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Ffestiniog/Welsh highland appeal - The final push

TWENTY years ago, the old Welsh Highland Railway hadn't seen a train in 50 years; indeed it would have been hard to run one as the track had all been lifted in the war. Today, 10-coach trains hauled by magnificent Garratt steam locomotives run a service along a scenic 25 miles coast to coast, from Caernarfon in the north to Porthmadog in the south.

In those two decades, a bold preservation initiative, initially swathed in controversy but then generously supported by private and public money alike, has created the longest preserved railway in Britain and joined it to the world-famous Ffestiniog Railway.

It was the Ffestiniog’s idea to rebuild the WHR, to restore its full length from Dinas to Porthmadog and extend it into Caernarfon.

At Porthmadog, the railway would cross the Cambrian Coast main line and run through the town to join with FR metals.

Getting permission to rebuild it was far from simple. There were court cases, public inquiries, media campaigns, local pressure groups, all directed at suppressing restoration. However the economic benefits of the scheme shone through, and government supported it as a worthy social investment with a creditable return.

The Festiniog Railway Co knew that a second railway in the area would benefit the FR by sharing overheads, but there were no resources to rebuild it; those needed to be found elsewhere.

One generous supporter funded the genesis of the project, right up until a Millennium Commission grant was won to support the first 12 miles of reconstruction, from Caernarfon to Rhyd Ddu. This grant was at a rate of 45% of the estimated cost, so the majority of matching funding had to be sought.

The Welsh Assembly Government, other government agencies, high wealth sponsors, Railtrack and many other companies all helped, either with grants, expertise, or by smoothing the path in providing volunteer labour. However the main emphasis was on using contractors to fulfil the many engineering works needed, and the jobs were offered to local firms, delivering much-needed employment to the local area.

The first half of the railway was opened in three stages to Rhyd Ddu, being completed in 2003. The intention was to proceed with the remaining 13 miles as soon as possible, but again the Festiniog Railway Company had insufficient cash resources for a project of this magnitude. However, the effect of the railway so far was visible and appreciated, thus the Welsh Assembly Government orchestrated the offer of a further grant of 45%; the matched funding had to be found and that required ingenuity. That stage was to be completed in one go, all the way to Porthmadog.

Volunteer labour was a key part of the plan as a financial value was assigned to it. Generous sponsors stepped forward and provided the majority of the funding, but a significant proportion was given by an ingenious public subscription scheme that raised nearly £2million in funds – a record for preservation.

The Ffestiniog had taken on the challenge of restoring and laying a railway longer than most UK heritage lines at a cost of over £25m, and delivered it by 2010, with the track being laid by volunteer gangs – who generated a contribution equivalent to a million pounds to the project. For the full story, see The RMs of January 1996, May 2005 and May 2011.

The plan of the 1990s proved to be sound. With Caernarfon less than seven miles from the Chester-Holyhead A55 Expressway, the WHR began to attract custom in a way the original railway had never done. The first seven-mile stretch to Waunfawr reached a maximum of 35,000 bookings in 2002 and the ‘half-railway’ to Rhyd Ddu saw the figure rise to 58,500 bookings in 2004 – and yet no traffic was siphoned off from the Ffestiniog.

The opening to Pont Croesor in 2009 saw traffic almost double to 64,000. Each extension saw an appropriate rise in fare levels and still the figures have held up, promising even greater traffic levels.

However, the massive diversion of effort to putting the track down has meant that only the ‘essentials’ have been provided. Additions are needed to the basic railway from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, to join it with the Ffestiniog and to create a 40-mile long, world class tourist attraction.

The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland must become sustainable railways that can earn enough money to pay for all the maintenance and overhaul costs required to keep them healthy and in being. The successful funding model that delivered so well for the extension from Rhyd Ddu to Porthmadog is now back in action, branded as the Phase 5 Appeal.

The new proposal has at its core a number of benefits of particular interest to enthusiasts, in exchange for varying levels of subscription. As an example, those who sign up for Gold and Silver (£100 and £50 a month for five years) are offered a share in the Festiniog Railway Company, the world’s oldest railway company, for the rest of their life. Full details of the scheme are to be found at www.phase5.org.uk

The scope of the Phase 5 Appeal ranges over the things that the Festiniog and Welsh Highland Railways need for the future. The good news is that the money collected has Gift Aid added to it, as a charitable donation. In addition a generous sponsor has agreed to boost this figure by a further 10%. The money raised from you is to be used as matched funding for grant aid schemes that generally deliver up to 45% of the project expenditure.

