The new sliding door for the loco shed east gable was hung during the last few days. Weather conditions were hardly favourable so it was a case of timing work in between torrential showers and gusts.

The door arrived in kit form and was assembled and primed at the locoshed, the roller hangers had already been restored but one or two snags meant a frustrating few hours while the roller motion was modified slightly. Two obstacles then lay in way of progress, a concrete block office building which had been constructed within the shed during the 1980’s when the building was used by a coach company and the other obstacle being a very solid block wall constructed to blank off the doorway. These were demolished with the rubble used to fill in another unsightly 1980’s feature in the forum of a large inspection pit. Ground guides for the door still need some work but this will be carried out when rails are sunk into the yard area adjacent to the door

On another note…. It is now possible to join the Penrhyn Railway Society or renew your membership online, please visit the Shop for details.

The management are still busy concluding various leases and transfers of ownership concerning the Felin Fawr site. However, access was granted yet again to the site to carry out preparation work and maintenance.
A team of engineers arrived on site last Wednesday to carry out a detailed survey of the two waterwheels, details are sketchy at the moment but vibes seem to suggest that it is the intention to return at least one of the wheels to working order with the long term plan being to generate electricity for the Felin Fawr complex as part of the Trust’s renewable energy policy.

Volunteers where also on site last Wednesday and Friday, tasks included cutting back vegetation that had established again around the loco shed and work associated with fitting the new sliding door. Another volunteer bash is planned for the middle of this month when the door will be fitted.

A bus shelter has recently been acquired; the shelter is located within the curtilage of land recently acquired by the railway at Coed Y Parc. The Trust is actively encouraging the maintenance and upgrade of a local bus service so as to link directly with strategic locations.

As far back as late 1963 a small group of enthusiasts had recognised both the historical importance of the Penrhyn Railway and also it’s potential as a tourist railway. Moves were afoot to take over the closed railway from the Penrhyn Quarries as can be seen from the letter below:

PRHT Archives

Substantial work was carried out by the group, including a survey of the entire route and some preliminary thoughts on passenger facilities etc. However, the groups’ hopes were very quickly dashed.

PRHT Archives

Thirty nine years later another even smaller group began to think along similar lines, fortunately their aspirations fell on more sympathetic ears.

Full planning consent for the first phase of the restoration of the Penrhyn Railway has been granted by Cyngor Gwynedd Council this week. This first phase includes the section of trackbed within the Felin Fawr Works site and extends north in the Port Penrhyn direction to St Anns road OB.

Although very rarely expressed on this website, for the last five years, this project has encountered many obstacles, trials and tribulations that if included in a novel would probably be dismissed as unbelievable, the planning consent is without doubt our greatest achievement to date, it’s the difference between the dream and reality, uncertainty and confidence.

The iconic Penrhyn Railway is alive again, it has a very strong heartbeat and it is here to stay.


David Roberts
Chairman

The Penrhyn Railway 2010 calendar and Christmas cards are now available at our new online shop. A full range of new and exciting products will be added in the spring of 2010.
Proceeds from the sale of goods at the shop are invested in the restoration of the railway. Please visit the “Shop” link in the left hand menu.

There is very little to report on the practical front this week, the sliding door hangers for the locoshed have been taken off site for refurbishment and apparently the new replica sliding door is progressing well, the door will be fitted towards the end of this month.

It was a return to Felin Fawr this Saturday to clean up the yard area next to the loco shed. It was wheelbarrows and shovels to begin with but the decision was soon made to introduce a little mechanical assistance. The yard area is now looking tidy and complete with some track albeit temporary!

Original track features are being sorted ready for the restoration of the railway, two types of point levers have been sourced, the well known distinctive Penrhyn levers and one or two rarities such as a lever manufactured by the Isca Foundry Co of Newport, South Wales, this lever was originally located on the mainline at the Northern end of the Felin Fawr site.

Efforts are being made to ensure that everything is ready for tracklaying at Felin Fawr, a petrol powered sleeper drill, rail drill and rail cutter along with a petrol powered rail screw tool have been acquired recently.

Most of the PW rolling stock is ready for work with the exception of our tool van, the ex RNAD van was re-gauged some time ago and a new floor and roof have also been fitted. The crumbling paint on the inside was scraped off and sanded down yesterday and a primer has been applied. The tool van will be finished off and kitted out at Felin Fawr so as not to increase its weight prior to delivery to the site.

The question of rail is also being addressed; we currently have three stockpiles at three different locations within a two mile radius of the Felin Fawr site. A simple method for its transportation is being worked on.
Without doubt, the original Penrhyn bullhead rail will be the most challenging to lay, with some of it having seen seventy years of use at Penrhyn and a further forty years of use at Porthmadog, matching rails up will undoubtedly prove to be quite interesting! Quantities of fishplate shims of various thicknesses are being made up to aid tracklaying.

