We would like to wish our members, friends and supporters a wonderful Christmas and a happy New Year.

A little progress has been made at the workshop this weekend, work has been completed on the gearbox removed from Ruston 25 and it was given a final clean yesterday prior to receiving a few coats of primer this morning. Paint for the loco’s top coats arrived at the workshop recently having been matched from remnants of original paint on the engine. By this evening several bits had been sprayed Ruston green in readiness for reassembly. The loco’s frame will be painted black with red internals. As previously mentioned, the wheels have been sent away for re-gauging, once they return, the reassembly should commence rapidly.

Completed wagons currently taking up valuable space at the workshop will soon leave the locality for temporary storage kindly offered by one of our members. (Images and update by Gareth Parry)
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Two of our members were invited to Tamworth to view the recently completed new quarry Hunslet manufactured by the Hunslet Engine Co. Apparently the new loco is yet another triumph of engineering and virtually indistinguishable from locomotives produced by the company over one hundred years ago. The new locomotive is turned out in Hunslet green livery and carries the name Jack Lane. Hunslet have agreed to manufacture a special chimney and some of the brasswork for our locomotive Joseph and they have also agreed to visit our railway with one of the new locomotives once we are able to accommodate it.

Over one hundred items of early trackwork dating from 1801 have now been catalogued and await restoration; most of the items were recovered from a long section of the Penrhyn Tramway owned by one of our members. Other items have been kindly donated to us from various sources. The items will be labelled and placed on display in the future to demonstrate the evolution of the railway.

Trust Chairman Bryce Latham has recently successfully completed the entry-level Welsh learners course, he now intends to progress to level two. Llongyfarchiadau (congratulations) Bryce.

An intensive series of works is expected to take place on the trackbed during December, works to include further track clearance and building restoration work.

The 2007 PR calendar along with Christmas cards are now available from the shop section of the website.

Progress has been made at the workshop over the last two weeks on our diesel loco RH25, the frames have been blasted and primed and the axles were apparently sent away for re-gauging last week, the brake gear is being modified slightly to suit. It now seems that the loco will be fitted with a new cab, which will be fabricated along with the rest of the tinwork at our workshops. We hope to have photographs showing the progress shortly. Substantial private investment was made last week in essential new tools required for our future needs at the workshop.

One of our members recently purchased over one hundred large-scale Henschel drawings to assist with the manufacture of various parts for our steam loco Joseph, the drawings were originally sourced from abroad.

Volunteers have made good progress this weekend on the final track replacement bash at the Ffestiniog Railway. The steeply graded curve near the entrance to Minffordd Yard was targeted for rail replacement with bullhead rail; this gave our volunteers their first opportunity to actually lay bullhead rather than flat-bottomed rail.
Our dedicated team of PW volunteers will now direct their attention to our railway for the first time, although further visits to the Ffestiniog have not been ruled out in the future as and when additional Penrhyn bullhead rail might become available.

Steady progress is being made on RH25, it seems to be taking longer than expected to dismantle the brake rigging as much of it is seized with rust. The front relay was found to require re-bushing due to corrosion so yet again the relay arm from RH26 has been 'borrowed' for use on 25. Many studs are having to be cut off or drilled out and re-threaded which is proving to be very time consuming. The radiator has been cleaned and sent away for restoration.

More bullhead rail was replaced at the FR's Minffordd yard this weekend; eight additional lengths now join the stockpile awaiting collection and delivery to Bethesda. One more bash is expected to take place during November, which we believe will conclude these events for the foreseeable future.
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Ruston 25 has been stripped down this week and the frames are now being restored prior to reassembly. On removing the wheels, corrosion was discovered near the brake blocks due to the fact that the loco has been standing with its brakes locked on for many years. Although this damage is repairable, in the interests of saving time and money, the wheel sets from Ruston 26 have now been removed for use on 25 as they appear to be in better condition. It is now considered priority at the workshop to get 25 up and running. From tests carried out, the engine appears to be sending out all the right messages, the engine is being serviced, but it is not intended to strip it down completely for overhaul at this stage. Ruston 26 will be stored for the time being and will be restored as and when time and finances permit.
Flat wagon BL412 was decked out this week and it is now all but complete, it was decked using tanalised timber and angle irons previously secured bellow the sides have now been positioned at the edges to offer some protection. A removable kit is now being fabricated for carrying bullhead rail.
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The brake rigging has now been modified and assembled on wagon No. BL412, this was achieved by fitting all the components and lining up the brake shaft cams before disassembling it all so that they could be welded at their new gauge width. New holes have been drilled in the frame to support the brake hangers. This wagon will be decked out this week and progress will then be made on the other two currently in the workshop.

