FR and broadcast media
Listening and Watching[edit]
For those possessing satellite systems, it is possible to monitor what is being broadcast in Wales. Please see this page for details on how to view.
FR and Broadcast Media Programmes[edit]
Over the years, there have been a number of occasions when professional film crews have visited the railway. This page is an attempt to log these and give information as to the subsequent use made of the filming.
This includes clips for TV programmes, whole TV programmes, and commercial videos
I am sorry but, except for the ones marked, we cannot give any indication as to commercial availability of any of the recordings. The source indicates person from whom the information came from - it does not indicate they own such material.
Pre Preservation[edit]
| Year | Month | Day | Programme or title of clip | Medium | Duration | Date Shown | Note or Comment | Source |
| 1934 | August | . | The Phantom Light | Film | 7.26 | 1934 | Opening shots of train to Tan y Bwlch. Black and white | youtube |
| 1936 | . | . | BBC Radio | Broadcast | . | 1936 | History of railway, recordings on the railway and description of how slates were brought down by Mr Seaborne, Votty & Bowydd, Robert Evans, Morris Davies, Bessie Jones | Chris Jones |
| 1936 | December | 12th | The Narrow Gauge | BBC Regional Programme radio | 35 mins | A programme to celebrate the centenary of the Ffestiniog Toy Railway - the pioneer of narrow-gauge railways. This is partly a recorded programme and is produced by SAM JONES | ||
| 1936 | 12 | 14 | Pathé News | Digital | 0.38 | 1936 | Portmadoc. Details from Pathé Library ref 295902 Port, Tan-y-Bwlch with passenger train, Garnedd & near Moelwyn Tunnel with slate empties,Taliesin B&W Mute | youtube |
| 1939 | 19 | 01 | Pathé News | Digital | 0:45 | . | Welsh Railway Sheep Dog (1939) Details from Pathé Library ref 126630 All at Tan-y-Bwlch, showing the double fairlie Taliesin B&W Sound | youtube |
| 1936 | Channel Four | Digital | 23.53 | 1990 | Documentary history of the FR, includes film of Merddin Emrys(?) travelling from Port, via Tan y Bwlch to Stesion Fein starting at 3:30 B&W with narration | DanC |
1950s and 1960s[edit]
| Year | Month | Day | Programme or title of clip | Medium | Duration | Date Shown | Note or Comment | Source |
| 1957 | 1957 Marketing Film | 10:08 | 1957 Marketing Film silent cine film | youtube | ||||
| 1958 | July | 15th | Railway Roundabout | BBC | 15:00 | A magazine programme for railway enthusiasts from eight to eighty.
Introduced by Bill Hartley. This month's edition includes: A ride with the Earl of Northesk on the Talyllyn Railway Can you guess? Something old and something new To Portmadoc and Devil's Bridge by Narrow Gauge Spotters' Notebook Forthcoming attractions Guest, The Earl of Northesk From the BBC's Midland television studio Contributors Devised and filmed by: John Adams Devised and filmed by: Patrick Whitehouse Presenter: Bill Hartley Guest: The Earl of Northesk [name uncredited] Producer: Peggy Bacon |
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| 1960 | May | 29th | On Railways | BBC Network Three | In the South
Preserving the Railways Swiss Achievement: George Behrend on the Transport House at Lucerne British Efforts: Douglas Clarke talks to A. J. Boston, chairman of a panel advising the Transport Commission on the choice of relics for preservation. Voluntary Contribution: Richard Keen talks to members of the Festiniog Railway Society on a special train to Portmadoc last month |
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| 1960 | July | 13th | The Little Line | BBC | repeated 25th October 1960. BBC Welsh Outside Broadcast cameras visit the port of Portmadoc in North Wales and pay special attention to the Festiniog Railway, which has been running almost continuously for well over a hundred years.
Contributors Commentator: Wynford Vaughan Thomas Commentator: Alun Williams Producer: Dafydd Gruffydd |
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| 1960 | July | 27th | On Railways | BBC Network Three | repeated 3rd August 1960. Introduced by Douglas Clarke
Swindon Trip: R.J. Blackmore describes how railwaymen go on holiday Welsh Trio: Richard Hope introduces some recordings made recently on the Festiniog, Talyllyn, and Rheidol Valley lines. The First Train Ferries: James McEwan, recalls the history of the old Forth and Tay train ferry services Newcastle Town Branch: John Emslie describes a little-known curiosity of railway working. Contributors Unknown: R. J. Blackmore Introduces: Richard Hope Unknown: John Emslie |
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| 1961 | Colour film | 8mm | 6.46 | . | ME in red oxide, turns into Taliesin occasionally. Bessie Jones at TyB. Guard? Commentary by original filmers | Andrew Lance | ||
| 1962 | June | 9th | Railway Roundabout | BBC Home Service | Devised by John Adams and Patrick Whitehouse
More Ghost Trains A Trip on the Festiniog A Portrait of Gresley Spotters' Notebook Introduced by Peggy Bacon Edited by Shirley Franklin Contributors Unknown: John Adams Unknown: Patrick Whitehouse Introduced By: Peggy Bacon Edited By: Shirley Franklin |
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| 1963 | Pathé News | Digital | 7:45 | . | Details from Pathé Library ref 2657.02 Centenary of Steam B&W Mute | youtube | ||
| 1963 | March | 18th | Midlands News | 16mm | 1:02 | Flying Scotsman steam locomotive pulling steam special train at Derby and Gloucester. Crowds of spectators including young boy train spotters are seen on the platforms. | Mace Archive | |
| 1964 | 08 | 30 | Pathé News | Digital | 1:38 | . | Details from Pathé Library ref 287.10 Porthmadog Colour B&W Sound | youtube |
| 1964 | Pathé News | Digital | 6.46 | . | Details from Pathé Library ref 293_05 - Montage mix of outtakes - FR starts at 3m 50s in. Colour Mute | youtube | ||
| 1965 | July | 27th | HOME THIS AFTERNOON | BBC Home Service | A magazine of interest to all, with older listeners specially in mind, including:
Private Railways. 3: ROBERT GUNNELL takes a trip on the Festiniog Railway in North Wales † Silver Lining: Hymns sung by EILEEN POULTER , introduced by THE REV. ELSIE CHAMBERLAIN Mrs. Heggs and the Occupation: JACK SINGLETON talks to GRACE HEGGS about her war-time experiences in Guernsey. 2: Making do and mending Your Letters Introduced by STEVE RACE Contributors Unknown: Robert Gunnell Sung By: Eileen Poulter Unknown: Rev. Elsie Chamberlain Talks: Jack Singleton Introduced By: Steve Race |
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| 1968 | Land of the Red Dragon | 18:16 | Promotional film, narrated by actor Donald Houston, about Wales, where the hard-fought battles of the past have deposited tourist-attracting remains for the present (e.g. castles) and where opportunities for modern-day leisure pursuits are provided by the geography of the country. Visitors are assured that English is spoken but they can enjoy hearing “the ancient tongue”, and any doubts about temperance are fielded visually with full wine glasses and beer drinking.
This film was written and directed by Sarah Erulkar, from Calcutta, for the British Travel Association (in co-operation with The Wales Tourist and Holidays Association). She was committed to making documentaries only, amongst them the following which both won BAFTAs: ‘Picture to Post’ (1969), about the design of British postage stamps, and ‘The Living City’ (1977) about her birthplace and on which she shared the direction with her husband, film-maker Peter de Normanville.
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bfi player | ||||
| 1969 | January | 13th | Desert Island Discs - Alan Pegler | BBCR4 | 28:34 | Roy Plomley's castaway is owner of the Flying Scotsman Alan Pegler.
Favourite track: Water Music Suite by George Frideric Handel Book: Complete Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Luxury: Insect repellent Ffestiniog discussed 07:12, Flying Scotsman 11:03 |
BBC Sounds | |
| 1969 | February | 19th | The Champions | 48:36 | 21 "The Body Snatchers" Terry Nation, Paul Dickson. Barrett, tipped off by a journalist contact, investigates a project in the Welsh countryside that is experimenting with freezing people at the point of death so that they can be revived once medical technology is advanced enough to help them. Clips of Talyllyn (20:14 - 21:10) and Ffestiniog. (20:39 for 3 seconds) | youtube | ||
| 1969 | April | 28th | Buy a Railway | Radio 4 | repeated 23rd October 1969. A look at some of the last outposts of steam locomotion which modernisation of the railways has left behind.
