whh no. 49 - welsh highland railway heritage group · corrugated iron. this latest addition to ......

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Recording Yesterday for Tomorrow

WELSH HIGHLANDHERITAGE£2.00

Issue No. 49 ISSN 1462-1371

September 2010

Web : www.welshhighlandheritage.co.uk

The Indian Connection

In the supplement to the December2009 issue of Welsh HighlandHeritage we published a thesis

written by a young Indian Engineeringstudent, K.F. Antia, who was getting insome practical work on the FR & WHRduring a vacation from his studies atKing’s College, London. He tookseveral photographs of both lines toillustrate his work, some of which werepublished in the December supplementand others are printed in the article onpage 2-4 of this issue.

Antia went on to become one of India’sleading railway engineers, president ofthe Indian Intuition of Civil Engineersand Vice-president of the InternationalPre-stressed Concrete Federation.

As a result of the connection we wereprivileged to host a visit to the line inAugust from two of Mr Antia’s grand-daughters, Cheryl and Dinaz Staffordwith their friend Jane. They were

anxious to seewhere theirgrandfather hadlearned his tradeand if possible toreplicate theposition from wherehe had taken thosephotographs in1924.

Following aninspirational ride inthe observation carfrom Caernarfon toPont Croesor wewere able to drivethem back along theroute of the linestopping here andthere to enable them to re-create theirgrandfather's pictures.

One has to wonder about the effect of theWelsh Highland on Indian Railways,

particularly given the twinningarrangement with the current IndianRailways!

As may be observed from the adjacentphotograph the arrival of Antia’s grand-daughters at Pont Croesor coincidedwith the completion – more or less - of

the necessary painting of the windowframes (corporate cream!) and woodencorner pieces to match the green of thecorrugated iron. This latest addition tothe railway’s building stock has been wellreceived in most quarters and of coursethe views from the waiting shelter aremagnificent – unless it’s raining! The

provision of a shelter at Pont Croesor isan excellent example of cooperationwith the Society and the ConstructionCo in both practice and finance.Elsewhere in this issue (p4 ) are updateson other ‘infrastructure’ progress.

Progress Report

Top left - Antia’s grandchildren study his original thesis at CaernarfonTop right - Photographing the road bridge at Nantmor, as pictured by Antiain 1924 (see p3)Above - Photographing the new WHR shelter at Pont Croesor

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Since the 1920s the world hasbecome a microcosm of its formerself. For example purchasing

sleepers from India to build the WHRwould have been unthinkable then, butnearly eighty years on that actuallyhappened. It was though in the 1920sthat a budding young engineer musthave persuaded Col Stephens to allowhim a behind-the-scenes look at two ofthe Welsh narrow gauge railways in hisempire. As a result a thesis or treatisewas written on the WHR & the FR bythat same young engineer, Mr K.F.Antia, as a part of his engineeringdegree course. Eventually the thesiswas sent to Tonbridge were it laygathering dust before being handed toMichael Davies by the Colonel’ssuccessor, J.A. Iggulden. This in turnled to it being published in ourDecember supplement (WHH No. 46) aspart of an article by Richard Maundwho posed the question “Who was K.F.Antia”?The ink was barely dry when ‘ping’ - anemail arrives on the editorial desk.Intriguingly it is from India andenquired about K.F. Antia. Furtherreading revealed that even moreintriguingly the enquirer is none otherthan Mr Antia’s grand-daughter,Yasmine Stafford, who had stumbledacross the Welsh Highland HeritageGroup web site where the Antia article isfeatured. So thanks to the wonders ofthe Internet and a wealth of informationfrom Yasmine, Richard’s question cannow be answered!

KHURSHED FRAMROZ ANTIA wasborn on December 10th 1904 in Navsari inGujarat, a town noted for being ‘the

spiritual capital of Zoroastrianism and thebirthplace of men agile both in mind andbody’. After four years initial schoolinghere he attended the English RailwaySchool in Moradabad for two yearsfollowed by continued studies at theJesuit-run St Xavier’s High School inCalcutta. Here he excelled bothacademically and ‘athletically’ resultingin the Principal persuading Khurshed’sfather that this brilliant young man shouldcontinue his studies abroad – at King’sCollege, London where the Principalhimself had studied. Having beenaccepted arrangements were made for hisvoyage to – and stay in – England. InLondon Khurshed lived at India House,Aldwych.So he would have been just nineteen yearsof age when he started his BSc(Engineering) degree course at London

University. It was during a period ofvacational training that he becameacquainted with and was introduced to theW.H.R. – almost certainly in 1924. InEdinburgh he learned the practicalities of

traffic working on the LNER where thesuperintendent overseeing his studycommented that “he is of the type so muchneeded now who will lead and direct menand command their respect”. Wales andScotland having been visited henevertheless embraced the English way oflife and at 5ft 10 inches became “more of aEnglish gentleman than the English”. Thistrait is well illustrated in the accompanyingportrait.