The exhaust system (large box at rear of loco) on Ruston 25 has now been removed and stored, work is progressing with dismantling the brake rigging prior to the axles being removed.

A small team have been at the FR this weekend replacing some more bullhead with flat-bottomed rail.

Trust chairman Bryce Latham carried out his duties recently by removing the first sods of soil on the trackbed. Unfortunately we are not blessed with a silver spade (or spoon!) so he used an excavator instead! On removing a couple of inches off the surface near the oil shed he uncovered a row of original mainline sleepers! This is very useful discovery and means that we can now work out the exact levels and position of the original track. Amongst other things uncovered were sand, coal and some of the original slate blocks of the short platform wall that is to be restored next to the shed. The recently installed drainage seems to be working well and the trackbed has already dried out significantly. Ruston No.25 is in the workshop and stripping down has already commenced, a compression test has been carried out on the engine, and indications so far seem to suggest that its mechanical condition is very good. The loco will be jacked up soon so that the wheels can be removed and sent away for some attention.

There has been quite some progress over the last week or so, the RNAD wheelsets have returned from Tywyn which meant that they could be cleaned up, painted and fitted to the wagons. BL412 was the first to emerge from the shed and now that the wheels are in place, the brake modifications can be completed before the new decking is fitted. The wagons are finished in Penrhyn grey with white lettering and black axles.

Two Ruston diesels have been purchased recently for use on the railway and they arrived last night. Like almost everything, they require a little attention, and efforts will now be directed to getting one of them up and running. They were originally designed to operate in mines and are fitted with an elaborate exhaust system, otherwise with a few modifications they will be very similar to some of the Ruston's originally used at Penrhyn. They date from 1953 and 1954 and from what we understand have seen no more than ten years use. They have already been numbered 25 and 26 to follow in the original Penrhyn numbering scheme and they will be finished in Ruston green as was Ruston No.24.

Work has progressed with drainage of the trackbed at Felin Fawr, as predicted original land drains were unearthed, however, these had collapsed in several locations so the opportunity was taken to lay new drains at the particularly waterlogged section near the oil shed. Hopefully this work will enable the section to dry out so that work can progress with the oil shed and trackbed preparation.

A temporary steel door for the oil shed has been fabricated at the workshop recently, admittedly it is not the prettiest of things but it now means that the shed can be accessed for renovation works and kept reasonably secure at the same time. When the restoration work is complete, a historically sympathetic wooden door will be fitted. A quantity of wooden rail chair keys have arrived at the workshops after a couple of members spent a few hours sorting through a large pile at Minffordd, these will be treated and stored ready for tracklaying. Volunteers have made some progress on 'Joseph' this weekend, the smokebox has finally been removed which involved drilling out countless very hard rivets. A quantity of new steel has arrived for the construction of the new cab and bunkers. The frames will be moved shortly to our erecting shed where the restoration will commence. The loco features one Klien-Lindner articulated axle to the rear, a flangeless wheel set next to it and two conventional sets to the front. Varying degrees of flange wear seems to suggest that the wheel sets may have been switched in the past. It is hoped that a rolling chassis will be complete within months.

It has been a busy few days for our members, progress has been made with clearing more vegetation at Felin Fawr and the oil shed is now visible in it's entirety for the first time in years, and the doors and windows have also been boarded up temporarily. Ivy from the boundary walls has been removed and survey work is now complete. The restoration of the oil shed will take priority along with repairs to the slate walls and drainage work; the relaying of track is regarded as low priority and will become the final finishing touch to complete the restoration of this section. One of only two Penrhyn Railway signals has recently been handed over to our Trust and it will be erected at a suitable location in the future. The signal was originally located near Port Penrhyn before being removed in 1963 for safekeeping. A strong PR team has spent this weekend re-laying a significant length of track at the FR's Minffordd Yard. This involved digging out the ballast by hand and laying replacement sleepers and rail before packing and replacing the ballast. Our stock of Penrhyn bullhead is now gradually increasing and we will shortly have adequate lengths to match the chairs we have already purchased from the FR.