Introduced by PETER WHEELER 4: The Festiniog Railway Produced by Don Mosey |
1970s[edit]
| Year | Month | Day | Programme or title of clip | Medium | Duration | Date Shown | Note or Comment | Source | |
| 1970 | Ffestiniog Country | 16mm | 29.50 | . | Mary Stevenson. Shows Snowdon, Fairbourne, Vale of Rheidol, Welshpool and Talyllyn 10 minutes. EofM with Evan Davies and Chris Byrne, Alan Heywood, Alan Pegler. Ian Rudd in buffet car drinking | youtube | |||
| 1970 | A Year's Journey: Rocks and Railways | BBC1 | 20 mins | Mon 21st Sep 1970 | 11.0-11.20 A Year's Journey: Rocks and Railways Introduced by Eric Simms (Colour) | ||||
| 1971-1973 | Owen, M.D. | no idea which episode. 15/9/71 to 17/6/73 wiki page | |||||||
| 1973 | Sounds of the Festiniog | 7" EP | . | Argo Transcord | Andrew Lance | ||||
| 1973 | June | 16th | 4th Dimension | Radio 4 | 20:00 | 4.5 Railway Magazine including Festiniog Extension: a report on the work by enthusiasts who are rebuilding the narrow-gauge railway in the mountains of North Wales. Introduced by TOM HEANEY Producer REX CHRISTIANSEN Radio Times | |||
| 1973 | June | 18th | The Singing Train | BBC2 | repeated 23rd October 1973. In recent years there has been a revival of steam-powered trains on the narrow-gauge railway tracks of Wales.
Tonight we invite you to take a musical journey along one of them - the Festiniog Railway - with Mari Griffith, Derek Boote, Triban and Hennessys Contributors Singer: Mari Griffith Singer: Derek Boote Singers: Triban Musicians: Hennessys Arrangements and musical direction: Benny Litchfield Producer: Geraint Stanley Jones |
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| 1970 | |||||||||
| 1974 | April | 8 | Look Stranger - The Campbells Came By Rail | BBC | 25.19 | . | John Harrison helps start the Colonel. Mr and Mrs Johnson meet the Colonel at Coed y Bleiddiau. Rhys Davies, farmer around Dduallt. Blasting at the tunnel with Bunny Lewis and Martin Duncan [1] | youtube | |
| 1975 | ? | ? | Nationwide | BBC | see Evan M. Davies | ||||
| 1975 | June | 'Steam is Everything' Impressions of The Festiniog Railway | unknown 16mm | 26:46 | 'Steam is Everything' Impressions of The Festiniog Railway |
youtube | |||
| 1974-1976 | The Great Little Trains of Wales | HTV | 24.47 | . | With Wynford Vaughan~Thomas 1. The Bala Lake Railway 2. The Welshpool and Llanfair Railway 3. The Ffestiniog Railway 4. The Vale of Rheidol Railway 5. The Talyllyn Railway 6. The Llanberis Lake and The Snowdon Mountain Railway 7. Dream Trains - Teifi Valley, Gwili, Welsh Highland (Porthmadog), Llangollen Each programme lasts approximately 26 minutes; 1-6 were released on 3 VHS tapes |
youtube | |||
| 1977 | November | 18 | Go with Noakes | BBC | 24.43 | . | with John Noakes of Blue Peter. Blaenau Ffestiniog Here We Come! John joins the volunteer navvies on Britain's oldest narrow-gauge railway, in their two-year struggle to blast a new tunnel in the mountains of Wales.
Film editors PETER DAY, CHRIS SPURR, Producer DAVID BROWN. BBC Manchester Radio Times Repeated 7/8/78, and again with extra preface as 'Look Back with Noakes' 1st July 1984. Also Outtakes 14.29 [2] |
youtube | |
| 1977 | A Taste of Wales | silent rushes only | youtube |
1980s[edit]
| Year | Month | Day | Programme or title of clip | Medium | Duration | Date Shown | Note or Comment | Source |
| 1980 | January | 3rd | The Line That Refused To Die | BBC2 | 59:13 | 3rd Jan 1980 | repeated 30/9/80. A railway dies when its heart is rotten and its owners no longer believe in it. In 1954, the narrow-gauge Festiniog line in North Wales was dead. It had turned away passengers, trees grew through its track, and its upper section was soon to be drowned by a hydro-electric scheme.
From the earliest days, when hordes of workmen struggled to build its mile-long embankment across the tide-ripped Glaslyn estuary, the line had a threatened existence. But the latest disaster seemed final. Railway expert Robert Symes uncovers the background story of the Festiniog's many brushes with death, and how a new generation of determined men brought it triumphantly to life once more. Film cameraman PETER CHAPMAN Film sound IAN SANSAM Film editors COLIN JONES , GEOFF MOORE Producer ROBIN BOOTLE Contributors Unknown: Robert Symes Unknown: Peter Chapman Editors: Colin Jones Editors: Geoff Moore [3] |
youtube |
| 1980 | December | 1st | Horizon: The Slatemakers | BBC2 | Slatemaking is the only real industry North Wales has ever had. In 1900 there were 16,000 Welsh quarrymen producing roofing slates. Now there are only a few hundred. The state industry is dying and there is no sign of anything to replace it.
Slate was a way of life, with uniquely Welsh values, traditions and culture. The old slate communities are still the strongholds of the Welsh language. But unemployment, tourism and the influx of English outsiders threatens to dismember what's left of the old ways. The people of Blaenau Ffestiniog, Bethesda and the Nantlle Valley tell their story. Contributors Narrator: Peter Williams Film Editor: Michael Flynn Editor: Simon Campbell-Jones Writer/Producer: Christopher Sykes |
youtube x | ||
| 1980 | "Wish you were here...? | Thames TV | 9th Feb 1981 | Welsh steam railway - Ffestiniog Railway - Porthmadog - 1980 also Llechwedd Slate Caverns, Barmouth and Harlech | youtube x youtube longer with sound x | |||
| 1981 | December | 13th | Ticket to Ride | BBC1 | The last of six programmes Puffing to Pwllheli
In the second week of his Welsh wanderings Chris Serle takes a great little train or two to the end of the line. He raises an eyebrow at a cattle market, shares a nugget with a fortyniner, splits a slate in Blaenau Ffestiniog, and meets Redcoats Patsy and Angus, to discover why ' that's entertainment Film editor CHRISTINE ROYLE Producer CYRIL GATES Executive producer DAVID BROWN Director DAVID JACKSON Contributors Unknown: Chris Serle Editor: Christine Royle Producer: Cyril Gates Producer: David Brown Director: David Jackson Radio Times Nick Pinder seen on Merddin Emrys at Minffordd. Jim Place was the guard. (Clip seen on Kiri's TV Flashback 2021) |
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| 1982 | August | 11th | Shaun McMahon | BBC | 4:07 | 1983 | 16 year old Shaun as fireman on Mountaineer with Warren Shephard, Mike Stringer, Hammy Sparks, Meirion Jones, Trevor Rogers | youtube |
| 1983 | Ffestiniog Holiday | 23.41 | Windjammer Film Production. Driver Pete Oakley and fireman Paul Lewin on Linda. Buffet steward ??. Includes the speech from George Thomas M.P. on 30th April 1983 for the official re-opening of Blaenau Ffestiniog. Mair Watson in the booking Office. John Halsall and Peter Magnay in the carriage shop. In the Works. Arthur Brooks turning wheels. Gill Shephard in the shop, Brian Bushell as Father Christmas, firemen ? John Routley |
youtube | ||||
| 1984 | March | 15th | Treasure Hunt | C4 | 11.45 | 15th March 1984 | Anneka Rice lands on beach at Harbour station (2 hours late) and tries to cross between shunting train. Terry Turner? on P.A. Guard Mike Stringer. Elaine and David Jones then Colin Dukes, Mair Watson, Ann Dukes and the bus drivers in the Café. Anneka then takes off and flies to Portmeirion | youtube |
| Daytime on Two | BBC2 | 15:00 | 7th Feb 1985 | 2.0 You and Me
A series for 4- and 5-year-olds Harry thinks the music is too loud, Liz does not; how can Cosmo and Dibs keep them both happy? Transport song: 'Wheels on tracks', a visit to the Ffestiniog railway. Book: Hena Finds a Friend. Presenters LIZ SMITH and HARRY TOWB Film director JUDITH MILES Radio Times |
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| 1985 | June | Brookside | C4 | 08-Nov-1985 | Episode 316 (T 05-11-85 "Playing Trains") Written by Susan Pleat - Jim has a proposal for Tom. Ralph and Harry go on a trip to Blaenau Ffestiniog. Julia discovers a love-letter written by Tracy to a lad at school.......or is it?
