WHR Project - News from 2004

January 2004 - Quite a number of website visitors had been curious about just what the position was about moving on to Phase 4 of the WHR Project, and developments such as improvement to passenger facilities on the operating railway. Here is a statement (15.01.04) from Michael Whitehouse, Chairman of the Festiniog Railway Company and of construction company Welsh Highland Light Railway Ltd:

Now that the WHR Millennium Commission Project is up and running, we have been attending to the various snagging works which will be ongoing during the winter. However, apart from constructing a station at Caernarfon, the project is now complete as far as the Millennium Commission is concerned and the team at the Dinas office are putting together a completion record at the request of the Millennium Commission. We are seeking the Millennium Commission's formal agreement to construct a "portacabin style" station at Caernarfon for the 2004 season so that we can have a better commercial presence there.

As the Millennium Commission part of the project is now complete, it is necessary to wind down Welsh Highland Light Railway Limited's operation and so three of the track team have transferred to the Festiniog Railway Company for ongoing work on the WHR track. Pete Gray is also transferring to the FR as the Senior Permanent Way Supervisor (WHR). Jan Woods will soon be leaving us and the Board would like to record their grateful thanks for her hard work. We hope that if and when Phase 4 is able to start, we will be able to welcome her back to continue her good work.

Roland Doyle has kindly offered to stay on for one day a week from the beginning of February in order to provide continuity pending a decision on Phase 4. We are very grateful to him for his extremely hard work throughout the Millennium Commission project and for agreeing to stay on to provide this continuity which is very valuable whilst we work out a funding and commercial package for Phase 4.

Early February 2004 - North Wales suffered extensive flooding in exceptionally heavy rainfall. While other areas were affected more, especially the Conwy Valley, the effects were very visible at various points along the Railway. At the height of the floods, the siding at Plas y Nant was reported as under water (boggy ground), but the river bridges coped well with the extreme conditions, with no reports of scouring.

February 13th 2004 - HMRI granted approval to operate trains across Snowdon Ranger crossing without stopping. Most signal heads on the Railway were replaced by a more "Heritage" design which would be common throughout FR and WHR, as a first step towards the operations strategy. Also, cables were run for new shunting token signals at Dinas in the preceding week.

February 16th 2004 - ex-South African Railways brake van no. 3172, generously donated by the Sandstone Heritage Trust in South Africa, was delivered to Dinas, touching down at 1.51pm.

February 27th 2004 - The Festiniog Railway Company and the WHRS K1 Group announced the appointment of Roland Doyle as Locomotive Engineer to the K1 Project, on a five-month contract starting on March 1st to complete and commission pioneer Garratt K1. Roland also continued as part-time manager of WHLR Ltd while that company was in a "holding pattern" awaiting funding for further extension of the Railway (see January 15th update below).
Late February 2004 - The area experienced the first significant snowfalls since Phase 3 opened - more pictures here.

March 2004 - Repairs were completed to the retaining wall above the Railway on the climb out of Caernarfon, at the site of the November 2003 landslip (see 2003 News). The picture below, taken just over a fortnight before completion, reveals something of the new concrete structure built under massive bracing over the winter, now entirely hidden by stone. The resulting structure stands proud of the original line of wall, but this is far from the only irregularity in the walls on this stretch, and there is still space to add a second track if required at some future point.
Early March 2004 - Volunteers pressed ahead with gauge widening work at the curves north of Rhyd Ddu.

August 22nd 2004 - Pioneer Garratt K1 moved under its own power for the first time since 1929, at Boston Lodge Works. More details and pictures towards the bottom of K1 - Completing the Rebuild.

Video - 75 seconds, QuickTime (.mov) format - large (4.3MB) or small (2MB) - right-click on links if you prefer to save and run the file(s) locally.

September 2nd 2004 - Completion of Phases 1-3 of the WHR Project was Highly Commended in the project of the Year category at the National Rail Awards; this was the first heritage entry in five years of the awards.

The commendation stated: "The FR is one of the UK's smallest railways, but its achievement on rehabilitating 12.5 miles of derelict narrow gauge Welsh Highland line through the Snowdonia National Park in North Wales should be seen as the benchmark for sustainable reconstruction of rural railways. Funded in part from Europe and employing some 95 people the £11.5M project has already delivered a similar sum in regeneration value to the tourist area it serves. The first section from Caernarfon to Rhyd Ddu is open, and funding is now being secured for the final link to Porthmadog".
The judges stated: "The Welsh Highland Railway is a great little project, and appears to have achieved its objectives. It offers the chance to use public transport to visit the national park and makes a significant contribution to the environment. The presentation to the judges was most professionally delivered".
To put the commendation in context in terms of how the rail industry views the WHR Project, the category was won jointly by Siemens Transportation for the Desiro project and by the West Anglia Route Modernisation Project. The WHR entry came out above entries such as Network Rail's project for rail management to reduce broken rails.

