2006 NEWS ARCHIVE

• January 18th 2006 - It was announced that the Railway had acquired a fourth NGG16 Beyer-Garratt. No. 87 was purchased from the Exmoor Steam Railway and would be delivered to Minffordd and Boston Lodge within the next few weeks for a full overhaul to be undertaken largely by employed staff at Boston Lodge.  This was made possible by a grant covering the costs of purchase and overhaul from Ffestiniog Railway Trust, following a donation from a private sponsor for this specific project. The addition of no. 87 will help make sure there is an adequate fleet in place ready for opening of the complete WHR in 2009, giving four working locos of this type to form the core WHR fleet.
  
  In contrast to 1958-built nos. 138, 143 and 140, no. 87 comes from the very first batch of NGG16s (developed from the NGG13), built by John Cockerill of Seraing, Belgium in 1936 (works no. 3267). It was delivered to Port Shepstone in April 1937, and is thought to have spent all its South African working life on the Natal branches, being withdrawn from service on the Umzinto-Donnybrook line in 1986. Its last overhaul was in 1977, and it emerged with the boiler (no doubt much rebuilt over the years) first fitted to the first NGG13, NG58 of 1927. It was imported to the UK from South Africa for the abortive Robin Hood's Bay scheme, from which the WHR previously acquired NG15s nos. 133 and 134. Although purchase of the Robin Hood's Bay NGG16s was not pursued at the time owing to their condition, the donation for no. 87's purchase from Exmoor includes full funding for overhaul, which entirely changes the picture.
  
  The pictures below show no. 87 at Exmoor in September 2005, during one of a number of inspection visits. The inspectors are (left-right in the first picture) Tony Williams (FR/WHR Loco Inspector), Steve McCallum, & Jon Whalley (FR/WHR Chief Mechanical Engineer). Steve is a previous manager of Boston Lodge Works and has been taken on by the FR Co. to strengthen the engineering resource; he will project manage the rebuild of this loco, as well as looking after the FR/WHR coal firing conversion project.
  
  
  
  

• February 4th 2006 - NGG16 Beyer-Garratt. no. 87 (see above) was delivered to the Ffestiniog Railway, to be overhauled for use on the Welsh Highland. More details and pictures on the no. 87 page.
  
  
  
  
  
• February 5th 2006 - Welsh Highland Railway Construction Ltd announced that its General Manager Roland Doyle was stepping down from his post. Press Release:
  
  Having managed the construction of Welsh Highland Railway from Caernarfon to Rhyd Ddu, and more recently built up the Phase 4 Rhyd Ddu - Porthmadog construction project team, Roland Doyle is to leave the staff of Welsh Highland Railway Construction Ltd.
  
  Pete Gray (Permanent Way Manager) and Simon Ambrose (Civil Engineering Manager) will jointly take over the general management role of the WHR Phase 4 project and see it through to completion.
  
  Roland is establishing his own railway engineering consultancy business and will continue to provide his time to assist and support WHRC Ltd by looking after various engineering tasks. This will include using Roland's specialist skills in control electronics to design and develop a new wire-less system to connect traditional Electric Train Staff Instruments for use on WHR without the need for conventional lineside cables. Roland will additionally help with the completion of the detailed Phase 4 computer generated track alignment design and assist Pete and Simon in some of the other engineering challenges that lie ahead.
  
  Roland also contributes much volunteer effort to both Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways, such as the work he is currently doing to help with the exciting coal firing developments under way at Boston Lodge Workshops. Roland said "I will also continue to lead the volunteer group that look after the construction and installation of projects such as the Train Operated Trailable points used at WHR's passing loops - several more of which are required for Phase 4". Mike Hart thanked Roland for everything he had done for the Project on behalf of all involved with Welsh Highland Railway and said "Roland has led the WHR construction project since it was launched in 1997. His commitment to the project has been colossal and we are all delighted he will carry on helping ensure the project is complete and ready for opening in 2009".
  
  
• February 11th 2006 - The newly extended platform at Caernarfon Station was brought into use.
  
  

• March 11th 2006 - One of the Welsh Highland's best-known landmarks returned, as the new span of Bryn y Felin bridge was installed, crossing the Afon Glaslyn south of Beddgelert, at the north end of the Aberglaslyn Pass. Lots more details and pictures here.
  