Having obtained a Second Class Honoursdegree his first position was again with theLNER, as a ‘premium pupil’ based inEdinburgh. (Sept 1926 – Sept 1928).From there he applied for a job with IndianRailways, becoming an assistant engineeron the Bengal Nagpur Railway. In 1928he returned to India to take up this position.Subsequently a telegram to the chiefengineer would read “Antia properly linked201 pairs of 36’ 90 lbs rails today all thelatest type of steel sleepers. This is arecord!” During his twenty-four years inthe railway industry he introduced the first

Antia - A Question Answered

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pre-stressed concrete bridges in India,prepared a blueprint for an underground(railway) in Bombay and initiated theproposal to change to the metric system.Besides all this, he was in demand to serveon numerous committees. During andafter the war he served as an officer withthe Bombay, Baroda and Central IndiaRailway.For ten years from 1952 he was technicalcontroller of the Cement Marketing Co Ltd.He represented India and Asia in the WorldFederation of Engineering Organisationsthereafter establishing the Bombay officeof M.N. Dastur & Co Pvt Ltd consultantsto the Ministry of Steel and Mines, theAtomic Energy Department and otherindustries in the public and private sectors.He was one of only fifteen engineers tohold the coveted honour of being a Fellow

of the National Institute of Sciences inIndia and in 1968 was appointed Presidentof the Institution of Engineers.Internationally he was vice-president of theInternational Federation for pre-stressedconcrete. It was this position that led tohis tragic death at the zenith of his career.The DC9 aircraft in which he was flying toa conference of this organisation in Madridcrashed having just taken off fromBombay. It was the 28th May 1968.

He contributed twenty four years to theInstitution of Engineers (India) and theirpremises in Bombay – the land for whichwas acquired on his initiative – contains theK.F. Antia Memorial Library. Each year,

on the anniversary of both his birth anddeath a garland is hung on his portrait.

It is sobering to think that this illustriouscareer may well have been influenced byhis treatise on the Welsh Highland andFestiniog Railways, the field work forwhich would have necessitated both thecooperation and agreement of Col H.F.Stephens.

We published his photographs of theproject in the supplement to our Decemberissue. Today we are privileged to publishmore of those photographs (courtesy ofYasmine) that didn’t quite make it to theoriginal treatise.

This treatise was given to Michael Davies,in 1970 by J.A. Iggulden who was involvedwith the running and winding down of ColStephen’s light railway ‘empire’ after hisdeath. Within this treatise lies the finaltwist to the story. However, beforerecounting that ultimate event it may beworthwhile to consider the significance ofthe photographs that are published here forthe first time.Conceding that the WHR (Rhyd Ddu toCroesor Junction) was new at the timephotos ‘A’ & ‘B’ emphasise the differentapproach to ballasting and the provisionand maintenance of an adequate ballastshoulder.Judging by subsequent photographs that hetook of Indian Railway bridges the use ofconcrete in their construction was an earlyinterest; witness photos’C’ & ‘D’. ‘C’shows the mass concrete bridge supportand wing wall carrying the line over theNantmor to Llanfrothen road. (When asimilar bridge carrying the road over therailway at Bryn y Felin was demolishedprior to replacement the contractors weremade aware of just how substantialMcAlpine’s concrete was!). ‘D’ shows theseating on its pier of one of the threeWarren truss bridges.India had been one of many countries toembrace the narrow gauge concept so thatinterchange facilities with broader gaugeswould have been of interest. Suchfacilities at Minffordd were recorded inphoto ‘E’. Of similar interest would havebeen rail crossings on the level.Unfortunately when Antia took photo F hehad his fingers over the lens! Neverthelessa wealth of detail can be seen in theunobscured part of the image. The expertswill decide the significance of the steelplate bottom right.Mention has been made of Antia’s timespent with the LNER and photo ‘G’ wouldseem to be during this period with Antiapart of a bridge reconstruction project; thelocation of this bridge is being investigated.Antia is in all probability the gentleman ina raincoat with his back to thephotographer and camera slung over one

A

B

C

D

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shoulder with his left hand holding aparapet support. He appears as an‘English gentleman’; trilby hat, mackintoshand doubtless a suit underneath.So to the final astonishing conclusion.Readers may recall that in WHH No 48Michael Davies recorded his meeting withtwo Indian ladies in March 2009 andpersuaded them to travel on today’s WHR.Before parting company at Hafod y LlynMichael took a photograph of the trainguard (member Nigel Casteldine) with thetwo ladies (photo ‘H’ and just for interest a

print was sent to Yasmine in India alongwith the Antia supplement and WHH No48. ‘Ping’ and another email from Indialands on the editorial desk which isreproduced below:-Dear DavidThe postman dropped it off just now - ohthank you so very much. My mother (K FAntia's daughter) wants to treat all therelatives to a meal just so that they canhave a read. We are all thrilled. I have allthe original photographs of the ones in hispaper. Just didn't know until this minute

that they were of his time in Wales !But the most hilarious coincidence is thatone of the girls in the MichaelDavies photo is a very good friend of ours! Pallavi Dalal. The one with short hair ina navy/black T-shirt. She is coming roundas soon as she can just to have a look !How small our world is !Yasmine

As Yasmine says how small our world hasbecome since KHURSHED FRAMROZANTIA wrote that 1924 treatise; it issobering to contemplate that it was writtenjust after the completion of the originalWelsh Highland Railway.

