Welsh Pony ’s comeback
Welsh Pony finally returned to the rebuilt Welsh Highland Railway in what may rank as the show of this most unusual year.
On October 10, on the windswept and rain-soaked platform at Dduallt, longtime Ffestiniog Railway member and supporter Michael Davies pulled back the ceremonial curtain attached to Welsh Pony’s distinctive saddle tank to formally unveil its glistening brass nameplate.
It was a poignant moment, for Michael had been part of the very first working party to revive the moribund railway on October 23 1954. Could he ever have imagined back then that this once-neglected locomotive would be restored to such splendour, or that it would later that weekend traverse the Aberglaslyn Pass again – on a line that many people for years assumed would never be resurrected?
That fleeting moment, then, summed up 66 years of Ffestiniog Railway history, progress and innovation, and it took all the FR’s innovation to hold its ‘Bygones Weekend’, of which Welsh Pony’s naming ceremony formed a part.
Few could have conceived back in the spring – when, owing to the coronavirus pandemic, the FR had to abandon its plans for its ‘Fairlie Eventful’ June gala – that it would hold any gala this year. Indeed, it was lucky to do so, for a week after ‘Bygones’, the Welsh Government announced a two-week ‘circuit breaker’ lockdown from October 23 until November 9, meaning that the FR – like all other Welsh railways – would have to close its doors once again. With its Santa specials hanging in the balance, could this have been the FR’s last hurrah for 2020?
Let bygones be bygones
Let’s hope not. But if so, it went out in grand style. In fact, since reopening to the public on July 20, the FR has been one of the brightest spots in what has been a dark year for preservation. The railway has made a virtue of the need for social distancing and the ‘rule of six’ by fielding its fleet of glorious wooden-bodied vintage compartment stock and smaller, older locomotives – namely its working trio of George England 0-4-0STTs and the ‘Penrhyn Ladies’, Linda and Blanche.
Running only as far as Tan-y-Bwlch, these ‘new normal’ trains not only created an extended opportunity for these engines and coaches to enjoy the limelight, but also recalled the late 1950s on the FR – an era which the likes of Michael Davies and his pioneering cohorts helped to create. It’s also an era fondly remembered by enthusiasts, but one which the railway seldom has opportunities to revive during the normal operating season, in which the usual tens of thousands of passengers make the use of vintage stock and small locomotives much less practical.
Normally, such trains are limited to the railway’s annual ‘Victorian Weekend’, held in early-mid October. While not offering the full traditional ‘Victorian Weekend’ experience with period costumes and so on, the FR’s stand-in ‘Bygones Weekend’ on October 9-11 was a splendid substitute and used the railway’s successful post-lockdown services as a template with trains pre-booked by compartment only to limit numbers to comply with social distancing.
Otherwise, it was business as usual, the event offering all the usual trimmings these weekends are renowned for: vintage locomotives, heritage rolling stock, freights, passenger trains and the odd gravity slate train thrown in for good measure. As such, the ‘Bygones Weekend’ contained just about everything enthusiasts love about the Ffestiniog.
And the action wasn’t limited to the FR, with Welsh Pony – which had been repainted into exquisitely lined FR deep plum livery for the gala – making its first runs in eight decades over the southern section of the Welsh Highland Railway, a scenario previously beyond wild imagination.
Welsh Pony’s new livery has certainly gone down well. “It looks amazing,” says Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways commercial manager Clare Britton. “Full credit must go to Glenn Williams and daughter Sarah May for this. It was Sarah’s first time applying gold leaf. We are so proud to be able to introduce young people to these skills which are so important to this business.”
Alas, it didn’t all go entirely to plan. The event should have been the gala debut of Graham Fairhurst’s recently restored Baldwin ‘10-12-D’ 4-6-0PT No. 608, but this engine failed with bottom end problems before its rostered turn
double-heading with Welsh Pony to Beddgelert on the Sunday, and was thus limited to a handful of out-and-back runs over the Cob, leaving the unique ‘Large England’ to work solo through the Aberglaslyn Pass.
Despite the Baldwin’s no-show, the gala was otherwise a success, with 431 compartments sold across the three days, but, says Clare, without the usual ‘Victorian Weekend’ sideshows and with people encouraged not to linger on platforms, “it certainly felt very quiet.
“It was completely different from a normal Victorian event, which is about hopping on and off and chatting to friends old and new. We were worried that this would be a challenge; however, everybody was very respectful, masks were worn, and people said how safe they felt.”
Long-time society member and volunteer Richard Herington concurs: “It was strange arriving last Saturday and not seeing everyone dressed up in Victorian outfits and seeing fewer people about than normal. However, the railway put on an excellent programme of a variety of locomotives and rolling stock. The weather even obliged on Sunday.
“The passengers have been great; I haven’t had to ask any of them to wear their masks, they have all arrived wearing them. A sign of our times; I think they were like us, just grateful for being able to go away for a break at this time.”
Clare describes the ‘Bygones’ event as “more of a finale than a highlight; the highlight was when we started running our Covid-19-secure heritage train service.
“Being a narrow gauge railway in Wales, social distancing was a big issue and a lot of preparation went into getting it right. By the time ‘Bygones’ took place, Wales was already closing down, many people were unable to attend, and the end was in sight.
“It has brought rather an abrupt end to the season, but the Welsh Government has a plan and we are happy to adhere to it. It would have been good to have the half-term income, but it is not to be. Depending on the situation nearer to Christmas, we would love to put on some services, as long as it is appropriate to do so.”
So, where does the current status quo leave 2020’s abandoned ‘Fairlie Eventful’ gala, which would have marked the 150th anniversary of the Little Wonder trials that thrust the FR onto the world stage? “At the moment, we are waiting to see how things go before we plan any major events,” Clare explains. “Rest assured though, there will be plenty of things happening to interest supporters and enthusiasts. Even though it has been a strange year with the lowest passenger numbers for decades, engagement has probably been the highest ever.”
A year to remember
Earlier this year, in the sunlit uplands of pre-lockdown life, Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways general manager Paul Lewin declared, “This is the year of the Ffestiniog Railway” (SR504), referring to the then imminent completion of Welsh Pony, its lottery-backed Boston Lodge redevelopment projects, and continued progress of new double Fairlie James Spooner. He could not then have foreseen how 2020 would ultimately turn out.
But, arguably, his declaration still stands. Despite the challenging circumstances in which the line has found itself, all in all the FR has packed a lot into the 95 days it has operated this summer – a severely curtailed season compared to a normal year. But in the space of just over three months, it has completed the restoration of one of its most historically important locomotives (Welsh Pony), run a series of well-received post-lockdown trains that used its vintage stock in everyday service, and held a gala that many wouldn’t have imagined possible when Wales entered its first lockdown back in the spring.
2020 has still been the year of the Ffestiniog – just not in the way that Paul nor anybody else could have possibly imagined.