Our President Iorwerth Jones passed away peacefully at Ysbyty Gwynedd Hospital Bangor on the evening of the18th July, after a short battle with leukaemia.

Reviewing Iorwerth`s life for the purpose of this tribute would be futile, we are not qualified to do so. What we can describe is last two years of our relationship and his dedicated involvement with us. Once Iorwerth found that the project was more than a pipe dream, his support and enthusiasm was phenomenal. Items that he had amassed began to see the light of day for the first time in 40 years, almost as if he had been saving them for this moment all these years. Just as important as the physical items were the memories he had of the railway, which we spent many hours riveted by. Talking to Iorwerth revealed the tenacity with which he had saved so many unique items from the railway. One story he related, was steaming Blanche after closure in 1963 when all was quiet, and heading off to Tregarth with a few wagons to salvage the passing loop and return it to Port and eventually to the Castle. He would often say, “nobody would listen and nobody cared” If it was part of the railway and if Iorwerth could move it, from signal posts to pattern castings, inevitably, they would be moved to safety.
By recent times and quite deservedly, he had become “Mr Penrhyn Railway” to so many enthusiasts. Iorwerth, just like the railway, is irreplaceable, his sudden departure leaves a large void but thankfully his memories will never die and will undoubtedly become our strength and inspiration. Over the last two years, Iorweth had become almost our father figure, always there to turn to, to run things by and correct our own misconceptions about the past, we could even telephone him in the middle of the night with certain problems and he would be sharp and alert and eager to advise on matters concerning “my railway”
His dream was to drive the first locomotive back on the railway, it will always be one of our regrets that he did not live to see that day, but no doubt he will be looking down on us when the day comes with that contagious smile beaming from ear to ear.

Bryce and Jonathan

First published in 2004 “Railway For Sale” by Christopher Awdry has become a popular choice with our customers, young and not so young alike! This book details the trials and tribulations of the Sarnglas Railway and its locomotives, a North Wales slate carrying narrow gauge railway loosely based on the Penrhyn Quarry Railway. Believe me, you do not have to be a youngster to enjoy this title, I have to confess to shedding the odd tear myself when I first read it due to a few quite unintentional similarities with reality at the time.
We are now pleased to announce a brand-new sequel to the above entitled “Luke Goes Flying” It seems that there are plans to improve the ‘visitor experience’ on the newly preserved railway, this means that one of the locomotives will have to make the climb up into the quarry itself to accomplish a mission! Quarry Hunslet “Luke” is chosen.

Both titles include beautiful illustrations by Jonathan Clay and they are now available from the “Shop” section of the website.

One of our recently acquired Penrhyn rubbish wagons was moved to the workshop today to replace a broken axle box casting. These wagons are fitted with double-flanged wheels that run loosely on the axles, this system coped well with the track work within the quarry where the track gauge was not always accurate. However, this design now presents a problem for us as the wagons will be used on bullhead rail and will be required to run over conventional point work, with this in mind, the opportunity was taken today to fit a single flanged axle removed from a main-line slate wagon to check clearances. Luckily the axles are the same diameter as are the curved spoke wheels and there seems to be no reason why the axles cannot be interchanged when the wagons are required as runners behind locomotives. The rubbish wagons will not be painted so as to retain their battered rust appearance and on the whole, the only maintenance required is oil on the axles!

Our structural engineers have identified a few problems with parts of the retaining wall near the trackbed at Felin Fawr. The most significant one being root damage caused by a large clump of sycamore trees growing on top of the high wall on the neighbouring land. Permission was granted to the Trust by the Penrhyn Estate to enter the land and remove the large trees. Local specialist contractors employed by the Trust today removed the trees in what proved to be quite a delicate operation. Trust members were also present to assist with chipping the branches and transporting the wood off the site. All trees removed are catalogued by the Trust and replacements will be replanted on land allocated at a rate of two trees for every one removed as stated within the Trusts environmental policy.