E

F

G

H

Beddgelert - Lamp HutAt Beddgelert the West Midland Groupof the Society have cast the new basefor the replica ‘lamp hut, which hasbeen put into production for Octoberavailability

Beddgelert - Water Tank The replica water tank is ready forpainting prior to installation.

Tryfan JunctionUp at Tryfan Junction the door thresholdshave been cast to integrate with the basicconcrete floor slab and wooden formershave been made for all three doors.These will allow for the upward re-building in brick and stone to the correctalignment for the subsequent doorframes. It is planned to start the

reconstruction of the station buildingthe first weekend in October.

Working PartiesIt is appropriate to remind members thatworking parties are held on the firstweekend of every month. With thedeparture of Derek Buckles to ‘pasturesnew’ Lewis Esposito has taken on therole of Tryfan Junction working partycoordinator, so when you can offer yourservices please contact him on 01286650397 or by email [email protected]

Work in Progress

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Nantmor Re-opening

It is now over sixty years since I firstwalked through Nantmor village, andeven longer since I studied

photographs of our station there. InAugust 1926 my grandparents and theiryoung family holidayed in Portmadoc,one day journeying by train toBeddgelert. The story was often relatedto me by my mother of her return, withher brother, through the Aberglaslyn Passto Nantmor Station on foot, whilst mygrandparents no doubt enjoyed afternoontea in Beddgelert.In later years my wife and I spent manyhappy holidays on a hill farm nearCroesor, returning home via Beddgelertand Caernarfon, the nearest place withpublic transport on a Sunday. Thesewalks always took us to the former levelcrossing at Nantmor, from where we

would walk through the tunnels toBeddgelert.

With such a special affection for NantmorI determined that I should be present forthe first trains to call since that fatefulSaturday, September 26th 1936, nearly

seventy four years ago. I used my usualroute through Llandudno Junction and theConwy Valley branch train to Betws-y-Coed where I took the Sherpa bus to Pen-y-Pass and the connection to Beddgelert.I had a good blow on the front seat of theopen topper through Dyffryn Mymbyr !Walking the Fisherman’s Path throughthe Pass, I began to realise I had left verylittle time to reach Nantmor before thereturning Opening Special from Pont

Croesor was due, and indeed I arrivedthere in a very hot sweat just as the trainappeared in sight. The situation wasn’thelped as our Hon Secretary alighted justin front of me and introduced me to theFR Co Chairman - rather embarrassing asmy shirt was very sweat stained!Dr Dafydd Gwyn performed the openingceremony, aided by Mrs Ellen Jones whohad travelled on the line pre 1937, and Ithen watched the train re-start up the 1 in40, a truly memorable sight.The half hour interval between the firsttrain departing and the arrival of thesecond special for local residents wasindeed a time I shall never forget. Theday was one of early summer glory, anunseen cuckoo began calling very closelyas if to welcome back the trains, and inthe waiting shelter six locals chatteredaway in Welsh. Yes, Nantmor reopeningday will for ever remain in my memory.

A Personal View fromMichael Davies

Photo A.W. Hutton - collection Peter Johnson

In April ‘The Times’ newspaperdeclared that the LNWR were shortlyto acquire the NWNGR and thatextending the line from the foot ofSnowdon (Rhyd Ddu) to Beddgelerthad already begun. Another schemeto connect Beddgelert withPortmadoc – and the FR – wascurrently in abeyance (and had beenfor three years!).

Also in April Mr James Tomkinson MPdied in a riding accident whilerepresenting Crewe for the Liberals.Being a director of Lloyd’s Bank andthe Wirral Railway, he was muchinvolved with the PB&SSR and theNorth Wales Power and Traction Co.,being a director of the former from1904 to 1911.

Owing to the death of King EdwardVII, whose funeral took place on May20th, the AGM of the SnowdonMountain Tramroad and Hotels Co.,was cancelled. Mr Aitchison,Secretary, wrote to shareholders tothis effect stating that the meetingwould be re-arranged for a later date.At this time Aitchison was alsoSecretary and Manager of theNWNGR.

What Happened in 1910?

