Festiniog Railway by Peter Johnson

Author:Peter Johnson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Pen and Sword
Published: 2017-04-09T04:00:00+00:00

Nevertheless, the directors hoped that that the arrival of the standard gauge would increase passenger traffic and they introduced a new timetable from 1 July. The 7.40pm from Portmadoc was timetabled to reach Duffws in just forty-five minutes with one stop at Minffordd; the 7.00am, Mondays excepted, also with one stop, took five minutes longer. Stopping services took seventy or seventy-five minutes. Downhill, the 4.00pm and 8.40pm were allowed fifty minutes with two stops and one stop respectively.

Llanrhos church choir had a trip on the new railway to Blaenau Ffestiniog on 19 September 1879. After a picnic lunch, the party travelled to Portmadoc, ‘by the miniature railway’ said the North Wales Chronicle, where it spent ‘an agreeable hour’ before returning to Duffws for tea and the journey back to Llandudno Junction.

The influence of the Spooners abroad was demonstrated by an advertisement placed in the North Wales Chronicle on 15 November 1879. ‘WANTED, PLATELAYERS for a Narrow Gauge Railway in a healthy district in India. Apply to Messrs Spooner and Co, Civil Engineers, Portmadoc’ it read. Acting in a private capacity, Charles Spooner was recruiting for the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, the construction of which had just started. Whether any Welshman went to lay track in India is not known but on 7 June 1880 G. P. Spooner resigned his post as locomotive engineer. An indiscretion with a housemaid had come to light and so he left for the sub-continent to work on railways. His father took back responsibility for the locomotives for an additional £50 a year, making his salary £650, and J. S. Hughes was appointed ‘his assistant for these and other duties connected with the company’ for another £50.

In this 1883 view at Tan y Bwlch, Merddin Emrys appears to have been provided with square sandboxes. Both of the 1880- built brake vans are in use. Five goods vans are attached to the uphill train and several wagons wait to be released to the goods shed and coaling stage. Taliesin is mostly hidden by the station building.

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