PROJECT RHEILFFORDD ERYRI

WELSH HIGHLAND RAILWAY PROJECT

THE BASICS

This section is not as such meant to be a FAQ, but is intended to clarify some basic, leading points about the WHR Project. Those already closely involved will, I hope, make allowances for some simplification of what is not only a large project but also a complicated story.

1. Why rebuild the Welsh Highland Railway?

The original WHR was a commercial failure. So, to a greater or lesser degree, were all the Welsh narrow gauge lines that have since been saved by enthusiasts. In the Wales of today, where tourism is a major industry and the railways themselves are major attractions, there is a real market for the WHR; plus the new WHR starts in the historic town of Caernarfon, a terminus which the old WHR never quite reached, and a major potential source of traffic. In addition to the commercial side, it is also hoped that the Railway will be of use to the communities it serves, and will help preserve the local environment by providing an alternative to the car in this part of Snowdonia.

2. Isn't there already a preserved Welsh Highland Railway?

There is indeed, run by the members of the Welsh Highland Railway Ltd. (previously the Welsh Highland Light Railway [1964] Ltd.), who have operated a short line at Porthmadog since the early 1980s. The reason for the "1964" was that their operation is a separate entity from the "old" Welsh Highland Railway Company, which went into receivership when the original line closed. The legal situation of the old company, which controlled access to the WHR trackbed, proved a stumbling block to the rebuilding of a railway on the trackbed for many years. The line at Porthmadog is in fact on the site of a former standard gauge slate exchange siding (the "Beddgelert Siding"), and the trackbed itself runs parallel for roughly half its length.

WHR Ltd is a full and active partner in the overall rebuilding of the line, and its volunteers have contributed to extending the line along the historic trackbed north of the Beddgelert Siding site. Formal agreements are in place for the operation of its Heritage trains on the completed WHR in due course.

3. Why is the Ffestiniog Railway involved?

Now that the recreation of the Welsh Highland is at an advanced stage, it makes more sense to look at what has been achieved, rather than the detail of the difficulties of the early years of the project.

The Festiniog Railway was initially approached by a body named Trackbed Consolidation Limited (TCL), formed in 1983, whose directors had been suspended from the WHLR (1964) Company. TCL questioned the 1964 Company's preferred method of rebuilding the line with Gwynedd County Council (GCC) as owner of the trackbed (provided GCC could obtain it), and proposed reviving the original 1922 WHR Company, which held the powers to operate the Railway. TCL saw the FR as a partner able to help bring their plans for WHR rebuilding to fruition; the FR in due course came to see the opportunity offered by a WHR rebuilt as envisaged by TCL, and grasped it. There was concern about the true interests of GCC (which became Cyngor Gwynedd/Gwynedd Council in April 1996), whose commitment to a railway between Caernarfon and Porthmadog has not always been as unambiguously clear as it has become since the FR entered the field.

This first strategy was unsuccessful, being rejected by the High Court in November 1991. However the Court suggested that an alternative method would be for a body such as the FR Trust to apply to the Ministry of Transport for a Transfer Order securing the WHR undertaking. This is the course of action which has been followed, and which has succeeded, through a long, difficult and costly process involving negotiations with many parties, and a Public Enquiry into rival FR and WHR (1964)/GCC bids for the trackbed. To say this process was not altogether straightforward was probably the understatement of the 1990s!

Overall, the achievements of the FR-led project to date may be summarised thus:-

4. Won't rebuilding the WHR harm the FR financially?

The WHR is a skeleton in the cupboard for those with long memories. The original WHR lost local authorities a great deal of money, and having taken out a lease on the WHR did no good to the "old" FR in the years leading up to its closure in 1946. Apart from the complete change in the commercial context since then, the FR organisation has already taken steps to separate the finances of the established FR and the new WHR. To this end a new company within the FR group, FR Holdings Ltd., was established in 1991 to oversee developments. Other dealings have been under the auspices of the FR Trust, which from the outset has had powers to make grants to railway projects other than the FR.

By these means the capital needed to rebuild the WHR was separated from that allocated strictly to the FR, although the bodies involved are closely linked.

Initial figures from the first year of operation are that the reopened WHR has been highly successful in attracting business while the FR has also continued to prosper, despite difficult economic conditions.

5. Is there a place for volunteers in rebuilding the WHR?

Yes - there is no shortage of tasks for volunteers! The pattern of work is rather different from many railway rebuilding projects, however. The Project's considerable success in obtaining grant support means that the work of preparing the trackbed has bei=en done by contractors or employees - however volunteers have also played a very full part in the construction work, and will continue to do so - in particular, most of the trackwork is done by volunteer gangs. The Welsh Highland Railway Society is the primary supporters' body, but non-members are just as welcome to work on the Project. Not all the work even requires coming to Wales - WHRS groups have taken on various "homework" tasks at sites in their own regions. There is plenty to do on the operating railway too; the operation and maintenance of the line is by a mix of permanent staff and volunteers similar to that which has rebuilt and run the Ffestiniog Railway over the last 50 years; indeed much of the operational infrastructure is shared between the lines, including a commitment to high standards of safety for volunteers, staff and the general public.

Fllowing completion of the line volunteers paly a major part in operation and maintenance of the railway and there are ample opportunities to contribute to this project.

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Authored by Ben Fisher January 16th, 2006.  Updated 30th December 2011 by David Tidy