Linda as a gas producer driven by Seamus Rogers. (Rod Buchanan Collection) |
youtube STV player | ||
| 1986 | Crwydro'r Cledrau | S4C | 15.12 | Wandering The Rails. 8 programmes including one for Ffestiniog Railway. Mountaineer with fireman ??. Inside the museum, ??. Painting Blanche's smokebox. Mair Watson in the Booking Office. Interview with Evan Davies. Graham Byrom drinking in buffet car, ??. serving. Guard at end ? (Steve Coulson and Jon Whalley Collections.) | youtube | |||
| 1986 | Ar y Ffordd | S4C | 25.26 | Presented by Lynn Davies. Filmed during 1986 Gala, shows Mike Todd, Chris Richardson, Seamus Rogers, David Hedger, Peter Harrison Jon Whalley and others. Gwen Williams (Blaenau Shop and Café) and Evan Davies are interviewed. Gareth Heulfryn from Gwynedd Archives (Gareth Haulfryn Williams, later FRS-nominated member of FRT) is in the museum. George Washington Jones and Rhian y Ddol from Blaenau are also interviewed (2nd generation from Jon Whalley Collection, end cut) | youtube | |||
| 1987 | News - Share Issue | BBC | 1.26 | Jon Whalley watches orange Conwy Castle at Porthmadog. Firemen Albert Sell? and ?. Interview with David Pollock | youtube | |||
| 1987 | Snowdonia - The Accessible Wilderness | HTV | 24:43 | very short clip of FR | youtube | |||
| 1988 | May | 2nd | TV-AM | ITV | 02:50 | 2/5/88 | short article in show. | youtube |
| 1988 | News Merddin Emrys re-launch | HTV | 1.14 | Michael Schumann talking. Jo Clulow driving, Seamus Rogers on ground frame | youtube | |||
| 1988 | Aug | 2 | Holiday 88 | BBC | 6.34 | Simon Buckley is buffet steward | youtube | |
| 1989 | Apr | 1 | The Clothes Show Bride Of The Year | BBC | 24.21 | Bride joins train at Minffordd watched by Claire Traxon, Maureen Pye? Andrew Lance, Jon Whalley, Stuart Boorman and travels to Porthmadog. Guard Alan Heywood | youtube |
1990s[edit]
| Year | Month | Day | Programme or title of clip | Medium | Duration | Date Shown | Note or Comment | Source |
| 1990 | A Week in Politics | youtube | ||||||
| 1990 | Hel Straeon | S4C | 5.52 | . | Seamus Rogers on EofM, Ian Rudd on Mountaineer, Eurwyn Jones interviewed at TyB on 3 coach push-pull. John Williams showing 112 at Boston Lodge.Machinist Twm..? Guard Andrew Lance. Ian Yates rubbing down 19 | youtube | ||
| 1990 | Design Matters | C4 | 4.43 | ? | Terry Turner, Colin Sudlow, Andrew Arrowsmith on Linda. Andrew Lance buffet steward. Interview with Will Roberts at Gloddfa Ganol | youtube | ||
| 1990 | The Emotive Locomotive | 52:08 | Merddin Emrys at Blaenau, Dave Yates driving, Andrew Lance guard, Brian Bushell control. fireman ....., trainee ..... | youtube | ||||
| 1990 | Sep | 12-14 | French Holiday Programme video | . | 12.45 | 1990 | At Boston Lodge, Phil Traxon and Dave Yates.At Porthmadog Chris Burn-Murdoch, Helen Waters, Andrew Lance, Jo Clulow, Claire Stanton, Stewart Macfarlane on P.A. Ian Raxton trainee guard. Catherine Herrick (buffet) and Evan Davies. Nick Corley and Jo Clulow on EofM. Trish Doyle and Jackie Mitchelmore in café. Meirion Roberts at Penrhyn. Julian Dixon trainee guard at TyB. Paul O'Brien trainee fireman of Mountain Prince with Phil Traxson supervising and Dave Yates driving | youtube |
| 1991 | February | 5th | Outlook | BBC2 | first shown 7/2/89. The Past Alive
3: Llechwedd Slate Mines The story of a young slate worker's life in Blaenau Ffestiniog 100 years ago. With David Parry-Jones . |
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| 1991 | Peter Sharratt Set Loose | TV-AM | . | . | Gravity train with museum horse, Dave High driving. Andrew Lance shunting Rob Turnbull passing. Alan Heywood talking. Julia Mcgregor buffet trolley. Thelma Hancock and Paul O'Brien talking. Fred Howes and Andy Putnam on weedkiller train. Colin Sudlow and Andrew Tarring at Boston Lodge. 9 minutes | youtube | ||
| 1992 | Ffestiniog Etifeddiant Rheillffordd | Mercia for S4C | 26.08 | ? | Welsh version of Mercia video | Andrew Lance | ||
| 1992 | Ffestiniog & Conwy | Video 125 | Cab ride video along both lines. | youtube x | ||||
| 1992 | July | News | HTV | 2:19 | HTV News David Lloyd George Launch on Ffestiniog Railway | youtube | ||
| 1992 | Steil | S4C | 24:41 | . | Welsh fashion programme. Michael Middleton and Colin Dukes on Prince (only poor quality video held) | youtube | ||
| 1993 | Feb | 6 | Steaming Passions | Glasgow based production company for C4 | 49:33 | This was available on VHS Author, broadcaster and aspiring steam train enthusiast Nigel Farrell sets off on a steam train journey through Britain, starting on the North Yorks Moors Railway. He disembarks to board the Princess Margaret Rose, en route to Holyhead, and spends some time on the famous Ffestiniog Railway in Wales, the Talyllyn and Severn Valley Lines and the Bluebell Line in Sussex. Along the way Nigel tries to find out what inspires such passion in men and women alike for steam trains. Centre section of the programme is based on FR. Features Eileen Clayton, Neil Clayton, Dave Charlton, Sara Shrives, Martin Wiseman, Sharon Wilson, Sarah van Lottum, Stewart Macfarlane. Filmed at P&G Weekend in Autumn 1991 and in February 1992. First broadcast in February 1993 | youtube | |
| 1993 | Hel Straeon | S4C | 06:08 | 1st to 3rd May 1993 | Hundred Hunslet Gala | youtube | ||
| 1993 | News David Lloyd George Naming Ceremony | S4C | 40:04 | youtube | ||||
| 1993 | Jun | The Last Train Round Wales | HTV | 11.24 | 1994 | HTV Filmed June 1993, 3 parts, link is to part 2 which includes Ffestiniog section, more in part 3 [4] | youtube | |
| 1993 | Aug | Slot Sadwrn | S4C | 25.05 | Welsh kids programme. Live broadcast from train. Interview with Aled Lloyd at Minffordd. Driver Colin Dukes, guard Andrew Lance | youtube | ||
| 1993 | Oct | Live and Kicking | BBC | 7.14 | Harriet Morgan introduces the railway. Evan Davies on Linda. Jenny Waters, Paul O'Brien and Mark Quayle preparing engines. Catherine and Zoe Hopkinson and Gordon Rushton on Sgt Murphy. Eileen Clayton and lots of P&G volunteers on train. Robert Shrives at Lotties | youtube | ||
| 1994 | Reportage | BBC North | 3.40 | Steam and Cuisine meal on train hauled by Prince and Linda | Andrew Lance | |||
| 1994 | Mar | 16 | Def2 Reportage | BBC | 19.15 | 'Blind Date' style programme ending with Steam & Cuisine 2 minutes. BBC North (only poor quality video held) | Andrew Lance | |
| 1994 | Apr | 22 | Granada Action | ITV | 7.27 | Jenny Waters, Gordon Rushton, Andrew Arrowsmith, Dave Charlton | youtube | |
| 1994 | June | 11th | Hit the Road | BBC | . | . | Starts from Portmeirion and passes through Porthmadog. Aerial view of Minffordd yard. Radio Times | youtube |
| 1994 | Sep | 9 | Big Day Out | BBC | 46.47 | 9th September 1994 | A visit to Blaenau Ffestiniog in North Wales, which provides an insight into the life of a slate miner, and the importance of the mountain rescue team. Presented by Mo Dutta, Bob Langley, Victoria Studd. Evan Davies on DLG. Archive film from Gloddfa Ganol, interview with former quarryman Ernest Jones. Gordon Rushton Jill Franklin, Helen Waters, David Parkin, Maurice Pinner all speak. Also seen, Louis Berger, Seamus Rogers. Footage from the 1993 Gala | youtube |
