GWR Crane

The FR has at times owned items of standard gauge rolling stock. In addition to the GWR 3-ton travelling crane there were a number of standard gauge vans used as storage in Minffordd Yard and sold in around 2013 to allow tidying up and development on the yard.

The GWR 3-ton travelling crane in Minffordd Yard in 1973. Photo: John Ryan.

The crane was mainly used for transshipping items from rail or road to the FR or vice versa. It was purchased by the FR in 1965. It was sold when in was replaced by the gantry by the goods shed in the early 1970s.

The crane was manually worked and was a standard Swindon product of 1937 No. 542. It was a four wheeled vehicle with a similar match truck in which the packing materials were stored. In its later years it was considered unsafe and had a notice saying "Keep Off".

Reference

Mitchell & Garraway (1997) Festiniog in the Sixties, Caption 55, Middleton Press, Midhurst, GU29 9AZ