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The Hafod y Wern Slate Quarry (from1897 the year of Queen Victoria’sdiamond jubilee known as the

Victoria Slate Quarry) was served by atramway which branched westwards fromthe loop at Betws Garmon station. Itcrossed the Waunfawr-Beddgelert road onthe level, and proceeded to the quarry via alow rubble-built embankment. The familiar and widely available facsimile

of the 25” to 1 mile Ordnance Survey mapof 1913 includes the branch tramway but,frustratingly, not the quarry itself which is“off the map”. However, I recently cameacross another copy of this edition whichincludes just this detail and thought it worthreproducing in these pages. I am indebted to Dr Gwynfor Pierce Jonesfor permission to reproduce informationfrom his excellent book, co-authored withAlun John Richards, Cwm Gwyrfai: TheQuarries of the North Wales Narrow Gaugeand The Welsh Highland Railways. I havesupplemented this information with furtherdetails of land ownership supplied by TheCrown Estate, Rural Estates Department.A brief chronologyHafod y Wern was the oldest, andeventually the largest slate working in thispart of the Gwyrfai valley, and was thesource of fair quality Cambrian blue-grey

slate. It had a long and chequered historywith many lessees, which may besummarised as follows:

1784:A 21-year lease was granted by HughGriffith and his son John, of Brynodol,Caerns. to Wm. Jackson of Borth, Bangorand J Cowdall, of Treborth,permitting them to work the site as a quarry1790:The lease was surrendered1800s:The land was owned by John Griffith(formerly Watkin) and later inherited byJohn Griffith W Griffith (sic) �

From 1805 onwards:There followed many leases or sub leasesinterspersed with fallow periods. Thelessees enjoyed varying degrees of successin winning slate from the Quarry1872, 10th September:Sold to James Somerville, John Lane andThomas Field�1874, 5th March:Sold to Moel Tryfan Crown Slate CompanyLtd. �1888, 11th June:The whole area of the quarry, amounting to353 acres, was sold at auction to the CrownEstate Commissioners18xx:Crown Estate leased the quarry back toMoel Tryfan Crown Slate Company Ltd.Adjacent farms were let to various tenants�

1897:The Victoria Slate Quarries Companyrestarted quarrying work. At this period anearly example of a “Steam Navvy”, built byChaplin, was at work on the site.1905:At this time the quarry employed its largestnumber of men, with sixty two people onthe payroll. The following workings were inexistence:� A tunnel on No.3 floor

� Gallery No.2, 38 feet above the foot ofthe incline and mills level

� Gallery No.3, together with a tunnelentrance, a further 54 feet up

� Gallery No.4, 74 feet above galleryNo.3, with a tunnel at 69 feet

� Gallery No.5, plus a weighbridge some39 feet above Gallery No.4

� Gallery No.6, with a “new cutting” 49feet above Gallery No.5

1908:Fortunes at a low ebb with only one man inemployment1908:New lessees in place1912:The degree of underground work at thistime led to the workings being regarded as a mine under the 1872 Act1917-22:Closure and liquidation1923:

Hafod y Wern Slate Quarry

An In-depth Look byRichard Watson

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Re-opened for re-cycling of waste materialinto slate dust1930:Quarry lease expired following closure �1933-34:Some quarry working but employing just 7men19XX: Let to Hugh, William & John Jones,Tyddyn Bach Farm�1939-45:Mill area destroyed during militaryexercises1950s on:Tip workings in operation and remainder ofbuildings demolished1958, 18th April:

Sold to Hugh, William & John Jones,Tyddyn Bach Farm �1962: Part of the land was sold to theForestry Commission1980s to the present day:The mill tip is being recycled for aggregateproduction. More recently, Hafod y Wernwas the source of the crushed slate wastelaid on the WHR track bed just prior toballasting.

The 1913 Map: an interpretation basedon the situation in 1915 W Bowen Jones CE of Carnarvon, theCrown Mines and Quarry Inspector, visitedthe site in 1915 only two years after the mapwas published. As quarrying activities hadbeen scaled back by this time, hisdescription is probably highly relevant aslittle would have changed.Of the railways, he recorded:� The tramway stretched for 820 yards

between the quarry and theN.W.N.G.R.

� A tramway existed on the quarry bank,and through a tunnel to the Old Quarry

� A branch tunnel existed on the centreof the upper incline

� There were branches on the office/millfloor

� A weighing machine existed on thisfloor. The quarry needed to weigh theslates leaving the quarry for the

NWNGR to check the rates, and tokeep the quarry accounts accurate.

� An upper incline comprising 147yards of double track , complete withwinding drum – but this was notworkable

� A lower incline comprising 115 yardsof double track, but the rope was notsafe

� A water wheel 40’ x 4’, which againwas not safe.

The water wheel was attached to, andwas the power source of the originalmill. The launder (aqueduct) is visiblein the photograph. The inclines weregravity operated however. Althoughthe existence of quarry tunnels wasmentioned, these are not apparent onthe map of 1913 as the track into thetunnels had been removed. One suchran from the mill level towards thereservoir, and went straight into theold quarry pit to the south of theinclines. The newer last-worked

portion lay to the north-west of the inclines.