Another track replacement bash took place today at Minffordd, this time our members teamed up with FR volunteers. Around twelve lengths of worn Penrhyn bullhead were replaced by four long lengths of flat-bottomed rail. This partnership has advantages for both parties, worn bullhead is being upgraded to suit the FR's future requirements, the original bullhead rail will return to the PR for our much less demanding requirements and lastly, our volunteers are gaining invaluable experience for future track laying at Penrhyn.

Following the initial clearance of scrub last Christmas at Felin Fawr, it was decided that further works would not commence until late Spring/Summer, the reasoning being that this would allow the ground to dry out and minimize the possibility of mud contaminating the whole site. While most of the trackbed seems to have dried out, one small section near the old oil shed remains particularly wet. The railway reaches its summit at this point falling sharply North towards the Port with a very gradual fall South towards the quarry incline. It was at this exact location that the mainline locos took water piped from the nearby Afon Galledfrwyd (river) Our volunteers made a start yesterday on clearing the area around the oil shed as it seems that the source of the problem originates from this area. A small excavator will soon be brought in and will hopefully uncover the original drainage system; otherwise, a new drainage channel will be excavated. Plans for the restoration of the oil shed are well in hand, externally, very little will change, however, the roofing slates will have to be removed in order to replace rotting timbers. Originally, a short goods platform existed next to the shed and oil drums arriving from the port could be simply rolled off the wagons, this raised area will be restored once the drainage is sorted and the site is cleared. (Photos- Peter Roberts)

Wheel sets removed form the recently acquired RNAD wagons were loaded up at Bethesda this morning and set off for the Talyllyn Railway for re-gauging. It seems very appropriate that our friends at the Talyllyn should carry out this work as in the 1950's, Penrhyn re-gauged some coaches for the Talyllyn!
Obviously, a trip to Tywyn would not be complete without a quick visit to the new and extremely impressive Narrow Gauge Railway Museum at Wharf. Many Penrhyn Railway items are now beautifully displayed for the visiting public.
The six axles were delivered to Wharf for delivery by train to Pendre Works.

Three ex-RNAD flat wagons are currently in the workshop for restoration. These consist of one Chas Roberts wagon and two slightly shorter Hudson wagons. Although air needle guns and power wire brushes are being utilized, it is still taking around three full days to strip and prepare each chassis for primer. Sand blasting equipment is now being considered as a cheaper more efficient method for the remaining wagons. Wagon No.374 will be the first off the production line hopefully within one month.

Iorwerth Jones MBE was elected President of the Penrhyn Railway Heritage Trust today at a meeting held on the Maesgeirchen Estate near Bangor. Iorwerth, known for his encyclopaedic knowledge of all matters Penrhyn Railway and his role as curator of the Penrhyn Castle Railway Museum, now joins our team to become a strong force in achieving something that's always been very close to his heart.

Six additional ex-RNAD flat wagons have been purchased recently and they arrived at Bethesda today. The decaying decking was removed in South Wales so that they could be stacked safely for transport. The wagons will increase our existing stock and mean that our permanent way needs can be met with additional chassis available for conversion to coaching stock.

Our first consignment of track was picked up from Minffordd today and arrived home at Bethesda at around lunchtime. Around seven tons of Penrhyn chairs that we had sorted and stacked on pallets last year were loaded up along with our first consignment of bullhead rail. Thousands of rail chair screws have also been purchased and they also arrived at Bethesda today. Wooden keys are yet to be sorted, these have been kindly donated to us by the FR. This track work is earmarked for phase one of our project. Our Volunteers hope to return to the FR in the near future to replace another section.

Last Sunday in torrential rain, our team achieved their first bit of track laying at the FR. The track work consisted of new sleepers and flat-bottomed rail connected to the existing bullhead rail by means of specially fabricated fishplates. Thanks should go to the PW guys at the FR for making our volunteers so welcome throughout last weekend. Meanwhile, back at home, members were at Penrhyn Castle loading up items described as “essential track work and line-side artefacts” Apparently the (as yet) undisclosed Penrhyn Railway items were stored in the depths of the castle in 1963 for safe keeping. The items have now been handed over to our Trust and moved to a secure location.

As previously mentioned, our volunteers are to replace Penrhyn bullhead rail within Minffordd Yard at the Ffestiniog Railway and replace it with flat-bottomed rail. Today they made good progress in lifting a section and preparing the bed for the new rail. The original Penrhyn rail and chairs will be re-laid on our railway in the future.