Welsh Highland Railway 24/5/09 part 2: Vale of Ffestiniog

First off, if you think you have seen all there is to see of Britain's railways, then this time next year make sure you pop along to North Wales to pay a visit to the Welsh Higland Railway. By then the full link with the Ffesiniog Railway will be complete, and you will be able to travel over 40 miles of 2ft gauge railway throuh some of the finest scenery in all of the British Isles. On the 24 May I paid a visit to the line. The locos running were:
Ex South African Railways NGG16 2-6-2 2-6-2 Garratts numbers 87 'Stealth Parsnip' and 143 'Super power'.
Ex South African Railways 'Funkey' Bo-Bo Diesel 'Vale of Ffestiniog'
The plan I did was:
14:30 Caernarfon (Kuh-nar-von) to Hafod y Llyn (Havod y Hlin) - Hauled by 87
16:30 Hafod y Llyn to Rhyd Ddu (Rid Thee) - Hauled by 87
19:05 Rhyd Ddu to Caernarfon - Hauled by Vale of Ffestiniog
In this part we see the Funkey Diesel arriving at Rhyd Ddu with the 16:15 from Caernarfon. It was supposed to carry on to Beddgelert (Beth-ga-lert) and Hafod y Llyn through the Aberglaslyn pass, but was prevented from doing so as number 87 had caused a line side fire. We see the diesel about an hour later arriving back at Rhyd Ddu having been down along the line to inspect the damage. She then runs round to the end of her train ready to continue as normal with the 19:05 departure. Heading back we round a curve, then cruise along somewhere between Waunfawr (Wine-Vower) and Dinas (Dee-Nass). Arriving at Dinas we pass the Grey Garratt simmering outside the sheds. Behind it we catch of glimpse of 0-4-0 0-4-0 Garrat 'K1', the oldest garratt in the world, this one from Tasmania in Australia. Departing Dinas we pass, among other things, a neglected NG15 2-8-2, The stripped down frames of Funkey Diesel 'Castell Caernarfon' (most of the line's stock comes from South Africa) and the boiler and water tank of Stalwart Garratt number 138 'Milenium'. Back at the line's northern Terminus, the diesel runs round, and we get a glimpse of the castle backed by the setting sun (we got back at 20:15). We then pass it ready to back down onto the stock and take it to Dinas for the night in the car whilst heading home.
Note: If you are welsh and I have told people how to pronounce any of your words incorrectly, please feel free to correct me

Category:

Autos & Vehicles

Tags:

• Welsh
• Highland
• Railway
• Caernarfon
• Rhyd
• Ddu
• Waunfawr
• Aberglaslyn
• Pass
• Hafod
• Llyn
• Vale
• of
• Ffestiniog
• Funkey
• South
• African

[plumdalejunction]

Enjoyed the video. In your notes, the correct spelling should be "Garratt" by the way. More importantly, the locomotive "K1" was repatriated many years ago from Tasmania, Australia. It never operated in South Africa.

[littlegiant18794]

sorry, my mistake

[RailwayFanatic92220]

how long does it take to do the whole route now?

[littlegiant18794]

About 4 hours if you stay on the train the whole time. But it is worth it, especially if you do the aberglaslyn pass

[RailwayFanatic92220]

is that there and back or just one way?

[littlegiant18794]

There and back

[SteffanLlwyd]

Is it only me who thinks this diesel looks somehow a bit silly?

[bungle80a]

A great vid again. The 'rotting' NG15 has been sat there for years.....until this saturday just gone, when it was pulled out to be transported to Caernarfon for the 'Scrap to Steam in 27 Days' Fundraisers starting 3rd August!

[salopiangrowler]

5 and a half hours once the links complete next year.