With regard to the quarry tramway, in Dr.Pierce-Jones’ opinion the track would havebeen lightly laid, so N.W.N.G. locomotivesare unlikely to have worked from BettwsGarmon to the quarry. The IndustrialRailway Society, and its predecessor theBirmingham Locomotive Club, briefly talkabout the quarry in one of their earlier NorthWales “Pocketbooks” � but not in a later

edition� . There are however, noreferences to locomotives being employedon the internal network at any time in thequarry’s history, so it is assumed thathorsepower (or man-power) would havebeen used to move wagons around the site,and to the main line.

References:

� Industrial and Independent Locomotivesand Railways of North Wales; Eds. V.J.Bradley and P. Hindley. The BirminghamLocomotive Club, Industrial LocomotiveInformation Section. 1968� Industrial Locomotives of North Wales;Compiled by V.J. Bradley. IndustrialRailway Society, 1992. ISBN: 0 90109673 3� Private letter from The Crown Estate,Rural Estates Department, dated 12th

December 2001, kindly supplied by MrsGlenys Walters.

The only known photo of work in progress at thequarry. Photo - Dafydd Walter Dafis collection & with

thanks to Dr Gwynfor Pierce Jones

Playtime at Hafod y Wern in the 1930s! Freemanfamily collection

Editor : David Allan, 132 Eastham Village Road, Eastham, Wirral, CH62 0AE. Tel 0151 327 3576 Email [email protected] : John Keylock, Weathervane Cottage, Childswickham, Broadway, Worcestershire, WR12 7HL Tel : 01386 852 428

Membership Secretary : Derek Lystor, 14 Teign Village, Bovey Tracey, Newton Abbot, Devon, TQ13 9QJ. Tel 01626 853963. [email protected]

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Francis Bedford

Francis Bedford (1816 - 1894) wasan extremely respectedphotographer of the mid 19th

century whose landscape images werehighly acclaimed. Born in London, theeldest son of a church architect, heprobably received his early training in hisfather’s practice. He became a skilledlithographer and was commissioned byDigby Wyatt to produce 158 colouredlithographs for the monumental“Industrial Arts of the 19th Century” atthe Great Exhibition of 185l.

It is suggested that the introduction of thecollodian wet-plate process in 1851prompted Bedford into photography - thenew art form with a potentially brightfuture. He was an original member of thePhotographic Society and contributedimages to their first exhibition in 1853-54.

It is significant that all the places hevisited were noted for their scenic beautyand/or had become established touristattractions - due in part to the coming ofthe railways. Bedford had a greataffection for Wales, particularly the northof the country. He photographed aroundBeddgelert and the Aberglaslyn Pass butreputedly only took one photograph of aN.W.N.G. train, posed at Snowdon – asRhyd Ddu had been renamed in 1893.

This picture has been published in at leastsix different references, and in each ofthese cases the photograph is differentlyattributed, and to add to the confusion,the several authors involved appear tosuggest two distinct dating periods thisphotograph.

What can we see in the picture that mighthelp to resolve the date issue?

The N.W.N.G.R station at Rhyd Ddu wasopened to traffic in 1881, three years afterthe initial opening of the Railway, firstonly as far as “Quellyn” and thenextended to Snowdon Ranger. Initially,

the layout comprised only a single linepassing the station buildings and givingon to a series of facing sidings whichmust have set quite a challenge when itcame to train reversal! Later, the trackwas modified to incorporate a passingloop in front of the station buildings andlater still this loop was extended towardsDinas such that double track actuallycrossed the footpath to Snowdon.

In the photograph we see that the layoutcomprised a passing loop and that MoelTryfan’s train comprised an Ashbury“Corridor” and at least two Ashburysemi-glazed “Summer” carriages. Therewould have been a brake vehicle in thetrain – if the photograph was taken before1907, this would have been one of theRailway’s original Ashbury BrakeComposites, otherwise it is more likely tohave been one of the by then newly-acquired Pickering Brake Compos.Unfortunately, this vehicle is not to beseen! The “Summer” carriages weredelivered to the N.W.N.G.R. in time forthe 1894 operating season, so we know

that the picture cannot have beentaken earlier than the summer of 1894.

It is apparent that the Snowdon stationbuilding had been extended by thetime this picture was taken.Comparison with earlier images ofRhyd Ddu/Snowdon will show that, asbuilt, there was a gap between thestation building and the “stationmaster’s cottage” beyond (there issome uncertainty as to the actual useto which this smaller building wasoriginally put). The ground frameoriginally sat in this open space.However, at some point the stationbuilding was extended by 9 feet tojoin the adjacent cottage, covering thesite of the ground frame in the process

(note the much lower sill in the windowbeyond the second door), creating the L-shaped building seen in the photograph.

