File:1963-04-20 AGM train de.jpg

(Left) A pre-steam scene on the Festiniog. One horse descends in the dandy of a gravity slate train, while two others haul another across the Cob to Portmadoc.

For the benefit of non-members visiting the Festiniog Railway today we include this short history of the Railway and its supporting Society

1863 - Centenary of Steam on the FESTINIOG RAILWAY - 1963

Opening Day, 20th April, 1836

“ . . . a short train of wagons loaded with slates and a great number of carriages laden with People, workmen and others ... all went up to the inclines in the carriages drawn by Horses, but we all came down without Horses, the inclination being sufficient to enable us to do so" .... “volleys of rock cannon fired at intervals awakened the echoes of Moelwryed and surrounding hills, and the discharge from the fort at Morfa Lodge, the residence of James Spooner Esq., announced the safe arrival of the whole train at the port."

THE history of the Festiniog Railway begins in the early years of the 19th century, when a tramway was built across the estuary of the River Glaslyn to convey slates for shipment from the newly constructed harbour at Portmadoc.

The railway itself was authorized by the Festiniog Railway Act of 1832, and opened for horse-drawn slate traffic one hundred and twenty-seven years ago today, the occasion being the cause of great celebration in the district. As the years went by, traffic increased with such rapidity that by 1862 it was quite apparent that radical steps must be taken to improve handling, and the immediate result was the introduction of steam traction in 1863.

The first four locomotives, The Prince, The Princess, Mountaineer and Palmerston, constructed by Geo. England of New Cross, arrived by cart after having travelled by rail to Caernarvon from London, and steam-hauled services commenced in August.

Before long, passengers, chiefly quarrymen, were carried unofficially, and in 1865, permission was granted by the Board of Trade for regular passenger services to be operated.

With the growth of passenger traffic, and continuing increases in the volume of slates being transported, the next problem was to provide sufficiently powerful locomotives to cope with the work and in 1870 the first Fairlie's Patent double engine, Little Wonder, was introduced. This engine was the first of a line of Festiniog double Fairlies, and the forerunner of a large variety of Fairlie locomotives which were built for service in many parts of the world, and its entry into traffic was followed closely by the introduction of bogie coaches.

The closing decades of the 19th century saw the Festiniog at the peak of its career in what was the golden age of narrow gauge railways. The decline of the slate trade and the Great War brought about changes in its fortunes, and though determined attempts were made in the 1930’s to boost tourist traffic, the Second World War dealt the final blow. Passenger traffic ceased in September, 1939, and the railway was closed completely in 1946.

The Festiniog Railway Society was first formed in 1951, with the object of restoring the railway, which by this time was desperately overgrown and in an appalling state of maintenance. Three years later, Mr. A. F. Pegler acquired control of the Festiniog Railway Company, and set up a trust to hold the shares, the object of the trust being synonymous with those of the Society. By 1962, the Society membership had exceeded 2,500 and strong support is provided for the Company in the form of publicity, volunteer labour and hard cash.

1963 is the Centenary of Steam on the Festiniog, and the Society has set itself a target of 3,000 members for this year. The struggle of restoring the railway has been tremendous, and the task ahead of maintaining it and restoring more is equally so. We hope that non-members travelling with us today will be sufficiently impressed with our achievements to help us towards that 3,000 membership for 1963.

The centenary of steam on the Festiniog Railway is also the one hundredth birthday of Prince, one of the original steam engines of 1863. Originally named The Prince he is seen above about 1870 after the saddle tank had been added, and below, as he is known to thousands today as the Railway’s maid of all work.