Palmer's first hand impressions of the Ffestiniog Railway in Wales buoyed his interest in the narrow gauge concept which would prove to be advantageous while conquering the mountainous regions of the Southwest.

The village is located in the community of Penrhyndeudraeth, on the estuary of the River Dwyryd, south east of Porthmadog, and from the railway station at Minffordd, which is served by both the narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway and Arriva Trains Wales ( Cambrian Line ).

For example the return fare from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog on the 13-mile Festiniog railway is some £ 17. 95 and between Caernarfon to Beddgelert £ 22. 00 on the Welsh Highland Railway.

During the Second World War and in the period immediately afterwards several enthusiasts, particularly from the Birmingham area, had become aware of the narrow gauge railways of Wales and there had been suggestions that one of the lines, most probably the Ffestiniog Railway, could be saved.

This was quite a historic event for the Talyllyn as it was the first time ever that Dolgoch had operated away from its home railway in 146 years, it was also the first time that a Talyllyn engine has run next to an engine from the Ffestiniog Railway.

The Ffestiniog Railway () is a narrow gauge heritage railway, located in Gwynedd, Wales.

The track gauge is allowing trains to interwork through to the Welsh Highland Railway of 1922 ( operated by the Ffestiniog ).

At passing loops, trains passed on the right and this continues to be a feature of Ffestiniog Railway operation.

Extension to Dduallt was celebrated on 28 May 1968 by the re-introduction of the Ffestiniog Railway Letter Service.

The original route of the Ffestiniog Railway is beneath the waters in the foreground

Between 1965 and 1978, the Ffestiniog Railway Deviation, a long diversionary route was constructed between Dduallt and Tanygrisiau in order to avoid the works of Tanygrisiau hydro-electric power station and its reservoir ( Llyn Ystradau ).

Ffestiniog trains returned to Blaenau on Tuesday, 25 May 1982, thus marking the 150th Anniversary of Royal Assent to the Festiniog Railway Act of 1832.

By 2010, the tracks of the WHR and Ffestiniog Railway had been reconnected at Harbour Station, linking Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passenger services started in 2011.

One of the earliest references to tourism is in the LNWR Tourist Guide for 1876, which waxed lyrical about the Ffestiniog Railway, which it illustrated with a drawing of a lady in Welsh national dress ( then still in regular local use ) travelling on an FR up train ( since many empty slate wagons – with two standing brakesmen – were attached at the rear ) with the caption " On the Ffestiniog Railway ".

The role of the Ffestiniog Railway in the promotion and fulfilment of tourism and in preserving railway heritage has been recognised many times, and notable mentions have included:

A Ffestiniog Railway train leaves Porthmadog and heads towards Blaenau Ffestiniog along the Cob

* Ove Arup & Partners ; Report on a Rock Fall at Penlan, Ffestiniog Railway, 1979

* P. N. Jarvis ; Adeiladu Muriau Cerrig Sych-dry stone walling on the Ffestiniog Railway, 1993, revised edn 1995

* P. Johnson ; Immortal Rails ; the Story of the Closure and Revival of the Ffestiniog Railway 1939-1983 Vol. I 2004, 2004, ISBN 1-900622-08-4 £ 35 ; Vol. II 2005 ISBN 1-900622-09-2 £ 35.

* M. J. T. Lewis ; How Ffestiniog got its Railway, 1965, revised edn 1968

Slate traffic ceased on 1 August 1946, apart from the section from Duffws to the North Western yard through Blaenau Ffestiniog town centre, which was leased on 7 October 1946 to the quarry owners.

The new joint station with British Rail at Blaenau Ffestiniog was officially opened on 30 April 1983 by George Thomas, Speaker of the House of Commons, who unveiled a plaque that records his visit.

Today, the town relies heavily on tourism who come to see the many attractions within and around the town such as the Ffestiniog Railway.

Blaenau Ffestiniog railway station on the site of the former Great Western station serves as a combined station for the Ffestiniog Railway and the Conwy Valley Line, their previous stations being no longer in use.

The Ffestiniog went on to own a total of six Fairlie locomotives, with three in service in 2011, and one on display at the National Railway Museum.

Armed with the success of Little Wonder on the Ffestiniog, Fairlie staged a series of very successful demonstrations on the Ffestiniog line in February 1870 to high-powered delegations from the many parts of the world.

The only really successful uses of the Fairlie locomotive, other than on the Ffestiniog Railway, were in Mexico, New Zealand and Russia on Transcaucasian Railway.

In 1836, the Ffestiniog Railway opened, largely following Provis ' route of 1825, and using the Cob to reach Porthmadog Harbour.

Blaenau Ffestiniog, seen from Moelwyn Bach, showing the large waste heaps that dominate the town.

The original plans envisaged a railhead at Betws-y-Coed and a large goods yard was established with intended interchange to a proposed narrow gauge line ( with a significant saving in construction costs ) via the steeply graded Lledr Valley to Blaenau Ffestiniog.

The next extension was to Blaenau Ffestiniog to access the output of the large slate quarries there.

Work started on the project in 2010, the route of which passes under the Ffestiniog Railway, and then crosses over the Welsh Highland Railway.

On 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, Ffestiniog Urban District was abolished, becoming merged with other districts to form Meirionnydd District, which was itself abolished in 1996.

A rail connection was desired for the nuclear power station under construction at Trawsfynydd, and a connecting line was built from Blaenau Ffestiniog North to the site of the demolished Blaenau Ffestiniog Central station for freight use.

Lyd first moved under its own steam on 5 August 2010 and then underwent running-in trials before visiting the L & B in September 2010 with former L & B coach 15 and Ffestiniog Railway observation car 102.

Particularly important for a narrow gauge line as small as the Ffestiniog, with a gauge of, was the fact that the Fairlie design meant that the fireboxes and ashpans were not restricted by frame or track width, but only by the overall loading gauge.

The railway is roughly long and runs from the harbour at Porthmadog to the slate mining town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, travelling through forested and mountainous scenery.

Double Fairlie locomotive David Lloyd George at Blaenau Ffestiniog railway station | Blaenau Ffestiniog station.

Blaenau Ffestiniog at one time was the second largest town in North Wales, behind Wrexham.

Double Fairlie locomotive David Lloyd George at Blaenau Ffestiniog railway station | Blaenau Ffestiniog station.

Merioneth was an important part of the Welsh slate industry in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, with major quarrying centres at Blaenau Ffestiniog in the north of the county and Corris in the south.

This locomotive is being built by L & B revivalists, scheduled for completion in 2012 and is currently at The Boston Lodge works of the Ffestiniog Railway in North Wales UK.

The Conwy Valley line was constructed by the London and North Western Railway with the primary aim of transporting dressed slate from the Blaenau Ffestiniog quarries to a specially built quay at Deganwy for export by sea.

However, wharfage prices were high at Trefriw ( being non-Gwydir ), and even before the opening of the Rhiw Bach Tramway in 1863 ( which linked to the Ffestiniog Railway at Blaenau Ffestiniog ) it was decided that it was preferable ( though less easy ) to cart slate via Cwm Teigl down to the quays on the river Dwyryd, below Maentwrog.

Art treasures were sent to distant storage: the National Gallery collection spent the war at the Manod Quarry near Ffestiniog, North Wales.

The bridge on the spiral loop at Dduallt railway station | Dduallt on the Ffestiniog Railway, Wales.

* Ffestiniog Railway, at Minffordd