There are photographs showing thisbuilding work in progress, in one ofwhich (published by C.N & Co.) a plumeof steam can clearly be seen at thesummit of Snowdon. The S.M.T. didopen at Easter 1896 but more or lessimmediately closed after the accident inwhich the locomotive L.A.D.A.S. waslost, not to reopen to the public until theearly summer of 1897. The Rhyd Ddubuilding-extension photographs appear tohave been taken during the summer, notunsurprising given the roof worksinvolved, and therefore could not havebeen taken before 1896, suggesting thatthe building was extended no earlier thanthat year. One author has suggested thatthe Bedford photograph was taken beforethe opening of the S.M.T., however itwould seem that it was, in fact, taken atsome point after this event. By way ofpossible confirmation of this conclusion,the Francis Bedford Archive atBirmingham Central Library cataloguesthe posed N.W.N.G.R. image as B/2754,later in their sequence than a number ofimages of the fully operational SnowdonMountain Tramroad (B/2729 to 2741).Thus, it would appear, the “Bedford”photo could not have been taken beforethe summer of 1897.

However, by 1880 Francis Bedfordwould seem to have given up activephotography in favour of his son Williamwhose work is almost indistinguishablefrom that of his father. Williampredeceased his father in January 1893and this mortal blow probably hastened

Peter Liddell & JohnKeylock relate the story

of a photograph

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Slapped Wrist with a Silver Lining!

By EmailWHH No 48SirAs Peter Liddell has doubtless alreadyinformed you, the photograph of SouthSnowdon (the former Rhyd Ddu) on page9 dates from 1923, not the 1890s.The hutvisible, and referred to in the caption, isthe infamous bookstall which was onlypresent at this location for a few monthsduring the summer and autumn of 1923.I hadn't seen reference to the inquestcovered in the article before and I wonderwhether the wooden hut referred to couldhave been the goods shed, which waswooden and slate-roofed. I believe thatthis goods shed, like the signalling, wasprovided by the Gloucester WagonCompany as its dimensions (such as canbe estimated from photographs) appearto precisely match the most common ofthe standard size signalboxes of thatcompany. Other features, notably thesliding door on the road side, closelymatch the style of GWCo suppliedbuildings on the Severn & Wye Joint (cfthe restored goods shed at Parkend on the

Dean Forest Railway). The goods shedwas probably delivered by rail via DinasJunction in sections; perhaps a testerection had been made in the yard atSnowdon Ranger whilst awaiting thecompletion of a line of rails through toRhyd Ddu in order tofacilitate transportation thence.There are several obvious features whichdate the page 9 photo to the WHRperiod, notably:- the goods shed is clad in corrugated iron(probably white leaded),- the "WELSH HIGHLAND RAILWAY"sign on the approach road is visible,- the station nameboard is present in itsextended (SOUTH SNOWDON) form,- the brick station building is present inits extended form,- the refreshment room is missing(present c1891-WWI),- there is no abandoned open wagon,- the tall steel telegraph poles can just bemade out (installed 1923),- and, of course, the bookstall is present.

While I realise the difficulties involved, I

do find it a pity that such significanterrors can appear in what should be a"learned" study journal, particularly asthere are at least two members of thegroup who have made fine studies ofall the available photographs, and,while not infallible, would usually beable to prevent the more glaring errorsoccurring.David Woodcock

David Woodcock – and others –rightly chastised the editorial team for

illustrating the article on p9 of WHH No.48 with an inaccurate photograph.Rather than being of 1890’s vintage thephotograph is from a 1923 view and theindicated ‘hut’ is the bookstall which hadbut a brief existence at Rhyd Ddu. Otherfeatures are indicative of WHR (1922onwards) provenance – notably theabsence of the refreshment room.More positively David suggests that thebuilding, which was the subject of theaccident in the story, could have been thegoods shed which was in fact slate-roofed. Alternatively said building couldhave served an initial temporary functionat Rhyd Ddu but there is no photographevidence to support this theory.However – a little bonus for our error –Peter Liddell writes “The photograph isnot without interest in that it representsthe first time I have seen a publishedphotograph which shows the short-livedbookstall (at Rhyd Ddu)!”. A silverlining?John Keylock

Francis's death in May 1894. Assumingthe accuracy of the foregoing facts onemust conclude that the accompanyingphotograph was not taken by eitherFrancis or his son, but by one of theirsuccessors who ran the family-namedbusiness from a house at 326, CamdenRoad, London!

So who might have taken thisphotograph? There are two possiblecandidates; Robert Hayward, who hadworked for Bedford for many years andGeorge Harris who continued thebusiness at Camden Road for about sevenyears after Francis's death. Harris seemsto be the most likely as it is probably he

who cooperated with Catherall &Pritchard of Chester (note the C & Preference bottom right of the photograph)with the commercial production and saleof Bedford's photographs as illustrationsor postcards. Additionally this appearsto suggest 1901 as the latest possible datefor the image.

