Ffestiniog Railway, Blaenau Ffestiniog, Porthmadog, Tan-y-Bwlch station, 2010

The Ffestiniog Railway is the oldest independent railway company in the World - being founded by an Act of Parliament in 1832. The railway was originally built as a gravity and horse drawn line to transport slate from the quarries in the mountains around Blaenau Ffestiniog to the town of Porthmadog. Steam locomotives first ran on the line in October 1863The railway was extremely successful and introduced many innovative engineering solutions to cope with the rapid increase in output from the quarries and in the number of passengers it carried. Engineers from around the world came to study the Ffestiniog Railway and, as a result, it has influenced the design and construction of railways across the world. However, the slate industry slowly declined until finally the railway closed to traffic in 1946. Railway enthusiasts were determined that the railway should survive and it was re-opened in 1954.Our Picture Shows:The locomotive called Prince" arriving at Tan-y-Bwlch station. 24th April 1980 *** Local Caption *** watscan - - 12/08/2010"