The Ffestiniog Railway Society AGM weekend will soon be upon us and we have some exciting items on the agenda for our FR Society members as we celebrate our 70th year!
Download weekend timetables here
Join us as we welcome two visiting engines; Chuquitanta and Lily, delight at the popular gravity trains due to run on Saturday, Sunday and Monday mornings and take a fascinating walk around the every changing Boston Lodge workshops on our tours.
Booking for this weekend are now open to FR Society Members and pre-booking will be required if you are planning to join us (there isn’t a charge for Members, but donations are always very welcome..!)
If you’re not a Member, why not join the FR Society and get involved in what promises to be a fantastic weekend!
Become a Member of the FR Society here.
Please Note: It can take up to two weeks for cards to arrive.
Friday, 3rd of May 2024
- Members check-in at Spooner’s
Check-in at Spooner’s between 16:00 – 19:00, it’s the perfect opportunity to catch up with old friends and make a few new ones..!
- Chuquitanta and Lily on display at Harbour Station
The locomotives are respectively the oldest and one of the youngest, in the product range. This is a fantastic opportunity to get some photos of the locomotives, which will be running around the railway over all 3 days with their ‘RAG Train’. Thanks to Jeremy Martin for arranging their visit!
- Curry Night at Spooner’s
There will be a Curry Night at Spooner’s on Friday evening, priced at £11.95 per person.
- Second Hand Book Stall
Look out for the second hand book stall which will be at Harbour Station over the weekend. We have now catalogued our stock of old Ffestiniog Railway Society Magazines and therefore we may now be able to supply ones that you might have missing from your collection.
These will be available for £3.00 each. If you have specific numbers you would like, please email shops@ffwhr.com
We can accept good condition second hand railway interest books but no magazines please.
Saturday, 4th of May 2024
- Breakfast at Spooner’s
Start your day with a delicious Breakfast at Spooner’s! Snacks and Hot Drinks also available to take onto the train. Refreshments will be available on the train, but no Hot Drinks will be served. Members can also pre-book a lunch box to collect at Blaenau Ffestiniog Station online when they book their tickets.
- Members check-in at Spooner’s
Check-in at Spooner’s between 08:30 – 09:30, it’s the perfect opportunity to catch up with old friends and make a few new ones..!
- Members only train to Blaenau Ffestiniog
Saturday’s activities will kick off with the Members only train to Blaenau, which departs Harbour Station at 09:45.
Similar to last year, we are arranging different activities in Blaenau for you to enjoy including the opportunity to meet the Alco Team at Glanypwll. This is also an ideal opportunity to take a closer look at Phase One of the work at Blaenau station, which has been completed this winter, funded by your Society. The train will have a longer stopover in Blaenau so there’s more time than last year to explore the town.
- Guided town walking tours
These Guided Tours will be led by Alwen Williams and will depart the station at 11.15, 12.15 and 13.15, lasting approx. 45 minutes and must be pre-booked.
There will be a coach operating around Blaenau to take Members around, so you don’t have to walk. Pant yr Afon Hydro will also be open.
- Return train to Porthmadog
This train will depart at 15:45, allowing enough time to enjoy something to eat before the AGM.
- Lasagne Evening Meal
A Lasagne Evening Meal will be served in Spooner’s between 16:00 – 18:00, priced at £11.95 per person.
- Ffestiniog Railway Society AGM
The Ffestiniog Railway Society AGM will take place at Ysgol Eifionydd, between 18:30 – 20:00
- Boston Lodge Tours
There will also be tours of Boston Lodge available for Members to pre-book. These will be led by Volunteers who have been working hard all winter to become tour guides for what is known as the Boston Lodge General Tour.
This tour follows a slightly different route to the tours you may have been on in the past. The guides would love to share their tour with you, which explains the history of the engineering works and the buildings; as well as the stories of the people that have worked at and influenced Boston Lodge.
Booking in advance is required for these tours (limited capacity) which take place on Saturday, Sunday and Monday. There will be morning and afternoon departures from Porthmadog Harbour Station.