September 8th 2004 - The Railway was visited by Dr Brian Gibbons AM, the Welsh Assembly Government's Deputy Minister with specific responsiblity for transport. During his visit he publicly announced the award of a £5,000,000 major grant of funds under the European Union Objective 1 scheme and funds from the Welsh Assembly Government, towards the completion of the WHR through to Porthmadog Harbour. This marked the launch of Phase 4 of the WHR Project, including the appeal to complete the match funding package. Read all about Phase 4, and the appeal.

Assembly Government Press Release

September 25th 2004 - Volunteers recovered the former BR Dinas Up Distant semaphore signal and moved it to Dinas. The signal was originally located at Llanwnda Station, about half a mile west of Dinas and now obliterated by the A487. After closure it had remained in place until about the late 1970s (see Dave Plimmer's 1976 picture on the right below), and later lay behind the Goat Hotel, Llanwnda after rescue from scrapping by the coal merchant who then occupied Llanwnda Station Yard. The signal has been donated to the WHRS and is likely to be re-erected as a feature at Dinas, though it will not be operational. The signal is in generally good condition.

October 16th 2004 - A derailment occurred during shunting of stock into Dinas carriage shed. Nobody was hurt, though some minor damage was sustained by NGG16 no. 143, bicycle wagon B 934, and trackwork in the yard. The other passenger rake was still out on the line, so a single-train service was maintained the following day, during which recovery work continued (below).

November 1st 2004 - It was announced that during October, the appeal launched on September 8th to support Phase 4 reconstruction through to Porthmadog had reached its initial target of half a million pounds. It was also announced that the appeal would remain open to new subscribers, with the aim of raising at least a further half million in private donations towards the building of more carriages and the restoration of more locomotives, to ensure the Railway is properly equipped to carry passengers over the completed line. Michael Whitehouse, Chairman of the Festiniog Railway Company, said of the success of the appeal:

We were all delighted to welcome the funding support from Government and from our generous sponsors. Such a response from enthusiasts and the general public is an even stronger vote of confidence in what we are trying to do. It will take five years to complete the restoration but when the project is complete we shall have created a major asset for tourism in Wales. The combination of train and magnificent scenery is world-class. We look forward to putting the Snowdonian train on the international visitor map to vie with the Glacier Express. We shall offer the way for thousands to enjoy the wonderful views in pleasurable comfort by train.

Want to know more, or to contribute? See Phase 4.

November 29th 2004 - Work started on improving the north and south approaches to Glan yr Afon Bridge, in order to eventually see the long-standing 5mph temporary speed restriction lifted. The problems on the Snowdon Ranger side were of alignment. A short length of rail on the right-hand bend was moved on to the bridge, and two longer sections taken back to eliminate the "threepenny bit" joints and improve alignment.

On the Rhyd Ddu side, the problem was one of track levels, with a dip on leaving the bridge quickly followed by a steep rise over a couple of metres. It was originally thought this would require removal of the rail and ballast, and digging down to lower the track bed; but it was found that jacking the track up over the dip (and putting shims under the track over the last half dozen wooden sleepers on the bridge) would do the trick.

December 10th 2004 - The Railway was visited by the Rt. Hon. Rhodri Morgan, the First Minister of the Welsh Assembly Government. He joined the special train at Snowdon Ranger Station and travelled to Caernarfon. The First Minister rode on the footplate of WHR locomotive no. 138 Millennium from Waunfawr to Dinas as part of his visit. Company Chairman Michael Whitehouse said: "We are pleased to welcome the First Minister, The Rt Hon Rhodri Morgan, to the Welsh Highland Railway today. We are delighted at this demonstration of support from the Welsh Assembly Government for this exciting project. The Welsh Highland Railway will assist the economic regeneration of the area and provide an imaginative tourist transport link in the National Park."

PROJECT RHEILFFORDD ERYRI

WELSH HIGHLAND RAILWAY PROJECT

2004 NEWS ARCHIVE