The opportunity was taken today to remove a large mound of rubbish that was dumped near the East door of the loco shed, two heavy loads were carted away. This will be the unloading area for rail and rolling stock which is currently in storage off site. Adjacent to the bricked up doorway is a concrete yard area which still needs scrapping and cleaning up.
The doorway will be reopened when the necessary documentation is in place and a replica sliding door is currently being made off site.

Coach “R” has finally had its wheels fitted but there are still one or two jobs left such as wooden brake blocks and a ratchet for the brake lever. The floor boards have been cut to size and the seat bars are waiting to be fitted once the brakes have been completed.

Five volunteers worked extremely hard for seven hours on Saturday to complete the slating of the oil shed roof and all that now remains to be done is the fitting of the ridge tiles and some rendering up here and there. Many of the slates used were of random size and thickness so naturally these factors complicated things slightly.
Current thinking is that the building will be used as our permanent way shed and a short wall and platform area next to the building once used for unloading oil barrels will be restored once the site has been cleared of vegetation.

The Penrhyn Railway Trust only secured freehold of the oil shed last week following negotiations with the previous owners the Penrhyn Estate. (Images by Gwyn)

The Penrhyn Railway Society held its third AGM at Tregarth Community Centre on Saturday the 5th of September. A good turnout and a successful meeting were reported by Society Chairman David Roberts.

Two Penrhyn rubbish wagons have been restored and made ready for ballasting work on the railway, quarry galley names have been painted on their sides as apparently featured pre 1930’s.

Work has resumed on the oil shed at Felin Fawr and a regular volunteer work pattern has been established so that the restoration of the building is complete before efforts are diverted to the locomotive sheds.

Improvements have been made to the Lon Las Ogwen cycle path within the Felin Fawr site. These works include resurfacing the section next to the railway trackbed along with additional safety warning signs.

The Penrhyn Railway Trust is currently evaluating various options for the two water wheels at Felin Fawr. The Trust is committed to restoring these listed features and negotiations are underway with investment partners.

The Penrhyn Railway Heritage Trust carried out preparatory works at the Felin Fawr loco sheds over the Easter period. The tasks included killing long established ivy on the South facing wall, clearance of vegetation around the building and a general and thorough tidy up within the building itself. Volunteers split into two groups, the internal team faced years of built up debris, broken glass and general rubbish while the external team battled with ivy trunks, briers and self seeding trees that had taken root during the last few years.

The locomotive building consists of two sheds, the larger loco maintenance building to the South and the smaller “diesel” shed to the North. This building is the only surviving section of what was once the carpentry workshop, a large building that once dominated most of the Felin Fawr yard area before being destroyed by fire in the late 1940’s.

The Felin Fawr Works site will feature both heritage and modern light industry, our sister company Felin Fawr Cyf will manage the site as a whole with the Penrhyn Railway Heritage Trust and Society focusing on the restoration of the locomotive buildings and the Penrhyn Railway.

Another group that should be mentioned are the PUG’s (Penrhyn Underground Group) rarely seen but could pop up almost anywhere! The Felin Fawr Works site is littered below ground with a network of culverts, drains and drive shaft tunnels. The PUG’s are a volunteer group specifically assigned to assist with the maintenance of these tunnels and the restoration of the two waterwheels that once powered most of the machinery at the site. PUG members have recently assisted structural engineers with gaining access to a culvert that passes beneath the Penrhyn Railway in order to carry out a structural survey.

We have bad a busy week finishing off Ruston 25 so that she is ready to go. Tasks such as wiring, the fabricating and fitting of a bonnet hood and numerous other small jobs have all now been completed. Most materials used (other than nuts, bolts and paint) are recycled, the body panels for instance were fabricated from steel salvaged from an old diesel storage tank, the engine was recovered from a small lorry and even the fames and gearbox had spent many years at a scapyard before being rescued by the previous owner.
The loco is now affectionately referred to as “Y Motor Bach”.

The workshop is now concentrating on getting two Penrhyn rubbish wagons operational as it is thought they will be useful for ballasting being open ended, they are extremely robust wagons and virtually indestructible. The railway originally used two of these wagons for ballasting which were purposely fitted with single flanged wheels.

Well anther year almost over with very little to show for it on the ground so to speak, what can we say? Well it is coming and as far as the railway is concerned, everything is on schedule with construction work expected to begin in the New Year with a completion target of mid May 2009 as planned. The event scheduled for the end of that month remains cancelled due to outside factors but we promise that an event will take place as soon as practically possible during 2009, we will keep you informed.