| 1994 | Nov | Good Morning with Anne and Nick - The Garden Guru | BBC | 6.28 | 11th April 1995 | Filmed November 1994. Anthony Henn tries to tell Eileen Clayton how to garden. Intro took 15 takes. Graham Byrom, Paul Davies and Eamonn Seddon were train crew | Andrew Lance | |
| 1995 | Slate Programme | S4C | 20.38 | Dinorwic and Nantlle Quarries. Penrhyn Quarry Railway(Start Missing from copy held) | youtube | |||
| 1995 | Another slate programme | S4C | 18.04 | mainly Dinorwic Quarry (Start Missing, end of titles missing from copy held) | youtube | |||
| 1995 | Jan | 20 | Bitsa | BBC | 14.26 | 20th January 1995 | Rod Buchanan Collection. Board the train at valve-house crossing, Harriet Morgan serves drinks. Leave train at Plas Halt | youtube |
| 1995 | Feb | 5 | Llwybrau Dei | S4C | 24.46 | Walking the WHR from Porthmadog to Caernarfon | Andrew Lance | |
| 1995 | Mar | 8 | Wales Today | BBC | 2.02 | 8th March 1995 | Jon Whalley seen inspecting DLG with John Shawe and Mark Mitchell on loco. Inteviews with Gordon Rushton and Dave Allen (WHLR Co.), Bob Anderson (Caernarfon Chamber of Trade) | Andrew Lance |
| 1995 | May | 11 | News TR | 1.41 | News: Talyllyn Railway young offenders scheme ending, no FR content | youtube | ||
| 1995 | Jun | 5 | Breaking The Mould - Slate | C4 & BBC Wales | 16.24 | 5th March 1995 | Only one FR shot, of ME and C set at Dolrhedyn Bridge. Old shots in Dinorwic Quarry also Penrhyn Castle (start missing from video held) | Andrew Lance |
| 1995 | May | 14 | Wales Today | BBC | 0.58 | 14th May 1995 | Rory Francis from Snowdonia National Park Society interviewed. Gordon Rushton and Tony Smare seen | Andrew Lance |
| 1995 | Nov | News | BBC | 1.16 | Lottery award. Andrew Arrowsmith driving Blanche. Inteview with Gordon Rushton. Filmed at Harbour station | Andrew Lance | ||
| 1996 | Holiday with Jill Dando etc | 13.11 | Sue Cook stays at Maes-y-Neuedd. Christopher Boulter is the guard, driver Colin Dukes | Andrew Lance | ||||
| 1996 | Coed y Bleiddiau | 25.07 | Mostly Welsh. Interview with the Johnsons of Coed y Bleiddiau. Shots of DLG with Paul Davies? Fireman | youtube | ||||
| 1996 | Jan | 24 | Y Parc | S4C | 4.53 | Soap opera. Meirion Roberts at Penrhyn crossing with push-pull train going up | youtube | |
| 1996 | Feb | 4 | Country File | BBC | 3.19 | (4.5 million?) Couple of video faults. Alco in grey, Tony Williams driving. Library shots of Palmerston and DLG from 1993 With Nigel Dant and Dave Thurlow, also Linda and Blanche with Seamus Rogers at Cei Mawr. Eamonn Seddon talking at Boston Lodge. | Andrew Lance | |
| 1996 | Mar | 5 | Pacio | S4C | 24.58 | Holiday programme. Maes-y-Neuadd Hotel. 7 minutes of ME and c set | Andrew Lance | |
| 1996 | ? | ? | All Steamed Up | C4 | 51:03 | Peak Rail, East Lancashire Railway, and Handel Kardas on the Ffestiniog | link to youtube x | |
| 1997 | ? | ? | Classic Trains - Slate and Narrow | C4 | 23:53 | 1997 | (00:00)Rhyl Ghost Train, (01:36)Llanberis, (04.01)Chaloner, (06.28)Alice, (09:07)Snowdon, (13:45)Ffestiniog, (16:58)Rhomney. Hammy Sparks and Andrea Hayward? guarding, Jon Walsh interview. Narrated by John Peel | youtube x |
| 1997? | Homeland | BBC | 7.44 | Steam and Cuisine. Alco in grey. Cleaner??, Eamonn Seddon talks. Patrick Dobson locks up. Robert Cooper serving. Adrian Strachan fireman, Mick Whittle and Christopher Boulter guard at Blaenau. Peter Traloar dining. Graham Bond driving | Andrew Lance | |||
| 1997-99 | Working Lunch WHR | 5.13 | Eleri Carrog and others give their point of view. Eamonn Seddon and Rory Francis from Snowdonia Society interviewed (only poor quality video held) | Andrew Lance | ||||
| 1998 | Welsh Agenda Steam and Cuisine | HTV | 4.53 | Robert Cooper serving. Tony Smare dining. Linda driven by Mike Middleton | Andrew Lance | |||
| 1998 | TVAM Gala | 0.34 | Short clip. Derek Evans and ??. on EofM, Ted Beausire and Ann Evans exchange short section token at Minffordd. Russell and Prince at Boston Lodge curve | Andrew Lance | ||||
| 1998 | Sep | 8 | News | HTV | 1.58 | Colin Dukes, Eamonn Seddon and Peter Hodgett talking. LLyr ap Iolo on Linda | Andrew Lance | |
| 1998 | Sooty & Co | CITV | 19.36 | 7th December 1998 | Series 6, "85. Rocky 1 (aka A Prisoner for Heights)". Peter Weston on Porthmadog platform, Andrew Lance is the guard. Aled Lloyd on DLG | youtube x | ||
| 1999 | Bill Bryson, Notes from a Small Island | 24.35 | 1999 | Only 3 minutes on railway. Carlton. 16x9. Iorwerth Roberts (guard), Eileen Clayton and Neil Clayton in buffet car, Jenny Quayle on EofM | Andrew Lance | |||
| 1999 | Jun | 30 | News | BBC | 2.02 | 30th June 1999 | Trish and Roland Doyle, Mike Schumann, Tony Smare interviewed. Eleri Carrog and Iwan Hughes give their points of view (only poor quality video held) | Andrew Lance |
| 1999 | The Antiques Inspectors | BBC | 43.49 | 12th September 1999 | Paul Davies and on Linda. Guard Richard Stedman Jones. Andrew Lance with Hornby Dublo train set in Spooners | youtube | ||
| 1999 | Sep | 19 | Homeland | BBC | 27.20 | 19th September 1999 | Presenter Sara Edwards on train at Dinas. Jon Whalley on 143. Interview with Eamonn Seddon. Guard Andrew Lance selling ticket. David Firth from Snowdonia Society and farmer Richard Williams speak. Murray..... and Peter Hugman seen at Dinas. About 7 minutes. | Andrew Lance |
| 1999 | Your Century, Blaenau ffestiniog | HTV | 24:00 | ? | short clip Earl of Merioneth arriving at station. | youtube | ||
2000s[edit]
| Year | Month | Day | Programme or title of clip | Medium | Duration | Date Shown | Note or Comment | Source |
| 2000 | Codi Stêm 2000 | . | Andrew Lance | |||||
| 2000 | Awaydays | HTV | 18:42 | Porthmadog. Presented by Lucy Cohen. Steam and Cuisine | ||||
| 2001 | Your Century, Porthmadog | HTV | 23:16 | youtube | ||||
| 2002 | Away with Words | 18.36 | Presented by Steve Vickerstaff and Kate Humble. Filmed around Porthmadog High Street and on the train. Sam Hughes in the Booking Office, Paul Davies and Ian Wilkinson on DLG, Phil Brown Richard Stedman Jones at Minffordd. Dan May and Richard Buxton are the buffet steward. | Andrew Lance | ||||
| 2002 | Becky and Barnaby Bear | 13.53 | 2002 | Sam Hughes in Booking Office, Tim Davies is the Guard. Martin Wiseman, Tony Willmore and Mark Quale on the EofM www.bbc.co.uk | Andrew Lance | |||
| 2003 | January | 15th-21st | News | BBC / S4C | Slate for the Millennium Centre, Cardiff BBC | Andrew Lance | ||
| 2003 | July | 30th | News | BBC | 16.30 Waunfawr opening Charles Total 5 clips from local news Steve Coulson Collection | Andrew Lance | ||
| 2003 | July | 30th | News | ITV | 16.30 Waunfawr opening Charles Total 5 clips from Steve Coulson Collection | Andrew Lance | ||
| 2004 | May | Bristol Travelling Library | Visit by Bristol Travelling Library in May 2004. Charlie Sharp is enrolled into the library on board C-set (coach 112), Stewart Macfarlane - Guard | |||||