The tour will be open to the public later in the summer, so your constructive feedback would be appreciated.
- Other Activities
If you would rather spend the day exploring Porthmadog, we would recommend the Maritime Museum where a new display explains the relationship between the Blaenau quarries and the railway in detail.
There is also the fascinating museum at the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway which is a worth a visit too.
You will need to buy tickets to visit these museums. If that isn’t enough, there will also be footplate rides at Harbour station for you to enjoy!
Sunday, 5th of May
- Inspection Train (Nearly Sold Out)
Join our Chairman, Graham Cole on an Inspection train, departing from Porthmadog Harbour Station. This will be a unique chance to see some of the FR civil engineering and visit Rhiw Goch box in the company of Mr Fred Howes.
There are very limited seats available and therefore we ask that you must book in advance.
- Shuttle Trains (Porthmadog – Minffordd)
Shuttle trains will be running between Porthmadog and Minffordd, where the Gweithdy will be open and hosting a display showcasing the Ffestiniog Story, throughout the day (10:00 – 16:00)
This will showcase the story of the volunteers who banded together to dig the railway out of oblivion and hew a new line through the mountains to by-pass a man-made lake and onwards to Blaenau. There will also be an opportunity for you to meet some of the many characters from our railway as they share their memories of the last 70 years.
There will also be an opportunity to hear about current Volunteer projects such as the restoration of Mountaineer and the art of Signwriting. Local baker Emma will also be at the Gweithdy on Sunday with her popular CelEMMAbration Cakes stall!
Sunday Shuttle trains between Porthmadog – Minffordd as follows;
11:50 Depart Porthmadog / 12:00 Arrive Minffordd / 12:25 Depart Minffordd
13:30 Depart Porthmadog / 13:40 Arrive Minffordd / 14:35 Depart Minffordd
15:40 Depart Porthmadog / 15:50 Arrive Minffordd / 16:15 Depart Minffordd
- Minffordd Yard and Hostel Tours
We also hope to host tours of Minffordd yard and the hostel. Please book when checking-in at Spooner’s.
- Spooner’s Sunday Carvery
Sunday Carvery will be served at Spooner’s between 12:00 – 15:00, priced at £13.95 per person.
- Rough Mountain walk
Jon Knowles will lead a rough mountain walk from the Barlwyd Reservoir along the leats which supply the power stations. This will also include a visit to the Maenofferen Power Station and part of the Rhiwbach Tramway. This is limited to only 8 members. Attendees need to be physically fit and have waterproofs and walking boots.
The walk starts and finishes at Llechwedd Slate Caverns and is a full day which must be pre-booked.
- Other Activities
The Maritime museum, the WHHR Railway and the NLHF Boston Lodge tours will all be available for you to visit on Sunday too. That’s not all, similarly to last year, we are also hoping to give you the opportunity to visit Porthmadog Signal Box.
Monday, 6th of May
- Morning train to Blaenau Ffestiniog
An early train, departing Harbour Station at 09:25 will take members to Blaenau Ffestiniog.
- Blaenau Ffestiniog Community event
We will be hosting a community event at Blaenau Ffestiniog station on the Monday and you will be very welcome to join in, either to help or visit. There will be footplate rides, stalls and a train ride to Tan y Bwlch.
Our special weekend is one of the many benefits of supporting the Ffestiniog Railway Society as a Member.
A big thank you to everyone within the Company that has helped to pull the weekend together for us, it is very much appreciated.
If you are thinking about bringing a guest remember this is a Members Only weekend, some activities may be open to the public, if there is availability and there will be a charge, e.g. a return train ticket from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog will be the same as a ‘Mountain Spirit’ ticket; £46.00
To be guaranteed seats, then it is best to be a Member! Don’t forget Membership cards take at least 2 weeks to arrive on your doorstep.
Please bring with you, your lanyard from last year if you still have it, your Membership card, your camera, smile and a bag of rags for Matt! You can add these to the RAG TRAIN – let’s see if FR Society members can fill it by the end of the weekend.