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Hosted by the FR Heritage Group
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From this month's featured article

Little Wonder (1880)

Little Wonder was a steam locomotive built for the Festiniog Railway in 1869. It was the first Double Fairlie to be used by the line and it is considered to be the first successful double Fairlie. It ran trials against the England engines between September 1869 and July 1870. The development work the FR made on the design, to make it successful and the publicity this gave Fairlie persuaded him to grant the FR the right to build future locomotives of this type without having to pay him for the patent rights.

It was, however, a prototype, and as such it had design faults that eventually resulted in the locomotive being withdrawn worn out after only 13 years. Despite this, its legacy lives on in the many subsequent Double Fairlies used on the FR. (more...)

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Purpose

Festipedia is dedicated to recording the history of the Festiniog Railway from the 19th Century to the present day. There is a user friendly index to help you find your way around the main categories. You will also find much detail on the Welsh Highland Railway.

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This month's featured picture

Carriage 26 being prepared for its new body

Carriage 26 is an ex-NWNGR Summer Carriage now operating on the FR. Rebodied in 1986, it bears little resemblance to its original appearance.

By 2024 the 1980s body was completely life expired and as a result it was demolished in September of that year, some components including the droplights, upholstery, metal door fixings and electrics were kept in store for use either in the rebuilt carriage or on other carriages.

A new body will be built on the existing frames. This body will be in the style of the carriage when originally built, with full NWNGR height body and half-height doors. As the body will be entirely new the opportunity will be taken to include a modified compartment with wheelchair accessibility whilst maintaining the heritage appearance. This will allow improved disabled access to heritage trains without having to modify the historic fabric of other carriages. The original grab handles have been identified in the stores and will be used on the new bodywork.

Photo credit: User:Maddie

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