| 2004 | June | BBC Look North | BBC | News report from Railfest, Paul Ingham driving Prince | ||||
| 2004 | July | 30th | Fred Dibnah's Made in Britain | BBC2 | 29:00 | 10/5/2005 | Chains and Copper
Fred Dibnah's Made in Britain Episode 10 of 12 Fred, Alf and Jimmy continue their investigation of the Black Country by watching the skills of an authentic chain maker, producing chains in the same way as they would have been in 1910. After all that hard work they sit down to enjoy fish and chips washed down with a pint of local ale. They have a long journey ahead, travelling all the way from Dudley to Anglesey to visit Parys Mountain, a vast copper mine that was once the largest in the world. The copper from Parys Mountain would be made into sheets and taken to a copper spinner just like the one Fred goes to visit in the East Midlands. The spinning process may look easy but, as Fred discovers, there is a lot of skill involved. After leaving Anglesey they travel further down into Wales making an overnight stop at Ffestiniog Railway, originally built to transport slate from Ffestiniog to Porthmadog. While the others look after the traction engine, Fred enjoys a ride and drive on the footplate of an 1891 slate shunting engine. He also takes a look around the maintenance yard where he sees Prince - possibly the oldest working steam engine in the world, dating back to 1863. |
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| Welsh Kids Programme | 1.01 | Andrew Arrowsmith fills Blanche at Blaenau Ffestiniog. Guard Richard Stedman-Jones | Andrew Lance | |||||
| 2006 | August | 20th | Countryfile | BBC | 59:08 | 20/8/2006 | Ben Fogle and Miriam O'Reilly explore Thomas Hardy's Dorset while Adam Henson gets in the saddle for a horse trek in the Brecon Beacons. Plus with the shortage of rain and record summer temperatures, we find out how the countryside is coping and how it may adapt. Richard Buxton in the buffet car talking to John Craven, Paul Lewin interview, Dr Gwynfor Pierce Jones in Blaenau Ffestiniog, Nigel and Jean Claude on Linda (7 mins) www.bbc.co.uk | |
| 2006 | August | 23rd | Pasiant Port | Cwmni Da for S4C | 24:03 | 23/8/2006 | S4C shown Weds 23rd August 2006 2100 and Thurs 24th at 2315, 48000 viewers | youtube |
| 2006 | ? | ? | The Welsh Way of Life: The Age of the Train | The Welsh Way of Life takes a look back at The Age of the Train, with rare archive footage conjuring up a bygone age of steam. | ||||
| 2006 | November | 1st | How Clean is your House? | C4 | 24:13 | Porthmadog. Taliesin at Harbour Station | youtube x | |
| 2008 | January | 3rd | Fishlock's Wild Tracks | ITV | 22.59 | Campbell's Platform | Andrew Lance | |
| 2008 | March | 12th | Fo, Fi a'r MC | S4C | 48:40 | He follows in the footsteps of renowned Welsh bard T. H. Parry-Williams to South America from Rhyd Ddu | ||
| 2008 | March | 25th | Most Haunted Series 10 episode 6 | Antix Productions | 45 mins | Plas y Dduallt. Chilling new investigations with Yvette Fielding and the team. In the heart of Snowdonia, the team visit Plas Y Dduallt, an ancient house rife with rumours of spirits and poltergeists. imdb link |
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| 2009 | April | 7th | Wedi 7 | S4C | live broadcast | |||
| 2009 | June | 26th | Duffy - Rockferry | 3:48 | music video | youtube x | ||
| 2009 | ? | ? | Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes | Ascent Media | 1:29:05 | 26/Jan/2010 | Filmed in 2009?,locations include Gwydir Castle, HMS Pickle, National Slate Museum, Glynllifon Mansion, Dinorwig Quarry Hospital, streets of Caernarfon. The Welsh Highland Railway features at 50:28 | youtube |
| 2009 | February | Live the Dream | ITV Studios Limited, Shiver | 5th October 2009 | Live The Dream...As Seen On Screen
Views to Die For: Melissa Porter and Nick Barratt travel to the Lake District, Snowdonia and Northumberland, and meet homeowners living dream lifestyles in each location. 8.00pm Mon 5 2009 Jan |
youtube |
2010s[edit]
| Year | Month | Day | Programme or title of clip | Medium | Duration | Date Shown | Note or Comment | Source |
| 2010 | April | 27th | News | BBC1 | 4.33 | 27/4/2010 | Queen visiting Caernarfon and trip on WHR to name Glaslyn | youtube |
| 2010 | May | 5th | News | BBC1 | 2.48 | 5/5/2010 | Election - clips of WHR | |
| 2010 | May | 16th | Countryfile | BBC1 | 5.47 | 16/5/2010 | Matt Baker heads to Snowdonia National Park, where he hitches a ride on a train that relies on the laws of gravity to move it, and finds out about the challenges of farming on the side of the highest mountain in Wales.
Joining him is Ellie Harrison, who meets the man who's come up with a novel way of growing mushrooms and discovers what is being done to control the foreign invaders threatening our native wildlife. John Craven is in the Orkney Islands in Scotland to investigate controversial plans to harness energy from the sea, while Adam Henson's got some expert advice for Kate Humble as she gets to grips with pig production on her smallholding in Wales.iplayer Gravity Train |
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| 2010 | Byw yn yr Ardd | S4C | 5.39 | before 16/9/2010 | Dduallt Manor, Huw Jenkins (Welsh) | |||
| ? | Wedi Saith | S4C | Beddgelert | |||||
| 2010 | 8.44 | before 16/9/2010 | Roy Noble, Coed y Bleiddiau | |||||
| 2010 | 5.32 | before 16/9/2010 | Bettany Hughes, Manod | |||||
| 2010 | October | 27 | Snowdonia 1890 | BBC1 | 27/10/2010 | Snowdonia 1890, episode 6 | ||
| 2011 | January | 13 | Great British Railway Journeys | BBC2 | Michael Portillo's Great British Railway Journeys, Series 4, Episode 9, Llechwedd and trip to Porthmadog | |||
| 2011 | February | 18th | ITV Wales Tonight | ITV | 2:20 | ITV News - 18.2.11 - Welsh Highland Railway - First public trains | youtube | |
| 2011 | February | 19th | Good Morning Wales | BBC Radio Wales | BBC Radio Wales - Good Morning Wales - 19.2.11 Andrew Thomas | youtube | ||
| 2011 | February | 22nd | Wedi 7 | S4C | 6:15 | Wedi 7 - 22.2.11 Tony Williams | youtube | |
| 2011 | May | 5th | BBC East Midlands Today | BBC | 4:20 | BBC East Midlands Today - 5.4.11 Ian Hunt, Howard Wilson, Paul Lewin. Welsh Highland opening | youtube | |
| 2011 | April | Full Steam Ahead | BBC2 | 57.58 | Produced and directed by Helen Williams-Ellis | youtube x | ||
| 2011 | May | 7th | Open Country | Radio 4 | Helen Mark takes a ride on the new Welsh Highland Railway, which leaves Caernarfon and takes in the stunning Snowdonian landscape, before arriving at its destination in Porthmadog. Along the way Helen hears about the back-breaking work undertaken by hundreds of volunteers to get the railway up and running and about the history of slate mining in the area, which used to rely so heavily on the railways. She also stops off at the RSPB's Osprey Project at Glaslyn to catch sight of the only breeding pair of ospreys in Wales.
