Blaenau Ffestiniog and the Ffestiniog Railway - Page 2

Red faces on the Ffestiniog Railway when an up passenger train derailed it's last couple of coaches while entering Blaenau on May 5th 2001.  47727 had arrived earlier on an excursion and the FR train was intended to take passengers on to Porthmadog.  47727 is still in traffic, now with Colas Rail and named 'Rebecca'.

31304 at Blaenau on a flask train, 21st July 1993.  After a couple of years of disuse, following the ending of power generation at Trawsfynydd, the line from Blaenau to Trawsfynydd was reopened to empty the power station of nuclear fuel rods.  This train ran as a test to Trawsfynydd and back to prove all was well.  It was 'borrowed' from the run to Valley, Anglesey as the siding at Trawsfynydd could only handle a maximum of two flasks.

37425 is about to leave Blaenau Ffestiniog on a return excursion to Cardiff via Llandudno on 10th September 2005.  This train was run by Arriva Trains Wales in conjunction with the Crewe Works open day.

Dignity and impudence?   The first visit of a High Speed Train to Blaenau Ffestiniog was on March 6th 1993 when 43043 and 073 arrived on a tour from London Kings Cross.  The HST is seen here at Blaenau with the Ffestiniog Railway's "Prince" posed next to it.

Another meeting between little and large was on April 18th 1998 when National Power owned 59205 was posed next to the Ffestiniog's diesel "Vale of Ffestiniog" which was also in National Power colours.

37422 "Robert F Fairlie" is pictured at Blaenau shortly after its naming ceremony on May 3rd 1993.  37422 was taken out of traffic on 29th October 1999 and the name removed. This was the second locomotive to carry these nameplates, they were previously on 47645 (named at Blaenau in 1985 and withdrawn in 1990).   Mr Fairlie was responsible for the introduction of the "double engines" on the Ffestiniog Railway, which are still in use today.

The carriage of explosives was a new traffic to the North Wales coast line following withdrawal of freight trains from the Cambrian Coast in the late seventies.  The explosives originated at Cooke's of Penrhyndeudraeth, part of the ICI  group.  A new siding was constructed at Maentwrog Road on the Blaenau - Trawsfynydd section of the Conwy Valley line.  Like the nuclear flasks the trains were propelled from Blaenau to the siding.  The traffic finished in the late 80's and Cooke's is now closed and the site cleared.  The photo shows 47234 entering Blaenau Ffestiniog from the Trawsfynydd direction on the evening of July 8th 1987.

DRS owned and operated Class 37's 37608 and 37612  are shown running round the farewell railtour organised to mark the end of class 37 on North Wales passenger duties on May 20th 2000.  The farewell was rather premature as the Class 37's continued to work into 2001.  

The first visit of a Class 66 to the line was on 3rd September 2000 when 66084 worked a luxury rail cruise to Blaenau.  The train is stabled in the loop having run round the stock while its passengers enjoy a trip to Porthmadog.  This 3 day tour also visited Shrewsbury, Llandudno and Holyhead.

47709 stabled in Blaenau on 9th July 1994.

Earl of Merioneth passes 67019 while leaving on a Ffestiniog Railway train to Porthmadog.

D1015 "Western Champion" at Blaenau Festiniog on September 19th 2009.  The first visit of this class of loco, it had arrived on the Western Slater railtour from Didcot.

47773 with the Oakeley Quarry tips in the background, 18 August 2012.

47790 'Galloway Princess' on the Northern Belle tour from Sheffield at Blaenau on May 18th 2012.  On the other end of the train was 47832 'Solway Princess'.  Photo by Geraint Jones.

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