Little & Large Dvd: Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway, Part 2: 2013-2015

Description

Part 2 (2013 – 2015).

The Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway, now one of Wales top tourist attractions carries thousands of passengers along the picturesque and challenging route from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog and up through the Aberglaslyn Pass to Caernarfon.

Steam on the Ffestiniog Railway dates as far back as 1863 when engines ‘Princess’ and ‘Mountaineer’ were delivered to the railway as part of an order for four small engines introduced to carry slate trains through the rouged mountains to the Port of Port Madoc.

Today two of the steam engines purchased as the first four engines to run on the Ffestiniog Railway are alive and still hauling passenger services along the thirteen mile route, ‘Prince’ and ‘Palmerston’ are regular performers on Vintage Trains carrying thousands of tourists each summer.

The railway is the proud pioneer of the ‘Double Fairlie’, an engine that looks like it has ‘two ends’ but has a double bogie engine, a solution to the problem of the need for heavier trains and very sharp corners, invented by Robert Fairlie.

The first of the engines was introduced in 1872 with several produced after too.

Two further Double Fairlies have been built in preservation at Boston Lodge works, ‘Earl of Merioneth’ and ‘David Lloyd George’ which returned to steam in 2014 after an extensive overhaul at Boston Lodge Works.

Today the railway runs from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog where you have the option to switch trains and travel on Snowdonia’s newest narrow gauge railway, the Welsh Highland Railway which runs through Snowdonia’s National Park to Caernarfon.

A whole collection of engines run on the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway throughout the season from the small England Engines that first ran back in 1864 to the largest two foot engines in the World, Beyer Garratts NG/G16’s acquired for the Welsh Highland Railway from South Africa.

This programme features a whole collection of little and large steam engines filmed at the railway between 2013 to 2015, all filmed in High Definition.

A collection of freight, passenger and vintage trains are featured throughout the dvd from many locations along the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways.

Alongside a selection of normal running days throughout the year, a variety of events are included on the DVD.

Special Events Featured:

Ffestiniog Railway ‘Our Railway Adventure’ Gala – May 2014:

Over the Bank Holiday weekend of May 2014 the Ffestiniog Railway celebrated 60 years of the preservation era.

Over the weekend a series of special services ran on both the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways.

Also featuring at the event was visiting engine Hudswell Clarke No.11 ‘Fiji’ from the Stafford Barn Railway.

Ffestiniog Railway ‘150 Years of Passenger Services’ Gala – May 2015:

Back in 1865, the first passenger services were introduced with quarrymen travelling to work in tiny four wheeled carriages.

Over the bank holiday weekend the Ffestiniog Railway celebrated 150 years of passenger services to Blaenau Ffestiniog which saw a variety of different services including the rare appearance of Hunslet Engine Co. ‘Britomart’ hauling a vintage train to Tan-Y-Blwch.

Welsh Highland Railway ‘Great & Small 2’ Gala – September 2015:

Celebrating everything that is small but great about the Welsh Highland Railway, the event featured a series of trains that focused on the northern end of the railway.

During a rare occurrence, several Ffestiniog engines could be seen hauling a series of different consists on the Welsh Highland Railway between Caernarfon and Rhyd-Ddu.

Over the weekend a selection of different services were run including a mixture of passenger coaches and freight wagons.

Some of the engines featured include:

‘Small England’ No.2 ‘Prince’

‘Small England’ No.4 ‘Palmerston’

Hunslet Engine Co. ‘Linda’

Hunslet Engine Co. ‘Blanche’

Hunslet Engine Co. ‘Britomart’

Hudswell Clarke No.11 ‘Fiji’

Manning Wardle No.14 ‘Lyd’

‘Double Fairlie’ No.10 ‘Merddin Emrys’

‘Double Fairlie’ No.11 ‘Earl of Merioneth’

‘Double Fairlie’ No.12 ‘David Lloyd George’

Beyer-Peacock ‘Garratt’ NG/G16 No.87

Beyer-Peacock ‘Garratt’ NG/G16 No.138

Approx. 60 minutes.

This dvd is being sold on behalf of and with full permission of the copyright owner – Steaming Around Yorkshire Film Productions – SAY.