Presenter: Helen Mark Producer: Helen Chetwynd listen Radio Times |
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| 2011 | July | 10th | Coast | BBC | 3:58 | Wales: Border to Border
CoastSeries 6 Episode 5 of 6 Coast travels right around the wonderful Welsh coast from the border with England in the south on the Severn estuary, to the northern English border on the Dee estuary. Nick Crane investigates the evidence that a devastating tsunami crashed on to the coast of Wales and England some 400 years ago. Villages were wiped off the map and thousands died, leaving the survivors to believe they had suffered the judgement of God; but was it a tidal wave that was to blame? Nick also discovers why scientists planning an expedition to the Red Planet find the Welsh coast a surprisingly good stand-in for the surface of Mars. And at the end of his journey Nick gains unique access to a remarkable passenger ship left stranded on the Welsh shore and virtually untouched since the 1980s. Alice Roberts attempts to get airborne with just helium balloons attached to her waist as she tests the claim that the world's first powered flight was actually made by a Welsh carpenter. Meanwhile, Miranda Krestovnikoff lands where few people ever tread - on Grassholm. It is an extraordinary island normally kept exclusively for the birds, and Miranda joins a scientific expedition trying to discover where the gannets of Grassholm disappear to in the winter. In 1947 two brothers were on holiday on Anglesey when one had a brainwave for a completely new kind of vehicle. There and then he sketched his rough notion in the sand - but this was an idea that would survive and endure. Dick Strawbridge explores how that coastal blueprint became the plan for the Land Rover. Plus Tessa Dunlop reveals how some 30 years ago an army of local volunteers managed to keep 3,000 Asians, who had been expelled from Uganda, warm and well-fed in an abandoned military base during a Welsh seaside winter. |
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| 2011 | October | 17th | BBC & S4C | 17th Oct 2011 | Porthmadog Bypass | youtube | ||
| 2011 | November | 2nd | Wales This Week - Snowdonia at 60 | ITV | 23:04 | ITV - Wales This Week - Snowdonia at 60 (featuring the Welsh Highland Railway) Huw Jenkins | youtube | |
| 2011 | November | 2nd | All Roads Lead Home | BBC | 3:42 | Episode three of the BBC2 series 'All Roads Lead Home' - Ffestiniog Railway sequence | youtube | |
| 2012 | May | 11th | News | 7:06 | May 11th 2012 - ITV / BBC / S4C News Reports covering the launch of Quarry Hunslet 'Hugh Napier' at Harbour Station Porthmadog, and the subsequent trip to Beddgelert | youtube | ||
| 2012 | May | 31st | ITV Wales News | ITV | 2:57 | Olympic torch | youtube | |
| 2012 | May | 31st | BBC Wales Today lunchtime | BBC | 1:04 | Olympic torch | youtube | |
| 2012 | May | 31st | BBC Wales Today early evening | BBC | 1:00 | Olympic torch | youtube | |
| 2012 | May | 31st | BBC Wales Today late evening | BBC | 1:00 | Olympic torch | youtube | |
| 2012 | August | 8th | ITV News | ITV | 1:43 | The 'Railway Children' of Porthmadog - ITV News - 21st Anniversary of Kids Week Adrian Gray | youtube | |
| 2012 | December | 12th | The Golden Age of Steam Railways | BBC4 | 59:00 | 12/12/12 | Home movies help tell the story of how bands of volunteers got together to save some of Britain's railway tracks and the steam engines that ran on them Part 1 Small is Beautiful: Two-part series telling the remarkable story of a band of visionaries who rescued some of the little narrow gauge railways that once served Britain's industries. Dave Yates and Brian Rogers cine film, interview with Allan Garraway (Part 2 Branching Out: Home movies tell the story of how, when steam started to disappear in the 1950s, volunteers got together to save some of the tracks and the engines that ran on them.) |
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| 2013 | January | 20th | Iolo's Great Welsh Parks | BBC1 | ||||
| 2013 | June | 4th | BBC Wales Today | BBC1 | 2.20 | Chris Dearden reporting Ffestiniog Railway's Princess steam engine in Dublin anniversary trip https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-wales-22764100 | ||
| 2013 | October | 31st | The Sharp End | ITV Wales | 10:23 | Discussion on the re-opening of the Bangor-Caernarfon rail link, the electrification of the North Wales Main Line, and the merits of HS2 | youtube | |
| 2014 | January | 6th | A Great Welsh Adventure with Griff Rhys Jones | ITV | 22:20 | S1E1 In this land of the most spectacular mountain landscape in Wales, Griff is challenged to find a Snowdon Lily - one of the rarest plants in the world. | ||
| 2014 | May | 22nd | ITV Wales News | ITV | 2:17 | ITV Wales news item on Harbour Station official opening. Screened on opening day, 22/5/14 | youtube | |
| 2014 | Welsh Towns at War Episode 2 of 2 | BBC | 30:00 | Eddie Butler uncovers extraordinary tales of tragedy, triumph and everyday spirit in Welsh towns that were changed forever by World War One. In Porthmadog he learns of the sea captains marooned in German ports with their cargo of slate and discovers how the quarrying industry in nearby Blaenau Ffestiniog was nearly wiped out as Britain turned itself into a war machine. He reveals startling footage of the sinking of a Porthmadog ship by a German U-boat. And he meets the grandson of former premier David Lloyd George, the local boy made good, who became known as The Man Who Won the War. Eddie visits the Trawsfynydd home of Hedd Wyn, the Poet of the Black Chair, who is a symbol today for the suffering and loss of a generation of young men. But he also celebrates the unsung foot soldiers who fought and died at the Western Front or at Gallipoli on the Turkish coast. And he unearths a unique collection of photographs taken in Porthmadog in 1918 that depicts a society on the cusp of a transformation. | BBC iPlayer | |||
| 2014 | November | 22nd | The National Lottery Live | BBC1 | 09.02 | 22/11/14 | Brief appearance for Paul Lewin describing the £4.3 million lottery grant in 1994 | |
| 2014 | December | 10th | Dechrau Canu Dechrau Canmol | S4C | 24:14 | The singing comes from the Salem Porthmadog Chapel and the minister Iwan Llewelyn Jones will lead the singing. This week's congregational singing comes from Porthmadog's Salem Chapel. Blanche crossing the Cob. link to www.bbc.co.uk | ||
| 2015 | August | 3rd | ITV Wales News | ITV | 3:13 | Prince on the 60th anniversary train | youtube | |
| 2015 | October | 6th | Secrets of Underground Britain | C5 | 45:02 | 6/10/15 | Rob Bell continues his subterranean adventure in Wales, heading underneath the Brecon Beacons park to explore the largest natural cave system in Europe. He then uncovers the underground secrets of Chirk and Ruthin castles in north Wales, before heading south to the Gower Peninsula to visit Paviland cave, which can only be accessed by abseiling down a cliff. Finally, Rob goes to Snowdonia to delve into the history of the Industrial Revolution as he experiences what life would have been like for slate miners. | |
| 2016 | May | ITV Wales News | ITV | 2:48 | ITV Wales news about our new coaches | youtube | ||
| 2016 | July | 21st | Full Steam Ahead | BBC2 | 59:00 | youtube | ||
| 2016 | Paul Brett features his new Statesboro' 12 string by Vintage | Paul Brett and Vintage Guitars preview their new Statesboro 12 string which is being launched in January 2017 at NAMM, Anaheim, USA. It is a tribute to the great blues 12 string legend Blind Willie McTell who played a similar model in the 1930's. Enquiries to JHS/Vintage Guitars. | youtube | |||||
| 2016 | December | 7th | Dan Snow on Lloyd George: My Great Great Grandfather | BBC1 | 1:00 | At the end of the First World War, Britain's prime minister David Lloyd George was a national hero, hailed as 'the man who won the war'. A hundred years after he became PM, Lloyd George's great-great-grandson Dan Snow explores his famous forebear's life and asks why he's not better remembered, why he's not as famous a wartime leader as his friend and protege Winston Churchill. It's a tale of sex and scandal, success and failure, with Dan discovering some home truths from his family's history.