Bedford was an early manipulator ofnegatives in order to produce anenhanced image particularly in thecontext of cloud effects. Even theattached photograph suggests that thenearer hills and distant mountains havebeen 'doctored' to provide contrast.

Of Francis Bedford's private life little isknown but it would appear that he was ofa very modest and retiring disposition, if

not positively reclusive. He seems tohave left the family home as early as1833 and lived an almost peripatetic lifeuntil buying the Camden Road house.

Well over one hundred years on it isperhaps irrelevant as to who actually tookthe photograph. Although posed, thedetail is superb – for example, showingthat alternative refreshment for Snowdonmountain climbers was available fromGlasfryn! (see the sign visible above thesecond carriage). Alas the framing(cropping) for post card productionpasses through the SnowdonRanger/Rhyd Ddu 'lollipop' train staff.

Francis Bedford continued

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I thoroughly enjoyed reading PeterMathews’ fascinating and well-researched article about that other mixed

gauge level crossing in Portmadoc, wherethe Gorseddau line intersected theCambrian, yet another element in thecomplexity of the area’s rich railwayhistory. The signal box controlling thislocation was indeed on the BeddgelertSiding side of Y Cyt (beside the present-dayentrance to the ‘Russell Tearoom’) and sowould have had, I think, a clear view alongboth standard and narrow gauge routesbefore later tree growth. Its position ismarked not only on the tracing inMT6/183/11 described by Peter, but also ona Cambrian Engineer’s plan, dated 1899, in

RAIL92/126, which even plots the accesssteps. The box features on the 25” OSmaps of 1889 and 1901, but has disappearedby the 1918 edition.

The MT6 document of 1875 states that thecrossing box was of timber, 11ft square withthe operating floor 5ft above rail level. Inall probability this was a McKenzie &Holland cabin, from the famous Worcesterfirm who supplied signalling to theCambrian (prior to the establishment ofDutton & Co) and also to the Festiniog andNWNGR. The plan also shows, withoutbeing specific, another small squarestructure next to the Cambrian’s levelcrossing over High Street, in the SE angle,probably the rudimentary forerunner ofDutton’s Portmadoc East signal box of 1894on the opposite side of the road.

The accompanying photograph takenin 1926 (loaned to me by my friend,Cambrian historian Glyn Williams)shows a building of square planplaced behind the up platform atPortmadoc. I have a strong suspicionthis may have been the old McKenzie& Holland box, relocated and put to anew use. Surmounting the apex ofthe roof is a typical McK& H finial ofthe pattern usually fixed atop theirsignal posts, and dubbed an ‘umbrellaand spike’. However, in this instancethe rather fragile zinc pinnacle hasbeen lost. Chester No.5 signal boxwas still adorned with a pair of thesefinials well into the modern era. Thecabin in the photo also bears acompelling resemblance to the styleof the legendary,never-used McK&H box atPenpontbrenJunction, south ofLlanidloes (LGRPphoto 3745),which was of thesame size in plan.Another similarstructure lasted atLlanymynechuntil the mid-20thcentury, possiblythe pre-Duttoncabin to which reference is made inCambrian records (in RAIL92/39). Ishould be most interested in furthercomment from readers.

Peter in his article remarks that despite thenarrow gauge rails at Gorseddau Crossinghaving been lifted in 1892, they were drawnin on the 1894 plan (MT6/685/12). I wouldagree, but add that Col. Yorke’s writtenreport in that file states that the tramway is“disused and the rails across the railwayhave been taken up.” The interlocked keywas provided “in case it should be everbrought into use again.” As we know, that

never happened, but treading the boards ofthe present-day footpath crossing here doesbring the vagaries of history wistfully tomind.

Not The Cambrian Crossing II

Cambrian 0-6-0- No. 48 (as GWR No. 908) atPortmadoc down platform on 5th April 1926.The structure referred to is on the left of thelocomotive’s smokebox with an enlargementabove. Photo : Courtesy LCGB Ken Nunn

Collection

Detail from a Cambrian Railways Engineer's planof 1899 (40ft to 1inch). Note that the drawing is

orientated with south at the top. The pair ofdiagonals on the left show Y Cyt, with the formerGorseddau Crossing to its right. [Courtesy of The

National Archive: RAIL92/126]. Names in‘Roman’ type are additions to clarify the details.

