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From this month's featured article The Simplex (officially the Simplex tractor) also known as Mary Ann is a small petrol locomotive operating on the Ffestiniog Railway. Originally built for the trench railways of the First World War the Simplex tractor arrived on the FR in 1923 where it was used for shunting work. In 1954 it became the first locomotive to work on the revived FR and for many years remained an important member of the FR works fleet. It was retired from front line service after the acquisition of more powerful diesel locomotives and has recently been restored, initially to '50s condition, and more recently to First World War condition. The loco was not originally named when she arrived at the FR and was known as 'The Simplex'. Later it acquired the nickname Mary-Ann which later became official as 'Mary Ann' (without hyphen). Since the locomotives restoration to 1950s condition for the FR50 events the loco is once again unnamed. (more...) Recently featured: FR Signals Allan Garraway Russell 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

Contributing to Festipedia A wiki is a collaboratively edited website. All users can edit any page. You have complete freedom to add to, edit or delete the work of previous authors. It is easy to create new pages, link to wiki pages and format the text on pages. There is a full help system so that you can find out how to do things. You will find it similar to Wikipedia. There is a recent changes page listing all pages that have changed recently. There is also a discussion page where contributors can discuss possible changes to Festipedia, as well as a discussion page for each article. First time visitors If this is your first visit to Festipedia you may find it useful to log in first. That will allow you to set up your username and decide how certain features should work. All contributors to Festipedia are encouraged to log in. If you know little or nothing about the Festiniog Railway then History of the FR is a good place to start. You can also choose from the list in the banner at the head of this page. Returning visitors If you have visited Festipedia before, you may want to visit the community portal for the latest news including information on updates to the wiki software.

This month's featured picture William Parkins was a clerk with the Festiniog Railway from 1890 and a Porter at Harbour Station from 1901 to about 1906. The 1901 census shows him as a Station master but he may only have been a "Porter in Charge" but not known where. However he resigned in 1902 to work on Vale of Rheidol (maybe never actually left). In September 1906 was still a porter at Portmadoc but applied for the post of relief signalman which he does not seem to have taken up either. He eventually became a Station Master at Minffordd in 1911. He departed 24th March 1917 apparently accused of causing delays to passenger trains. There had also been shortages in the money under his control although he left with all his debts cleared. He left the FR when he volunteered to serve in the forces but no service record has been found. He did not return to the railway. Photo courtesy Tom Bowen Recently featured: Colonel Stephens' Coed y Bleiddiau Lottie Edwards 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!!