  

• March 23rd 2006 - A test train was run to assess operation of the longer trains made possible by the extended platform at Caernarfon, ahead of the April 8th specials for Phase 4 sponsors. No. 138 hauled ten coaches, a bike wagon and Castell Caernarfon "dead" from Caernarfon to Ffridd Isaf; the diesel was needed to head the train on the return, as Rhyd Ddu Station was out of bounds during its extension works. The test was a success, with no slipping.
  
  

• April 8th 2006 - The extended and improved station at Rhyd Ddu was brought into use on the occasion of the first Phase 4 Sponsors Day.
  
  

• April 21st 2006 - Diesel Castell Caernarfon failed at Tryfan Junction with what was confirmed on subsequent examination as a broken axle on the rear bogie. On initial investigation a contributory factor to the stress failure was thought to be too sharp a transition radius between diameters on the failed axle. This was found to be common on all remaining axles, therefore all wheelsets were removed from both bogies and sent away for specialist repair and axle renewal. The Railway considered ways to cover for the loco over the several weeks the repairs would take; Conway Castle took a three-coach test train to Rhyd Ddu on the 25th. The solution decided on was a bogie swap with FR Funkey Vale of Ffestiniog, which had fewer duties diagrammed in the period concerned. Castell Caernarfon's bogies are seen below at Dinas on May 1st, minus wheelsets; the loco was on the bogies from its sister loco a few days later, and returned to service on May 6th. The last picture shows Vale of Ffestiniog on ambulance bogies.
  
  

• May 16th 2006 - The KMX tamper/liner imported from France in 2005 was delivered to Dinas, following its overhaul and regauging at Boston Lodge. It then underwent commissioning and programming at Dinas before going up the line to work on Phase 4.
  
  

• May 19th-21st 2006 - WHR(C) held its second annual beer festival, "Cwrw ar y Cledrau/Rail Ale". Dinas Goods Shed housed a real ale bar with entertainment, and trains linked Dinas with participating pubs along the line. Caernarfon-Waunfawr shuttles on the Saturday gave the unusual opportunity to see Upnor Castle in passenger traffic, running "top and tail" with Castell Caernarfon. However flat spots on Upnor's wheel treads meant that the Funkey handled Sunday's shuttles alone, propelling the train in the Waunfawr-Caernarfon direction, with a look-out in carriage 1001's brakesman's compartment, making use of the carriage's klaxon where required; although a bugler from Nantlle Silver Band did the honours instead of the klaxon on the first train!
  
  

• July 24-8th 2006 - FR loco Palmerston was displayed on Y Maes (Castle Square) in Caernarfon as part of the annual Gwyl Caernarfon Festival, to publicise not only the railway in general but also Phase 4 reconstruction and the forthcoming Super Power Weekend, where Palmerston was due to be the first steam loco to work on the extension - appropriately, as it had been hired for NWNGR construction work in the 1870s, and then for similar duties on the WHR in 1922. The pictures below show the loco's arrival on the 24th, and the display on the 25th, on the exact spot where diesel Castell Caernarfon had been displayed ten years earlier. The ferris wheel in the background, Europe's largest portable one at 33m diameter, had been brought in for a month at the initiative of Cyffro Caernarfon.
  
  
  
  
  

• September 1st 2006 - The formation of the Welsh Highland Railways Association was announced. This is a non-hierarchical umbrella group of existing independent organisations, which provides a forum for representatives of those bodies to discuss and promote their common interests. The founding members are Welsh Highland Railway Ltd (owners and operators of WHR [Porthmadog]), Cymdeithas Rheilffordd Eryri/Welsh Highland Railway Society, and the Welsh Highland Railway Heritage Group. The WHRA's Welsh title is Cymdeithas Rheilffyrdd Ucheldir Cymru (CRhUC).
  
  Press Statement:
  
  The Welsh Highland Railway Ltd., Cymdeithas Rheilffordd Eryri (The Welsh Highland Railway Society), and The Welsh Highland Railway Heritage Group are jointly pleased to announce the launch of an Association of all three bodies.
  