Thus for every £1 you give, external agencies will almost double it, which shows just how much respect there is for the economic contribution the railways make. A recent study by Bangor University revealed that from the £10m public funding generated for Phase 4 by the Welsh Assembly Government, some £14m per year is put back into the local economy from the commercial activity of the two railways.

So what are the items so wished for by the WHR and the FR?

Stations: All three major termini, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Porthmadog and Caernarfon, require improvement. The priority is the rebuilding at Porthmadog… to accommodate trains on both railways at the same time.

There is a scheme, already worked out with planning permission, to widen The Cob embankment to permit a second platform, with run-round facilities for WHR services.

This will allow more trains to be run, as the traffic demands and will permit much easier exchange of traffic between the two railways, as well as potentially allowing the more efficient operation of through services.

It will also generate the most wonderful narrow gauge spectacle when there are two trains in the terminal, with much activity, shunting, and locomotive servicing on a scale never before witnessed.

The bill for making this alteration is in the order of £1m. Match-funding for any available grant for the work has already been raised by the success of the appeal so far and The Cob widening is expected to start this winter.

Permanent buildings are also needed at Beddgelert and Waunfawr stations.

Carriages: Trains currently run very well filled on both railways. The arrival of the WHR in town has caused something of a passenger boom with the result that there are not enough carriages. This has meant that the Ffestiniog’s wonderful historic carriages are having to be run in everyday service in order to satisfy the demand. They cannot carry on like this and need to be put back on display in the museum as soon as possible.

Two more WHR loading gauge carriages are needed to strengthen the resident sets, and an additional train of new, comfortable FR loading gauge carriages is needed to permit through services. Funds raised by the FR Society have so far allowed two new carriages, Nos. 121 and 103, to be placed in service and more are currently under construction in 2011/2012, so a good start has been made. However a new train of 10 carriages costs a million pounds.

Locomotives: It seemed in 1995, when the Bo+Bo Funkey diesels from South Africa were purchased, that 350hp was enough power for all reasonable demands. It is clear now that the long 1-in-40 gradients of the WHR require something in the 750-1,000hp power range to allow for out-of-season trains and emergencies. Thus the appeal includes £750,000 to allow the acquisition of two powerful, modern diesel locomotives.

Depots: The new range of steam motive power, and its radically larger nature in comparison with Ffestiniog engines, plus the expanded fleet of carriages, has outgrown the facilities for storage out of the weather at Boston Lodge. It is urgent to establish new, modern locomotive servicing and carriage berthing facilities. A design group has been studying what is needed, but the current estimates for provision approaches £1m. Likewise there is still a need to develop adequate covered storage and operating facilities for locomotives at Dinas, by expansion of the new building recently acquired there.

Track: Between them, the two railways have almost 40 miles of track and infrastructure to look after. The infrastructure department is currently spread from Dinas Caernarfon to Glan y Pwll, on the outskirts of Blaenau. Thus a proper base for all the FR and WHR infrastructure teams, together with a purpose-built office to draw the resources together, is being established at Minffordd.

The department also has a duplication of locos, wagons and staff resources and its efficiency could be considerably increased by focusing on a single location. The spending of £350,000 on this will offer a rapid return.

It is estimated that the total ‘sustainable railway’ programme, if all the wishes and wants are satisfied, will cost just under £9m, of which a million will come via from volunteer labour and £2m from generous sponsors… and, the railways hope, £1m from subscriptions such as this one. It is hoped to get the rest from grants and Gift Aid.

A year into the Phase 5 Appeal, the subscription figure has passed £450,000, allowing the company to address the key changes at Porthmadog with confidence.

At the same time the FR Society has funded the first two new carriages, with No. 103 in service and No. 121 under construction. A private donation has formed the base of funding a third such carriage, 108, as well as restoring car No. 22 to its Victorian condition.

The appeal on www.phase5.org.uk and on the leaflets inserted in this month’s issue of The Railway Magazine for donations will allow the creation of a sustainable railway and enable the FR and WHR to finish the job!