The quarrymans coach is almost complete with the wheels and brake gear expected to be fitted over the Christmas period, we will post some photographs as soon as we can. The coach is something that we are extremely proud of, special thanks to those who have worked so hard on the project. The Ruston 25 will also be completed over the next two weeks when the new bonnet hood is fitted; the loco along with a few PW wagons will then be ready for work.

The famous short section of track laid at Felin Fawr a couple of years ago will be lifted in early January so that the site is clear for earth works. This section of track has been quite significant and perhaps more than anything, it has demonstrated our determination to restore the railway. Fortunately, nobody seemed to notice that it was laid with double-head rail and not Penrhyn bullhead, the reason for this being that we assumed it would vanish within a month.

We have spent quite some time recently photographing and recording details of virtually every square inch of the Felin Fawr loco sheds. This work follows on from the Capita Symonds survey of the buildings that we funded a couple of years ago. There will be much more news to come on this front but in the mean time, there are some recent images within the short video clip below.

We wish all members, supporters and friends a wonderful Christmas and a prosperous New Year.

Nadolig Llawen a Blwyddyn Newydd Dda i bawb sydd wedi cefnogi ni, enwedig yn ystod y misoedd diwethar, diolch o galon.

It is with great regret that we have to announce that due to circumstances beyond our control, the special event planned for the last week in May 2009 is now cancelled. A special event will take place later in 2009 and an announcement will be made closer to the time.

We sincerely apologise for any inconvenience caused and we will keep you informed of any developments as and when they occur. We remain very determined, optimistic and totally committed to our aims and objectives.

PRHT submitted proposals last April to Cyngor Gwynedd Council in response to an invitation published in newspapers for 'expressions of interest' regarding the future of Felin Fawr mill site.

For more information regarding our proposals for the Felin Fawr site, please visit a dedicated website here

The workshop has been busy recently since the arrival of the replica quarrymans coach manufacturing all the associated metal work to turn it into a serviceable vehicle for next summer. To date the two sprung couplings, four corner brackets, brake lever and the coach numbers and new letter “R” (the next in sequence) have been made. The last task currently being undertaken is the wheels and axleboxes, patterns for which have been sourced. The coach has now been primed in a red undercoat ready for its Brinjal red finish.

On another subject which may be of great interest to Penrhyn enthusiasts, ex-Penrhyn mainline locomotive Felin Hen was steam tested in France last week following an extensive restoration after her return from Australia. Built by the Baldwin locomotive Works for service in France during the First World War, she became one of three such locomotives purchased by Penrhyn Quarry in 1924 and withdrawn after just three years service. The locomotive was exported to Australia in 1940 and worked at the Fairymead Sugar Mill until 1965 returning to Europe in July 2002.

Thanks to Dave 'gizmo' Gander for the photograph and to Barry Williams for the information.

Almost exactly 5 years after the first definitive plans were put together for the rebirth of the Penrhyn Railway and an initial approach was made to Cyngor Gwynedd Council we are able to announce that we hope to see steam return to the railway next summer.

Current plans at Felin Fawr are to re-lay the route of the original mainline in recovered bullhead and a run round loop will be laid in flat-bottomed rail recovered from Trecwn replicating as near as possible the original layout and materials. Slight changes to the original track layout are being incorporated in order to provide for the needs of future commercial railway activities. However construction will soon commence on at least one set of the infamous stub points synonymous with the Penrhyn Railway for incorporation into the layout.

This weekend saw our first big volunteering bash at Felin Fawr. The aim for the weekend was to make a tidier job of storing the rail that arrived last November from Trecwn. The main job on the Saturday was to lift the track panels from our trackbed into an open area and break them up in there components parts. Volunteers soon formed into groups, some doing the demolition work, some removing the spikes from the baseplates and others stacking sleepers. Come lunch time we were about half way through the stack of around twenty panels and it was time to enjoy the Societies newly acquired mobile mess facilities, complete with the Penrhyns answer to Keith Floyd in the form of Society Chairman, David Roberts, doing the honours in the kitchen. On this occasion the a la carte menu consisted of bacon rolls OR bacon baps!! By early evening all the rail had been dismantled and removed from site to a secure storage area.

On the Sunday all that was left to do was to move the five points to a better location on the trackbed so we can in the future access the area with machinery for clearance works. While some were involved with this the opportunity was also taken to strim some of the lighter undergrowth that is beginning to take hold again. On the Monday volunteers stacked the rail and sleepers in a more orderly fashion and had a count up of exactly what had been achieved. The grand total for the weekend was 460 yards of railway and some 500 sleepers.

In the previous couple of weeks more progress has been made on Ruston No. 25 which has now acquired much re-fabricated bodywork, the loco will not be fitted with a cab at this stage as it is felt that it will serve the purpose better without for the time being. The loco only now requires a bonnet hood and it will be ready for work.