  In a statement the chairmen of the three founding organisations said:
  
  "We believe that it is vital at this critical time to promote the interests of the two Welsh Highland Railways and their allied heritage by focussing attention on the requirements of the railways, including their volunteer members, through the combined efforts of an Association".
  
  The Association (WHRA) will aim to promote greater understanding and co-operation with all interested parties at this pivotal moment in the railways' long history. Major developments are currently in progress, which not only include the reopening of the remainder of the line by 2009, but also a new combined WHR/FR museum initiative.
  
  The agreed objective of the Association is:.- "The promotion and development of all matters relating to the Welsh Highland Railways - past, present and future - through co-operative endeavour".
  
  Welcoming the move, Dave Kent, Chairman of the WHRS, said, "The formation of the Association gives all supporters from any quarter of the Welsh Highland project, the encouragement that their efforts have been, are, and will be recognised as a tremendous achievement in the years to come. This coming together further strengthens the role of the volunteers in all railway restoration."
  
  James Hewett, chairman of WHR Ltd added, "My hope is that the new Association will ensure that the democratic voice of the volunteer is heard loud and clear, and that this will lead to a more prominent role for the volunteer resource in both running and operating the new Welsh Highland. I believe that the new WHRA is the best way to preserve the independence of the three organisations and the two railways that are represented within it."
  
  David Allan, chairman of the Welsh Highland Heritage Group concluded, "The Heritage Group is a small but vital cog in the complex Welsh Highland Story. Our objective is to ensure that the remaining infrastructure as well as the ethos of the original Welsh Highland play a significant role in the railway's future and are not consigned to some fading memory of its past. We believe that the Welsh Highland Railways Association is the ideal body to help promote that ambition."

• September 9-10th 2006 - Super Power Weekend saw the entry into public service of pioneer Garratt K1 for the first time since about 1929, and the first steam trains to run southwards from Rhyd Ddu since 1937. Full report.
  
  
  

• September 16th 2006 - Having stayed on for a week after Super Power, Palmerston took a special works train to the Head of Steel between Pont Cae'r Gors and Hafod Ruffydd. The group picture below includes John Pritchard of Beddgelert, who rode on the original WHR and was presented to the Prince of Wales during his 2003 visit.
  
  
  
  
  
  

• October 27th 2006 - The ballast wagon built new in Romania for the WHR was delivered to Dinas, arriving by lorry at 10.55 and touching down on WHR rails at 12.40. The wagon is an adaptation of a standard gauge design for Austrian federal railways, and is able to discharge ballast along the centre of the track as well as at the sides, adding flexibility as well as extra capacity to what can be done using the South African ballast wagons already on the Railway. See Construction Stock.
  
  
  
  
  

• October 29th 2006 - The new span of UB182, the bridge that carries the WHR over the A4085 near Nantmor, was installed. Full story and more pictures on the Phase 4 Cwm Bychan - Afon Nanmor page.
  
  
  
  

• November 1st 2006 - The flat crossing with Network Rail's Cambrian Coast line at Porthmadog was installed by contractors Carillion Rail, reinstating a feature now unique to the WHR. Full story and more pictures on the Phase 4 Cambrian Crossing page.
  
  
  

Review of the Year, 2006 - Selected Stories and Pictures

A huge amount was achieved in 2006, in terms of advancing the completion of the Railway and also of equipping it for the future. Some examples, in loosely chronological order: the Railway was given another NGG16 and the money to restore it; Caernarfon Station was extended to take longer trains; Bryn y Felin got its bridge back; the end of the road arrived for the "Forth Bridge" tracklayer; Rhyd Ddu Station was extended and improved; the "new" tamper arrived and was commissioned; the WHR (Porthmadog) extension reached Traeth Mawr; Palmerston went to Caernarfon and then out onto Phase 4; K1 finally hauled its first public trains since 1929; the Railway got a brand new ballast wagon; Nantmor road bridge was replaced; the Cambrian Crossing was built and installed; work on the Phase 4 trackbed reached Beddgelert, as well as various points beyond; and volunteers laid 5km of track, taking the Head of Steel from Rhyd Ddu to beyond Beddgelert Forest Halt.