Replica carriage enables Llanfair line to recreate earliest days

 This week the third and final replica, Brake/Composite No.6338, arrived on the line, joining Brake/Composite No.6466 and All Third Saloon No.4154. The Ffestiniog Railway has built all three over the past seven years under contract.

 

Demonstrating the skill of the craftsmen at the Ffestiniog’s Boston Lodge Works, the three vehicles are authentic re-creations of the Llanfair line’s original carriages built by R Y Pickering in 1902 and scrapped by the Great Western Railway when passenger traffic ceased in 1936.

 

The first vehicle, No.6466, was built in 2003 following an appeal for funds amongst W&LLR members and supporters. A generous individual legacy allowed the building of the second vehicle, No.4154, in 2007, while this third and final replica has been funded from within an existing legacy.

 

As well as enabling passengers on the W&LLR to experience what travel on the line would have been like during its earliest Edwardian days, construction of the vehicles has also helped to secure jobs and retain traditional skills in North Wales during recent difficult economic times. 

 

W&LLR General Manager, Terry Turner commented; “The train set is complete and we must now concentrate efforts on having sufficient covered accommodation to keep it all in. We thank the Ffestiniog Railway for their superb workmanship and attention to detail and hope for future co-operation between the companies”.

 

The new carriage will undergo a test schedule before making its public debut on special trains at the Annual Steam Gala on 3^rd-5^th September. This event will also feature visiting locomotive, “Chevallier”, currently based in the Forest of Dean.

 

Now running trains daily, the W&LLR will be expanding its service, with two steam trains in operation on Tuesdays to Thursdays throughout August.

 

Full details can be obtained from www.wllr.org.uk or by calling 01938 810441.