Rapid progress is being made with our quarrymans coach with the woodwork now almost complete, it has also been primed ready for its brinjal red topcoat which will be applied when the coach is moved to our workshops for final fitting out.

Work on our Ruston diesel has also progressed in the last week with the fitting of the bulkhead and engine following painting. Testing then followed but our fitters were not quite happy with the way in which the oil fed gearbox was functioning, so it was stripped down again and a fault was discovered in one of the high pressure oil lines, this was rectified and the unit is now satisfactory. Controls have been added to the bulkhead and the rest of the bodywork is now being fabricated.

PRS Chairman Jonathan Ball has resigned with immediate effect so that he can concentrate fully on other aspects of the project, David Roberts has come forward to fill the role until the next Society AGM in August

While the engine is still fitted to the loco, the opportunity was taken today to fabricate a new fuel tank and check clearances, as the original tank which is part of the bulkhead had rotted through.

The original bulkhead is to be reused and the new tank was fabricated by Mark today. The bulkhead was then trial fitted to check clearances.

The replacement diesel unit for No 25 was finally trial fitted in the frames recently following some new mounting fabrication and the fitting of a specially made drive coupling. Volunteers worked hard for almost a week to get everything in place so that testing could commence, this work also included the installation of a temporary fuel supply, radiator and battery.

The Ruston gearbox is a constant mesh type two speed unit in which the gears are brought into operation by oil operated cone clutches, initial problems were encountered with drive take-up to the wheels but following a few phone calls, reassurance was given that all was in order and following half an hour of running with the loco supported off the rails, the clutches finally engaged, the initial problems were put down to the fact that the loco has stood dormant for many years. The power unit will be removed shortly for painting and then refitted so that the body work can be built up around it.

A short video clip of Penrhyn Railway Chairman Bryce Latham starting up the engine!

Much discussion has taken place recently regarding our diesel loco No25, the natural conclusion being that it needs to be as user friendly as possible. Sourcing items such as a suitable starter motor combined with concerns regarding the lengthy and slightly complex start-up procedure not to mention parts availability has influenced a new direction on the power unit front. The owners have decided that a more modern power unit would be favourable, for simplicity, parts availability, and in order to keep costs to a minimum. A four cylinder Perkins engine was purchased recently and it has arrived at the workshop for evaluation, the only major and obvious modification will be to the flywheel so that it will accept the Ruston gearbox coupling. The unit will be mounted on semi-solid pads to allow minimal vibration, the loco frame and original engine mounts will not be disturbed, so in theory, the original unit could easily be refitted in the future.

Good progress has been made with our replica quarryman’s coach with the framework now well underway. Work is currently being carried out at a private location but it is expected to arrive at the workshop in the future for final works including top coats of paint etc. Attention to detail is paramount and to date, this is being well and truly achieved even down to sourcing original materials such as American pitch pine kindly supplied by Crest Cooperative Ltd of Llandudno Junction. Pitch pine was once traditionally used throughout on the Penrhyn Estate with quantities imported on returning slate ships.

Work started on the collapsed culvert around a week ago, the stream was diverted so that excavation work could commence. The culvert work was complete within two days, and once again, the stream now flows beneath the trackbed rather than along it! Some groundwork was also carried out at the crossing while the plant was on site.

A lorry was sent down to Trecwn last week to pick up all the base plates and dog-spikes associated with the track that arrived at Bethesda in November, unfortunately, it hadn’t been possible to include these items with the original consignment so a special trip was called for. Thousands of plates and spikes arrived last Thursday which were sorted out by volunteers on Friday.

The decision was made recently to dispose of one of our two Ruston locomotives; No.26 (RH375694/54) has been sold to a private collector as it was felt that there was little likelihood of it being restored to working order in the foreseeable future. The wheels along with some other parts are now fitted to No 25 and the gearbox is also being retained as a spare unit. The loco is in a dismantled state and the first component parts were collected by its new owner this morning. Funds from the sale of this loco will be invested in No 25 which is currently being restored to working order at the workshop.

Recent gales have taken their toll on a few of the trees alongside the trackbed, most notable was the destruction caused to a large oak at one of the most scenic locations around half a mile North of Felin Fawr. A large limb had snapped off and crashed through the slate pillar fencing and also demolished the temporary fencing on the other side of the trackbed.

Today volunteers cleared half the timber away and re-erected the wire fencing which we intend to replace with slate pillar fencing in due course. They were also faced with another problem at the site in the form of a collapsed culvert so the decision was made to replace it within the month as a matter of priority.

Volunteers also spent some time recently stacking Trecwn sleepers at Plas, these had been dumped hastily near the access on arrival.