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From this month's featured article Horse operation was a feature of the FR from its opening until the introduction of steam locomotives. James Spooner's elegant survey for the Festiniog Railway described a line of railway falling at a fairly steady gradient from the upper terminus near Blaenau Ffestiniog (700ft) to Boston Lodge, at the eastern end of the Cob (Sea Level) and was designed to allow loaded waggons to run down the line under gravity with empties being hauled back up by horses. For a period after the opening of the railway, in 1836, the smooth line of James Spooner’s survey was interrupted by a pair of inclines that took the line over a shoulder of the Moelwyn mountains. Spooner had planned for a tunnel but had been overruled by Henry Archer on the grounds of cost. After a couple of years, and as traffic developed, the inclines became such a hindrance that Spooner prevailed and, in 1839, work began to drive the tunnel. It was opened in 1842 and from then on the FR was able to operate as it had been designed; loaded waggons exploiting the free power of gravity and being taken back up to the quarries by horses. Each horse could haul 7 or 8 slate waggons and, though they are usually referred to as ‘empties’, they were, in fact, frequently loaded with a lucrative back traffic of goods for the growing community at Blaenau Ffestiniog. Each train included one extra wagon, known as a Dandy. These were high-sided open wagons with a door at one end, designed to carry the horse on the downward journey, permitting them to rest between duties. The earliest examples were wooden, as were the contemporary slate waggons. Later (10 were built in late 1861), iron dandies were built at Boston Lodge. (more...) Recently featured: Little Giant Boston Lodge Quarrymen's carriages Purpose Festipedia is dedicated to recording the history of the Festiniog Railway from the 19th Century to the present day. There is a user friendly index to help you find your way around the main categories. You will also find much detail on the Welsh Highland Railway

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This month's featured picture Van 5 (also numbered carriage 12 during its life) was constructed as a bogie brake (luggage) van by Brown, Marshalls with no passenger accommodation. It was rebuilt at Boston Lodge between 1929-30 with a body modified to incorporate a guards compartment and passenger accommodation in 1st and 3rd class. It was one of the two carriages first restored for use when the railway reopened. In the 1955 renumbering it became Carriage 12. In 1957 it entered the works where it was refurbished and altered. Seating was removed, a sales counter installed, and a connecting corridor put in. This enabled a corridor connection with Van 4, the first in the railway's history. The photo shows it in this condition in September 1958. The carriage has since been further rebuilt and is now longer and has lost the buffet facilities. Photo: John Powell collection Recently featured: Welsh Pony Dinas Junction Carriage 14 Rules for Contributions The rules for contributions are simple: Do not post copyright material unless you have permission from the copyright owner Do not post personal details of living individuals (address, telephone number, email address, etc.) unless you have their permission to do so Keep on topic - you can put anything you want on your user pages but articles should be about the Ffestiniog Railway or related subjects Be courteous Do not delete anything unless it needs to be deleted Where possible please record the sources of your information Please record a comment on the change you have made in the box at the bottom of the page No obscene language Abusive or libellous postings are banned If you want to notify us of a possible copyright infringement, please use the Contact Us option in the box in the top left of the page. We have voluntary editors that look after Festipedia. They can be contacted via email or by using their User pages. Response may not be immediate, but they will reply, as long as you leave a contact point!!