Video coverage of the Golden Bolt Ceremony which took place on Saturday February 28th at Harbour Station Porthmadog to commemorate the physical joining of the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways.
For the benefit of those not up on Welsh railroading; what's going on. Are they merging two tourist lines to make one super size line?
The full system would make a very nice layout, wouldn't it?
Basically the Welsh Highland Railway was a line that existed in the 20s and 30s hauling slate and passengers from Dinas Junction and the surrounding quarries to Portmadoc (Porthmadog) and was connected to the Ffestiniog Railway (running from Portmadoc to Blaenau Ffestiniog). The lines started off as two seperate companies but were eventually both run by the Ffestiniog Railway Company. The Welsh Highland Railway only ever made a profit for its shareholders in 1923, the opening year and by 1936 was closed; the line was demolished in the 40s.
In 1997 the Ffestiniog Railway Company began rebuilding the line starting at Dinas; first extending north to Caernarvon and then beginning the rebuilding back to Porthmadog. The line is currently open from Caernarvon to Rhyd Ddu at the foot of Snowdon. The 'Golden Bolt' ceremony was to celebrate the end of the construction work and the linking of the competed Welsh Highland Railway back to the Ffestiniog Railway at Porthmadog. Through services are expected to commence in the Autumn, in the meantime the existing WHR/RhE service will extend to Beddgelert and then to Hen Hafod, about a mile north of Nantmor. The full journey from Caernarvon to Blaenau Ffestiniog is about 40 miles, all hauled by narrow gauge steam.
Claude