Dan's journey starts in north Wales in the village of Llanystumdwy, where Lloyd George was raised by his uncle after his father's death. It's an area Dan knows well from childhood holidays visiting his grandmother. He climbs Moel y Gest, a rocky outcrop overlooking the sea, a view virtually unchanged since Lloyd George's day. Taking the Ffestiniog railway up into the mountains Dan travels in Lloyd George's own railway carriage, reputedly a place when he would enjoy some private time with his secretary. Like Lloyd George, Dan journeys from Wales to Parliament, filming in the House of Commons where his ancestor made such an impact. Initially Lloyd George was a radical Liberal, causing outrage by opposing the Boer War in 1899, but ten years later he was chancellor of the exchequer, introducing some of the most important legislation of the early 20th century. His budget of 1909 brought in national insurance and old age pensions and, as his biographer Roy Hattersley tells Dan, laid the foundations of the welfare state. When Britain went to war in August 1914, Lloyd George was a pivotal member of the cabinet. Historian Margaret Macmillan, an expert on the First World War and another descendant of Lloyd George, points out that if he'd come out against the war the Liberal government would have fallen. Once war was declared Lloyd George was important in recruiting the new citizen's army, making speeches across the country. But in private he was making sure his sons didn't volunteer straightaway, another example of Lloyd George's double dealing. Lloyd George's private life is as famous as his politics. Before the war he had a string of affairs, but by 1914 he was involved with his secretary Frances Stevenson. Half his age, she was a pioneering female civil servant and a constant companion during the First World War. Meeting her biographer John Campbell, Dan discovers some shocking secrets about their relationship during the war years. Lloyd George's most significant work in the early years of the war was in munitions production. Britain, like all the other warring countries, was running out of shells. He revolutionised the war economy, creating a huge workforce, including many women, to produce the vast numbers of guns and ammunition needed to wage total war. Dan visits an engineering works in north Wales which in 1917 was turned over to armaments production. But Lloyd George's dynamism wasn't reflected in the rest of the government, especially the prime minister Herbert Asquith. At the end of 1916 after the failure of the Somme, matters came to a head and Asquith was forced to resign to be replaced by Lloyd George. He was the first man from such humble origins to become prime minister. In spring 1918, the Germans broke through and almost reached Paris, but the Allies fought back. This is when Lloyd George's war machine came into the effect - the huge amount of munitions he helped create, along with the newly arrived American troops, forced the German army into retreat, finally signing the Armistice on 11 November 1918. In 1918, Lloyd George was wildly popular and re-elected by a landslide, but his postwar career was less successful. Dan visits the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles where Lloyd George signed the famous treaty, but many think that this fuelled German resentment and led to the Second World War 20 years later. At home, the 'land fit for heroes' which Lloyd George had promised didn't materialise and there was a postwar slump. When it was revealed that he'd sold honours to fund his Liberal Party his days were numbered, and he was finally ousted by his Conservative coalition partners in 1922. Until his death in 1945 Lloyd George was a figure in the wilderness, never returned to power and further damaging his reputation with an ill-advised visit to Hitler in 1936. He was, as Dan concludes, a flawed hero, but one from whom he's proud to be descended. BBC website |
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| 2017 | February | 1st | Who Do You Think You Are - Greg Davies | BBC1 | 58.09 | 1/2/17 | Greg Davies's father made sure that his son was born on Welsh soil so that when Greg became a rugby international, he would play for Wales. Fortunately for comedy, Greg showed little talent for rugby, but he retains a sense of connection to his Welsh roots and, two years after his dad's death, wants to know more about them. Greg gets more than he bargained for when he identifies a wayward great-grandfather but is rewarded when the trail leads further back to the deepest Welsh roots anyone could wish for. link to www.bbc.co.uk | |
| 2018 | January | 19th | Great British Railway Journeys | BBC2 | 30:22 | 19/1/18 | Michael Portillo's Great British Railway Journeys, Series 9 Criccieth to Caernarfon | |
| 2018 | Al Murray: Why Does Everyone Hate the English? | History | 43:56 | Linda's footplate with Phil Brown | ||||
| 2019 | July | 19th | Codi Pac | S4C | 23:51 | 19/7/19 | Blaenau Ffestiniog: Geraint Hardy sy'n ymlwybro o gwmpas Cymru. Ym Mlaenau Ffestiniog yr wythnos hon byddwn yn darganfod beth sydd gan y dref i'w chynnig. Join Geraint Hardy as he visits Blaenau Ffestiniog. link to www.bbc.co.uk | |
| 2019 | September | 24th | Countryfile Autumn Diaries 2 of 5 | 43:56 | BBC1 | 19/10/2019 | Countryfile Autumn Diaries 2019 Episode 2 of 5
John Craven continues his exploration of the stunning countryside around the historic city of Oxford. Keeley Donovan goes on night patrol with police who are trying to catch the criminals stealing contaminated meat that could end up on your dinner plate. Jules Hudson uncovers a worrying driver shortage that could throw our heritage railways into crisis. (8 mins Paul Lewin, Phil Brown, Mark Gardner, Andrew Wright) Paul Martin invites two experts to raid his home for plastics that he could ditch in favour of more eco-friendly and often cheaper options. And Margherita Taylor goes head to head with the robot farmers of the future. |
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| 2019 | November | 15th | World's Most Scenic Railway Journeys | Channel 5 | 45.06 | link to C5 website | ||
2020s[edit]
| Year | Month | Day | Programme or title of clip | Medium | Duration | Date Shown | Note or Comment | Source |
| 2020 | March | 6th | The Yorkshire Steam Railway | Channel 5 | 43:48 | 6/3/20 | S3 Ep3, 3:30 visit to FR for toilet information. Glenn Williams, Jon Whalley, Paul Lewin. | My 5 |
| 2020 | May | 5th | The Architecture The Railways Built | Yesterday | 43:23 | 5th May 2020 | Episode 1.2 Ffestiniog Railway / Amsterdam Centraal station / The Landmark Hotel, Marylebone | UKTV play |
| 2020 | July | 25th | The Flying Scotsman: Pride of Britain | Channel 5 | 67:08 | 25th May 2020 | Documentary presented by Rob Bell, charting the story of the world's most famous steam locomotive. AP is seen wearing his FR greasetop and his daughter is interviewed while travelling on the Ffestiniog Railway | My 5 |
| 2020 | September | 12th | Great British Railway Journeys | BBC | 30:00 | 13/5/21 | Great British Railway Journeys
Series 12: 14. Blaenau Ffestiniog to Barmouth In the Welsh mountains of Snowdonia, Michael Portillo reaches an abandoned mine, where in 1940 the wartime government sought sanctuary for the National Gallery’s priceless art collection. Michael hears how, as invasion appeared imminent, great masterpieces were transported by train and lorry to be stored hundreds of feet beneath the ground in a natural granite bunker. At Tan y Bwlch, Michael meets 'Blanche', who used to haul slate at Penrhyn quarry and was built in 1893. Now beautifully restored, she takes Michael on a memorable ride on the oldest narrow-gauge line in the world, the Ffestiniog Railway. In the harbour town of Porthmadog, Michael investigates the Welsh origins of a man forever associated with the Middle East, Lawrence of Arabia. On the Welsh coast at Portmeirion, Michael discovers a fantasy village, begun in 1925 by architect Sir Bertram Clough Williams-Ellis. The unique folly with its colour-washed buildings and palm-lined central square is set in 85 acres of ornamental gardens. It became a favoured destination for the rich and found lasting fame in cult television series The Prisoner. Michael finds himself pursued by a large balloon and sucked into a game of human chess. Further south at Barmouth, Michael encounters a different group of holidaymakers also drawn to the Welsh coast. Trainee Jesuits, members of the largest male order of the Roman Catholic Church, flocked to Barmouth during the interwar years to take a break from their strict regime of studies. Michael meets two present-day scholastics. |
iplayer |
| 2020 | September | 17th | ITV News, Wales at 6 | ITV Wales | 29.49 | 17/9/20 | News report (3:06), interview with Stephen Greig | |
| 2020 | September | 25th | Hidden Wales with Will Millard | BBC | 29:00 | Hidden Wales with Will Millard
Series 2: Episode 4 Writer and adventurer Will Millard returns with more of Wales’s hidden wonders as he explores the forgotten, secret and almost inaccessible locations that reveal the country as you've never seen it before. Will travels to North Wales to discover the forgotten history of the slate industry. Welsh slate once roofed the buildings of the British Empire and the industrial revolution. By the late 1800s, a third of all roofing slates on the planet came from North Wales. The industry produced communities, culture and an identity that are still alive today - but much of the history has been forgotten or vanished. Will tracks down some of the remains and relics from this vibrant period of industry by exploring deep inside the mountains of Snowdonia in some of biggest slate mines in the world iplayer |
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| 2020 | December | 7th | Antiques Road Trip 16/25 | BBC1 | 43 mins | 7/12/20 | A mention for the railway with clips of an empty Harbour Station, no trains https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000q5zx | |
| 2021 | January | 26th | ITV News at 6 | ITV | 3:08 | 26/1/21 | Article about end of Welsh steam coal (with Talyllyn Railway) | youtube |
| 2021 | February | 16th | Joanna Lumley's Home Sweet Home | ITV | 46:20 | 15/2/21 | Joanna Lumley's Home Sweet Home - Travels in my Own Land
Series 1 - Episode 3 Joanna Lumley visits the F&WHR as part of her journey across Britain [1] |
youtube |
| 2021 | March | 19th | Antiques Road Trip | filmed during lockdown 19th March 2021 | ||||
| 2021 | March | 22nd | Michael Ball's Wonderful Wales | C5 | 1:00:00 | 16/7/21 | filmed during lockdown 22nd March 2021 | youtube |
| 2021 | May | 27th | Epic Wales: Valleys, Mountains & Coast | True North Productions for C4 | 6/8/21 | Dave and Emily High on Welsh Pony link | ||
| 2021 | July | 6th | BBC News | BBC | 1:31 | 6/7/21 | Heritage railways 'wouldn't be the same' without coal | iplayer |
| 2021 | July | 30th | The Apprentice Series 16 | BBC | 10/2/22 | WHR train hauled by 130 to Beddgelert | link | |
| 2021 | August | 13th | The Trains That Changed The World | C5 | 'Episode 1: First Impact - The stories behind the most important trains in history and their impact on the world, beginning with a look at the first locomotives during the Industrial Revolution.'
