation saw a new tunnel built as the line snaked it's way through cuttings to Tanygrisiau.
We'll take a look at what is left of the old routes and how these differ from the new route.
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The model railway club I was a member of on the early/mid 1970s (Brambleton MRC, still going strong in Harpenden) had a working camping holiday on the FR every August in the 60s to the 80s with lads of 14-18 working at clearing vegetation and other tasks. I remember 1 year laying track at Tanygrisiau in preparation for it becoming the temporary terminus as the deviation gradually progressed from Ddault towards Blaenau. I doubt such a great adventure would be possible these days….but several of the guys still volunteer on the FR 50 years later
Great to hear. Great to be part of a piece of history 👍
Thanks for this! My first encounter with any narrow gauge railway was that very embankment south of the old Moelwyn Tunnel, in the summer of 1963. The boys' group I was with had hiked from somewhere in the Blaenau area and had already had to make a diversion because the adult in charge was using an old map and hadn't known about the reservoir! We came over the hill and suddenly there were these rusty rails and rotting sleepers winding their way through the grass up there in the lonely hills. I remember the sight having quite an emotional effect on me. 🙂 We walked down the still closed line to Tan-y-Bwlch and caught a train from there to Portmadoc (as it was then) hauled by the _old_ "Earl of Merioneth" (now in the National Railway Museum with its original name "Livingston Thompson").
It's amazing to think that some of the old track's still there!
Great story Nigel 👍
Track Pins. These may be Surveyor's Points. (Survey Markers) They stood Theodolites on During Construction. Another great video.. 🤔
Thanks Mike. Good shout.
A great video on the old line. I've ridden the Tourist Train from Porthmadog several times on holidays to the Old Dart over the years. I had hoped to be able to ride the extension to Caernarfon but the years caught up with me before it was opened. Great memories though.
👍 It's a wonderful journey isnt it. Im yet to do the section to Caernarfon.
There was also a junction just at the lake side of the tunnel and you can see more abandoned formation leading to the quarry on the other side of the lake
Ah yes I noticed that. Spoilt for choice.
Such a great walk along the old line. It's always a shame they lost the old line under the lake. But even if the railway was able to keep the old line the Tunnel at Moelwyn would have needed to been made bigger. Locomotives were so tight in the old tunnel you couldn't walk alongside the Loco and the ventilation was terrible.
Very true. I wonder if the more modern fairlies would even fit?
Absolutely brilliant video. The effort you put in for us to watch is outstanding.
I can't believe the amount of work done by the volunteers for everyone's benefit.
Love your videos, nice to see some lovely weather for a change.
We went on June 1st for a weekend for a trip on each route,absolutely brilliant in every way, staff scenery all outstanding.
Look forward to your next video.
Thanks Ernest.
Glad you had a good time. I still havent travelled on the WHR section. I keep meaning to do it whenever we go. Hopefully next year. I remember going to see that trackbed in the 90s before it was rebuilt. I wish I could go back with the camera.
Brilliant video Paul really interesting your knowledge is outstanding in all your videos keep up the great work really enjoyed it.
Thanks Chris. Glad I come across as knowledgeable 😄 plenty more in the pipeline
Many videos have been made about this railway but one was so different and informative ...Great stuff .?many thanks enjoyed it emensily..
Thanks very much Dave. Glad you enjoyed it. Had a fantastic time putting it together.
Thanks for these Paul. My late dad (from Sheffield) was an FR enthusiast and worked on the deviation and various other working parties. I distinctly remember walking the old track bed, probably 40-50 years ago! We also explored the old quarries as in your earlier video but my main memory of it is lashing rain.
What a great family link to history there 👍. You can really appreciate the scale of the job they had when you get close to the landscape. Tremendous job
I walked the old formation and over the top to join the new alignment back in the 80's as a teenager with my father. Something that always fascinated me was the the old tunnel had three vent shafts. My father had walked the area in 1964/5 when the shafts were just holes in the ground. In the 80's, he wasn't having us going anywhere near holes in the ground. Anyone know what happened to the vents as I have never seen any pictures of them ?
If you want to get a run in, the Trailffest starts with a train ride then you run from Tanygrisiau to Porthmadog
Cheers Graham.
Maybe a few years ago. I think I'd need help if I ran up the platform at Tanygrisiau these days 😄
Another delightful explore in gorgeous scenery and weather. Those old embankments looked solid even after all that time. Very impressive, and equally impressive from the volunteers building the new alignment, infact I remember seeing a programme on BBC4 about them a long time ago. Very cool finding rails and sleepers still in situ!
👍 I think I saw the same documentary many years ago.
Fascinating piece of history.
Another cracking video Paul ,I actually travelled on the new alignment just after the opening as a 10 year old and the old realignment was very apparent then , well done for actually documenting it on what's left, 👏 👍 😀
Cheers Ian 👍
When the reservoir water level is low, you can walk all the way to the blocked off tunnel a little bit we wet right next to it
The track you found was the incline up to the Wrysgan quarry, its the steep one you can see climbing up the mountain. That quarry is where the really good mine remains, recommended to go the long way up the mountain than climb up that nasty steep incline.
Oh and you need to take the gravity train on the occasions they still run it from Dduallt.
👍 it's a shame we've had a wet year. Was hoping to walk on the trackbed through the reservoir. Even then footpath was flooded out in places
one big thank you for showing me where l walk once
You're welcome
This video was brilliant Paul, your description of the railway was spot on, yes world famous narrow gauge railway! Beautiful filming of the train going over the bridge. Amazing walk through the old original railway with sleepers still in situ & old boundry posts & cuttings & random pieces of old rail! Just fab. Awesome scenery Paul, very fortunate having gorgeous weather too! Thanks Paul really enjoyed this video. ❤😊👍
Great stuff. Glad you enjoyed in Carol. That took some putting together that one. Was a fantastic day out though. One of the highlights of my holiday 😊
Lovely and really grabbed my interest.thnkyou for posting😊
Glad you enjoyed it
Brilliant mate, very interesting.
Cheers Jon
should all be reinstated to its former glory.
Did you have swim? 🏊♂️ Like you say; it’s very inviting! I would’ve done for sure.
Enjoy the video. I didn’t even realise you could see the north end of the old Moelwyn tunnel until I checked it out. When I saw it I was very surprised it wasn’t totally covered with water! In your video the water is deeper than when saw it.
Haha with some of the boggy ground it was more of a paddle than a swim 😄
Very good vids. You need to walk it to see the details but the drones give a great overview.
Cheers Chris
Tan-uh-geasy-eye , or ...grisho. Anyhoo - one wonders why the original horse-drawn line wasn't utilised in the realignment of the line due to the reservoir. Now looking up the construction of the power station, it may answer some questions.
Another great video Paul, whats happened at Ddaultt last time i was there which scarily was 40 years ago the station was thriving and fully signalled . Looks closed now
Yeah it doesn't look used now. Request stop I believe, but that train had no intention of stopping. I assume the majority of passengers now are full line bookings?
@@WobblyRunner
A lot of railways are whole line only now. Its a shame that some have become very commercial and senior management see them as cash cows . I fear some will close in near future. You certainly wouldn't get volunteers today building that deviation
@@maestromanificationrailways are expensive to run. If they could afford to run barely half filled trains, at line capacity frequency, so the intermediate stations could get more visits, I imagine they would.
Was a p/way volunteer 1969 to 75. Was on the first (official) passenger train round the spiral . Grand memories of visiting the FR from 1961 to 2022!
❤
The railway still going as a really good tourist attraction?
Still going strong. Trains were very busy.
Thank you very much.
😊👍