Festiniog and Blaenau Railway
The Festiniog and Blaenau Railway was a British railway company based in Wales .
The company for the construction of a 5.6 kilometer long railway line between Llan Ffestiniog and Blaenau Ffestiniog was founded on August 7, 1862 on the basis of the Limited Liability Act . The driving force was the owners of slate mines near Tan-y-Manod , the Holland and Casson families. The pits have not yet had a connection to the rail network. In addition, the intention is to break the monopoly of the Ffestiniog Railway with a second route to Blaenau .
The narrow-gauge (1 ft 11.75 in [603 mm]) line was opened on May 29, 1868. In the beginning, the line was operated for three months by the Ffestiniog Railway, with which there was a rail connection in Blaenau Ffestiniog. When the company then had its own rolling stock, the operation was carried out independently. As a result of renovation work on the railway line, new capital requirements arose in 1876. The subsidiary of the Great Western Railway , the Bala and Festiniog Railway bought into the company for 20,000 pounds and obtained the majority of the shares. The connection between the railway line and the GWR network was to be established in Llan Ffestiniog via the B&FR.
In 1877 around 86,000 people were transported. 17,500 people had a season ticket. The most important transport goods were slate and coal. The annual transported amounts were between 2000 and 9000 tons.
In 1882 the previous management of the Festiniog and Blaenau Railway resigned voluntarily. On April 13, 1883, the Bala and Festiniog Railway took over the company completely. After the change to standard gauge that began immediately , the line was reopened on September 10, 1883. This gave GWR access to the mining area in Blaenau.
vehicles
Two B1 'tank locomotives from Manning Wardle were procured for operation on the line . The locomotives with the serial numbers 258 and 259 were named NIPPER and SCORCHER . After the line had been re-tracked, they were sold to the Ruabon Coal and Coke Company.
Six two-axle passenger cars from Ashbury Railway Carriage and Iron Company and 19 open carriages for worker transport were acquired for passenger transport .
Wagons of the same design as on the Ffestiniog Railway were available for transporting goods. Furthermore, freight cars of this company were used.
literature
- Christopher Awdry: Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies . Stephens, Wellingborough 1990, ISBN 1-85260-049-7 .
- Boyd, James IC: Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire, Volume 1 . 2nd Edition. The Oakwood Press, 1988, ISBN 0-85361-365-6 .