It is due to be broadcast at 21:00 on Friday, 13th August | |||
| 2021 | ? | ? | Coast and Country | ITV | 23:17 | 20th Dec 2021 | Series 9: Episode 23. Sean Fletcher is joining the school children finding out more about microplastics in our seas.
Plus Ruth Dodsworth is at the revitalised old mill in Talgarth. A look at Boston Lodge |
ITV Hub |
| 2021 | January | 7th | Kiri's TV Flashback | BBC1 | 30 mins | 7/1/2021 | Annoying clip-show with tiny clip of Nick Pinder on Merddin Emrys at Minffordd in 1981 at approx 19:23 mins | iplayer |
| 2022 | Songs of Praise | BBC1 | 34:00 | 29/5/22 | Snowdonia
Songs of Praise Sean Fletcher is in the stunning setting of Snowdonia, an area celebrating 70 years since its designation as a national park, to discover how faith has been put into practice by local Christians past and present. He visits the 5th-century coastal church of St Tanwg to hear about the roots of Christianity in Snowdonia and discovers how the arrival of Celtic missionaries in north Wales in the 5th and 6th centuries led to an era of Christian influence that became known as the Age of Saints. James Lusted visits the Ffestiniog Railway, the oldest independent railway company in the world, to hear about the role the railway has played in the life and slate-mining history of the local community. We also discover the story of an iconic hotel that stands in the shadow of Mount Snowdon and has been pivotal in the history of mountaineering, most significantly in relation to the successful British expedition to be the first in the world to climb Mount Everest in 1953, led by Sir Edmund Hillary. And Sean meets a volunteer with a local conservation charity devoted to balancing the demands of tourism in the Snowdonia National Park. |
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| 2022 | Freddie & Jason: Two Men in a Tent | ITV | 1:00:00 | 29/11/2022 | Two Men In A Tent will see former cricketer and Broadcaster Freddie Flintoff take comedian and presenter Jason Manford on an unforgettable wild adventure in the depths of Snowdonia.
Their journey will see Freddie lead Jason from the coast of North Wales to the summit of Snowdon trekking and wild camping along the way as the boys get back to nature and get to know each other better. Freddie, an outdoor enthusiast and keen camper loves nothing more than spending the night under the stars; while Jason prefers a night on the sofa and is better at putting the telly on, than putting up a tent. But that won’t stop Freddie pushing Jason to his limit physically and mentally as the boys take on the most beautiful and extreme wilderness experiences Snowdon has to offer – from camping on a cliff ledge suspended 20 metres above the crashing waves, catching their own lobsters and herding sheep in the Welsh hills; to foraging for vegetables, wild swimming in freezing temperatures and eventually climbing Wales’s highest peak. Freddie is determined to give Jason a trip to remember – but will that be enough to convince Jason to embrace the great outdoors? Taking in some of the most beautiful scenery in the UK the boys will have a chance to truly get away from it all – getting to enjoy the simplicity of each other’s company and remind themselves that switching off from modern life every now and then is something we should all do more often. |
ITV | ||
| 2023 | Britain's Most Luxurious Train Journeys | 46:40 | 1st May 2023 | Britain's Most Luxurious Train Journeys
All aboard for luxury train rides across Britain - with beautiful views, friendly company, fine dining and staff who take care of a passenger's every possible need Episode 4 Train manager Molly creates a deluxe experience for guests aboard a majestic Statesman train headed through spectacular north Wales |
C4 | |||
| 2023 | Weatherman Walking | BBC1 | 29m | 14th May 2023 | Dwyryd River Valley
Weatherman WalkingSeries 13 Episode 1 of 8 Derek Brockway kicks off the series in Gwynedd with a stunning ten-mile walk that starts and ends in Penryndeudreath near Porthmadog. His route follows part of the Ffestiniog railway line with a stopping point at Tan-y-Bwlch station. He learns about the industrialist who changed the landscape and takes shelter from the rain in a farmhouse kitchen, before exploring a Celtic rainforest. Meanwhile, Dr Jeni Millard visits a slate quarry now used to mature cheese, and Onkar Singh Purewal discovers the story of gardener John Ystumllyn, the first recorded black person in north Wales. |
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| 1980? | March? | Firebombers | BBC | 59 mins | 20 July 2023 | Firebombers
Series 1: Episode 1 It’s 1979, and a campaign of arson has begun in Wales. The targets are English-owned second homes that the attackers say are destroying Welsh culture. Over the next ten-plus years, well over 200 homes and businesses will be attacked, in Wales and beyond. Firebombers takes a comprehensive look into this significant and controversial period in Welsh history. Episode one begins with the first arson attacks in December 1979 – on two second homes in Pembrokeshire and two in north Wales. Three more are attacked the very next day in Blaenau Ffestiniog, with a total of 17 homes destroyed across west and north Wales within six weeks. In response to the attacks, Dyfed-Powys and North Wales Police set up Firesquad, a specialist team of officers tasked with catching the firebombers. A BBC investigation for the Nationwide programme discovered several secret groups claiming responsibility for the attacks. By 1986, the arson campaign would be identified as being by a secret organisation known as Meibion Glyndŵr, after letters claiming responsibility were sent to the media. Despite police efforts, whoever was masterminding the campaign seemed to have evaded capture. Archive footage is combined with new interviews with people from very different perspectives who were involved at the time. They include the police who investigated the cases, victims whose properties were burned down, journalists who covered the story, and people who were arrested. Duration 59 mins. First shown 9pm 20th July 2023. FR at 32:31 |
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| 2023 | August | 29th | Hairy Bikers Go West | BBC | 64 minutes | 5th March 2024 | Series 1: Episode 5 The Bikers continue their journey by heading to north west Wales, a remote but beautiful part of the UK and home to lush, green pastures, towering peaks, breathtaking valleys and 250 miles of stunning coastline. But alongside this epic scenery, the Bikers discover there’s a host of inspiring local producers that are doing their bit to celebrate this area’s rich diversity. Travelled on Woodland Wanderer. filmed Bob Rainbow and Graham Bond |
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| ? | ? | Great Coastal Railway Journeys | BBC2 | 29 minutes | 16th April 2024 | Series 3 Episode 7. Harlech to Abedaron. Michael Portillo continues his railway journey in north Wales, tracking the coastline north from Harlech to skirt the Llyn Peninsula. Beginning on the shifting sands of Morfa Harlech, in one of the most important dune systems in Wales, Michael is surprised to find a team of conservationists felling and grubbing out trees. Next stop is Porthmadog, once one of the most important slate ports in the world, where slate was exported to South Africa and Australia. From the top of Cardigan Bay at Pwllheli, Michael heads for the South Caernarvonshire Yacht Club to lend a hand on deck of a classic wooden racing boat. Close to the tip of the Llyn Peninsula, Michael reaches Aberdaron, where St Hywyn’s Church - the former church of Welsh poet and vicar RS Thomas - looks out over Aberdaron Bay. |
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| ? | ? | Great Coastal Railway Journeys | BBC2 | 29 minutes | 17th April 2024 | Series 3 Episode 8. Porthmadog to Anglesey. Michael Portillo steams through the glorious scenery of the Snowdonia National Park on one of Britain’s greatest heritage lines, the Welsh Highland Railway. Stopping off at Beddgelert, Michael takes in the awesome geology, which inspired Charles Darwin. Back aboard the Welsh Highland Railway, Michael heads for Caernarfon, in whose 13th-century castle King Charles III was invested as Prince of Wales in 1969. Michael heads for the coast, where the Menai Strait separates mainland Wales from Ynys Môn, or Anglesey, to find the heart of the United Kingdom’s mussel industry. Continuing along the Menai Strait, Michael reaches its earliest road crossing, an elegant suspension bridge designed by the Scottish engineer Thomas Telford and opened in 1826. And from Bangor, Michael takes the train across the Britannia Bridge to the first station on Anglesey, known as LlanfairPG, to visit the island’s sea zoo. |
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You Tube &c.[edit]
Whilst not necessarily professional material, the "You Tube" facility online has provided a repository of videos by the public. A, by no means complete, list of some of these can be found here