Ffestiniog Railway: Welsh Pony & Blanche Climb the Mountain

Описание: On July 19, 2022, the Ffestiniog Railway of Porthmadog, Wales put on an unusual doubleheader. Normally the domain of the iconic Double Fairlie engines, the Mountain Spirit excursions to Bleanau Ffestiniog were this day hauled by Blanche, an 1893 2-4-0T+T, and Welsh Pony, an 1867 0-4-0T+T. Having been at home on the Ffestiniog for 155 years, Welsh Pony is one of the oldest operating locomotives in the world. On the opposite end of the age spectrum was Lyd, a 2-6-2T built by the Ffestiniog's own Boston Lodge Works in 2010, at the head of the Woodland Wanderer excursions which ran halfway up the line to Tan-y-Bwlch.

The Ffestiniog Railway was chartered in 1832 to connect the slate quarries at Bleanau Ffestiniog to the harbor at Port Madoc (now Porthmadog). When it opened the line used horses to pull empty slate wagons up the mountain and then the loaded wagons would roll downhill by gravity. Steam power was introduced in 1863 with the arrival of three small 0-4-0T+Ts, Mountaineer, Princess, and Prince. Prince is still operational today. Another of the same design, Palmerston, was ordered in 1864 and then a slightly larger pair in 1867, Welsh Pony and Little Giant. Needing more power but constrained by the tight curves and small tunnels of the line, in 1869 the Ffestiniog became the proving ground for Robert Fairlie's unique double-ended locomotive design. While not a great success elsewhere, the Double Fairlie was the perfect engine for the Ffestiniog and soon became synonymous with the railway. The railway kept a busy schedule of slate, goods, and passenger traffic for many years but the decline of slate during the World Wars and competition from standard gauge railways forced the line to close in 1946. The line reopened as a heritage railway in 1954 and over the next several decades was rebuilt by an army of volunteers, reaching Bleanau in 1982. Welsh Pony, having been out of service since 1940, was returned to operation in 2020.