{"id":18478,"date":"2018-08-14T15:59:17","date_gmt":"2018-08-14T14:59:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/?p=18478"},"modified":"2018-08-14T16:00:52","modified_gmt":"2018-08-14T15:00:52","slug":"in-photos-blaenau-ffestiniog-and-a-narrow-gauge-steam-journey-to-tan-y-bwlch-in-snowdonia-aug-2018","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/in-photos-blaenau-ffestiniog-and-a-narrow-gauge-steam-journey-to-tan-y-bwlch-in-snowdonia-aug-2018\/","title":{"rendered":"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a narrow gauge steam journey to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, Aug 2018"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-01.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Here&#8217;s some photos from a recent visit to\u00a0the\u00a0slate mining\u00a0town of\u00a0<a title=\"Blaenau Ffestiniog\" href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Blaenau_Ffestiniog\">Blaenau Ffestiniog<\/a>\u00a0in north Wales, with our day trip taking in a journey on the Ffestiniog Railway to Tan-y-Bwlch and back.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-02.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>When you arrive in Blaenau Ffestiniong by train you&#8217;re taken aback by the sight of vast canyons and mountains of waste slate.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-04.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The station has platforms for both the branch line from Llandudno Junction and the steam-operated, narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway to Porthmadog (to the left).<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-03.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The end of the line.\u00a0 There are plans to reopen the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.net\/forums\/threads\/plans-to-reopen-the-blaenau-ffestiniog-to-trawsfynydd-railway.360282\/\" data-previewurl=\"threads\/plans-to-reopen-the-blaenau-ffestiniog-to-trawsfynydd-railway.360282\/preview\">Blaenau Ffestiniog to Trawsfynydd railway<\/a><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-05.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-06.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We took a quick walk around <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Blaenau_Ffestiniog\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Blaenau Ffestiniog<\/a>, which now has a\u00a0population of 4,875 according to the 2011 census, which includes the nearby village of Llan Ffestiniog.<\/p>\n<p>It was once a far bigger town with\u00a012,000 residents during the peak of the slate industry.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-07.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-08.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Building for sale.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-09.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-10.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Rail routes out of Blaenau Ffestiniog.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-11.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-13.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Old Co-Op.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-12.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-14.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Getting ready to depart the station on the Ffestiniog Railway.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-15.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Opening on the 20th April 1836, the Ffestiniog Railway is a 1 ft 11 1\u20442 in (597 mm) narrow-gauge heritage railway, located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park.<\/p>\n<p>Running from the harbour at Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog, the 13 1\u20442 mile (21.7 km) line travels through forested and mountainous scenery.<\/p>\n<p>The line closed on 1st August 1946, but was reopened in sections from 1954, with the whole line reopening in 1982.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-16.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Festiniog Railway Company which owns the railway can claim to be the oldest surviving railway company in the world. The company also owns the equally scenic Welsh Highland Railway, which was re-opened fully in 2011.<\/p>\n<p>The two railways share the same track gauge and meet at Porthmadog station, with some trains working the entire 40 mile route from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Caernarfon. [<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Ffestiniog_Railway\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8212;<\/a>]<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-17.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Passing above Dduallt station before the train loops down into the platform.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-18.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-20.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-19.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-21.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Winding through the valleys on the ascent to\u00a0Tan-y-Bwlch station.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-22.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-23.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Arriving at Tan-y-Bwlch railway station,\u00a0 just under 7.5 miles (12.1 km) from Porthmadog. We didn&#8217;t have time to traverse the full route.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-24.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>The Porthmadog train gets ready to depart.<\/p>\n<p>Below is a\u00a0late Victorian\/early Edwardian colourised\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Tan-y-Bwlch_railway_station#\/media\/File:Ffestiniog-Railway-07419u.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">postcard<\/a> from a similar viewpoint. The wooden hut to the right still survives and is in use as a small museum and &#8216;Mr Hawkins Den.&#8217;<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"18482\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/in-photos-blaenau-ffestiniog-and-a-narrow-gauge-steam-journey-to-tan-y-bwlch-in-snowdonia-aug-2018\/tan-y-blwlch\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/tan-y-blwlch.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"620,388\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"tan-y-blwlch\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/tan-y-blwlch.jpg\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-18482\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/tan-y-blwlch.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"620\" height=\"388\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/tan-y-blwlch.jpg 620w, https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/tan-y-blwlch-300x188.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-26.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-25.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-27.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-28.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A look inside the loco.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-29.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-30.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Arriving at Blaenau Ffestiniog station.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-32.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Train ready to depart to Portmadog.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/images\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-33.jpg\" alt=\"In photos: Blaenau Ffestiniog and a steam trip to Tan-y-Bwlch in Snowdonia, August 2018\" border=\"0\" \/><\/p>\n<p>We caught the branch line train back to Llandudno via\u00a0Llandudno junction.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.festrail.co.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Ffestiniog Railway website<\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.urban75.net\/forums\/threads\/steam-powered-narrow-gauge-ffestiniog-railway-and-blaenau-ffestiniog.360295\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Chat about the Ffestiniog Railway and Blaenau\u00a0Ffestiniog <strong>on our forums.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Here&#8217;s some photos from a recent visit to\u00a0the\u00a0slate mining\u00a0town of\u00a0Blaenau Ffestiniog\u00a0in north Wales, with our day trip taking in a journey on the Ffestiniog Railway to Tan-y-Bwlch and back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":18480,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[17,193,90,1,198,16],"tags":[1934,1932,1927,1933,1924,1195,870,1200,1936,1602,1931,1935,1194],"class_list":["post-18478","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-photos","category-places","category-railways","category-stuff","category-wales-places","category-wales","tag-blaenau-ffestiniog","tag-ffestiniog-railway","tag-llandudno","tag-narrow-gauge","tag-north-wales","tag-photos","tag-railway","tag-railways","tag-snowdonia","tag-steam","tag-steam-trains","tag-tan-y-bwlch","tag-wales"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/blaenau-ffestiniog-steam-railway-01.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pQI7P-4O2","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18478","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18478"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18478\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18486,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18478\/revisions\/18486"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/18480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18478"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18478"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.urban75.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18478"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}