For almost 40 years the Ffestiniog Team have been working to preserve North Wales’ Slate Heritage alongside running an enormously popular tourist railway.
The Heritage Railway Association has awarded its most prestigious award – the Peter Manisty Award for Excellence – to the Ffestiniog Team that has rescued, restores and operates the unique gravity slate train. Based at the railway’s Boston Lodge Works (itself the subject of a current £4m heritage development project) the team have rescued over 200 waggons; thought to be the largest collection of heritage waggons indigenous to a particular railway. These are available for public viewing during special events held at the railway throughout the year. As part of the National Lottery funded project, new volunteers will be invited to join special workshops to learn the skills associated with the collection and to also get involved themselves.
The Peter Manisty Award is not granted every year and is only awarded for exceptional achievements in the heritage railway world. The team’s submission not only included preservation work on the train, but also their success in constructing a building to house the 200 waggons, the creation of a workshop in the original forge building at Boston Lodge and all the work needed to operate the train safely in the 21st Century.
Paul Lewin, FfWHR Director and General Manager comments:
“The award could not come at a better time. The efforts of this team over more than thirty years are truly outstanding and it is more than overdue that their contribution to railway conservation should come into focus. The team involved are one of the longest standing and most committed in the world of railway preservation. We are working hard to tell our story of the Ffestiniog Railway’s part in the slate industry world heritage site. The gravity train really brings that alive and shortly visitors will be able to hear the full story, learn new skills and get involved, but for now we will be taking a little time to celebrate this award and the achievements of over three decades work.”
Ers bron i 40 mlynedd mae Tîm Ffestiniog wedi bod yn gweithio i warchod Treftadaeth Llechi Gogledd Cymru ochr yn ochr â rhedeg rheilffordd dwristiaeth hynod boblogaidd.
Mae yr ‘Heritage Railway Association’ wedi dyfarnu ei gwobr fwyaf mawreddog – yr ‘Peter Manisty Award for Excellence’ – i Dîm Ffestiniog sydd wedi achub, adfer a gweithredu’r trên llechi disgyrchiant unigryw. Wedi’i leoli yng Ngweithdai Boston Lodge ar y rheilffordd (sy’n destun prosiect datblygu treftadaeth presennol gwerth £4m) mae’r tîm wedi achub dros 200 o wagenni; credir mai dyma’r casgliad mwyaf o wagenni treftadaeth sy’n frodorol i reilffordd benodol. Mae’r rhain ar gael i’r cyhoedd eu gweld yn ystod digwyddiadau arbennig a gynhelir ar y rheilffordd trwy gydol y flwyddyn. Fel rhan o’r prosiect a ariennir gan y Loteri Genedlaethol, bydd gwirfoddolwyr newydd yn cael eu gwahodd i ymuno â gweithdai arbennig i ddysgu’r sgiliau sy’n gysylltiedig â’r casgliad ac i gymryd rhan eu hunain hefyd.
Nid yw’r ‘Peter Manisty Award for Excellence’ yn cael ei dyfarnu bob blwyddyn a dim ond am gyflawniadau eithriadol yn y byd rheilffyrdd treftadaeth y caiff ei dyfarnu. Roedd cyflwyniad y tîm nid yn unig yn cynnwys gwaith cadwraeth ar y trên, ond hefyd eu llwyddiant wrth godi adeilad ar gyfer y 200 o wagenni, creu gweithdy yn adeilad gwreiddiol yr efail yn Boston Lodge a’r holl waith sydd ei angen i redeg y trên yn ddiogel yn yr 21ain Ganrif.
Dwedodd Paul Lewin, Cyfarwyddwr a Rheolwr Cyffredinol RhFfE:
“Ni allai’r wobr ddod ar amser gwell. Mae ymdrechion y tîm hwn dros fwy na deng mlynedd ar hugain yn wirioneddol eithriadol ac mae’n hen bryd i’w cyfraniad at gadwraeth rheilffyrdd ddod i’r amlwg. Mae’r tîm sy’n cymryd rhan yn un o’r rhai mwyaf hirsefydlog a mwyaf ymroddedig ym myd cadwraeth rheilffyrdd. Rydym yn gweithio’n galed i adrodd ein hanes am ran Rheilffordd Ffestiniog yn safle treftadaeth y byd y diwydiant llechi. Mae’r trên disgyrchiant yn dod â hynny’n fyw ac yn fuan bydd ymwelwyr yn gallu clywed y stori lawn, dysgu sgiliau newydd a chymryd rhan, ond am y tro byddwn yn cymryd ychydig o amser i ddathlu’r wobr hon a chyflawniadau gwaith dros dri degawd.”