Edward Dorricotttakes a Second Look

Although the signal box is identified by the letters S.P,this clearly should read S.B, and is corrected thus onthe 1901 edition (as shown on map XVII in the recent

Middleton Press 'Barmouth to Pwllheli' book).OS 25" map (1889) Caernarvonshire XLII.11

(Porthmadog)

11


Nantmor Water SupplyThe 1934 lease of the WHR by the

FR records ‘tank only’ i.e. no‘sock’ - at Nantmor. To aid

construction of the WHR in 1922/23McAlpines used an 0-4-0 Bagnall saddletank – as well as several Simplexes. In1922 Mr Owen Cadwaladr Owen – fatherof Heritage Group member, Ellen Jones –sold land to McAlpines to facilitatediverting the village road thus creatingbetter visibility at the level crossing.It was not until 1927 that Nantmor villagebenefited from a mains water supply ofsorts provided by Glaslyn RDC. Itssource was Gors Goch which fed theCwmcaeth stream whence it was piped toa large holding tank in the village on landbelonging to Mr Owen. With the CwmBychan stream close by Mr Owenestablished his own supply from thissource several years before 1927, - butafter abandonment of the PB&SSR.About ¼ mile upstream from Pont CwmBychan he built a leat from the river andthis fed water into aslate tank situated atthe northern end of Nantmor cutting,which had been cut - conveniently as ithappened – by the PB&SSR earlier in thecentury. The family house was not far

belowandgravitycan be anasset!HavinghaddealingswithMcAlpines it isreasonable tosupposethat theyapproached MrOwen forpermission to use this surplus water as asource for their (railway) tank and fortheir locomotive as suggested in WHHNo. 47 . In the same issue it wassuggested that this tank provided atemporary source of water while Sharplesand Walsh were at odds with the WHR in1927.With the arrival of the WHR Mr Owen’stank was not on railway property but heretained the right to use the water for the

benefit of the Nantmor Copper Co andthe Snowdon Mountain Tramroad Co.The latter Company was by then in thesame ownership as the WHR.Thanks are due to Ellen Jones - with herconsiderable local knowledge – for helpin compiling this piece.John Keylock

Relics of the P.B.&S.S.R.It is recorded in "Boyd", Vol. 2, that in1909-10 the Festiniog Railwaypurchased 3,000 sleepers from theabandoned Portmadoc, Beddgelert andSouth Snowdon Railway project.When Hafod-y-Llyn (FR) curves werebeing relaid in 1965, it was noticed thatsome of the old sleepers hadunmistakable flat bottom rail groovesunderneath, and it was assumed thatthese were of PB.S.S.R. origin. Manywere still in excellent condition, andbeing thinner than today's standard size,and therefore ideal for "patching"purposes, they were used in November,1965, when the Tan-y-Bwlch-Ddualltsection was being hurriedly andtemporarily strengthened to permitdeviation works trains to reach Ddualltsafely.Now that the Dduallt section has beentotally relaid with "new" materials andthe pile of firewood sleepers atMinffordd has grown to record pro-portions, some of these original flatbottom specimens have still survived,being stacked with other old but usablesleepers for patching purposes. They

may well find their way back into themain line, on a section that needs to benursed pending relaying. At 1s. a time,they have given good value for money;we wonder if any of today's 5s. sleeperswill be fit for further service in 2029.

FR Magazine (winter 1967/68). Reproducedhere with kind permission of editor John Dobson

Are the 2000 sleepers detailed in theabove 1911 invoice additional to the3000 of the 1909/10 supply as Boydsuggests?. Mathematically-inclined

members will no doubt be able tocalculate how many sleepers wouldhave been required for the proposed

PB&SSR formation

The tank was located at the northern end of theNantmor cutting approx half way up the rock faceshown in this ‘construction’ photo. D.W. Allan

12


Assume Nothing!A recent Railwayana Auction offered a

Croesor Quarry wagon plate for sale.Suspicious, I contacted the auction

house who confirmed its provenance. Stillsuspicious by virtue of assuming (always adangerous stance!) that the Croesor Quarrieshad no wagons of their own and most likely‘borrowed’ from the FR I contacted member,Adrian Barrell in deepest Devon. As hopedhe was able to put the record straight.In 1882 when only Parc quarry was under thecontrol of Moses Kellow there was obviously

a shortage of (slate) wagons for thePortmadoc ‘run’ with not always sufficientavailable for one daily run.

“I have borrowed a few trucks to helpmatters on a little and I have to go down toPortmadoc every few days to see aboutgetting the empties back”.

A week later (in February 1882) two ‘ballast’wagons were borrowed from the Gorseddau“in return for their borrowing one of ourParc trucks”.

A June 1894 inventory of Parc quarry plantand machinery lists “13 iron slate wagonsfor Portmadoc traffic, some with wroughtiron tyres”, valued at £205-0-0.Additionally there were two wooden bodiedslate wagons, rubbish wagons – some in

disrepair – ‘trolleys’ and two cars forworkman. These would have been used forcarrying quarrymen from Pont CarregHyldrem - or even Portmadoc.

By 1900 Croesor Quarry was also workingand in August Kellow wrote to Owen, Isaac& Owens in Portmadoc thus

“I find the last new wagon sent out has nobrakes fitted to it whereas it was arrangedthat they should all be fitted with brakes onthe four wheels. The Croesor Railway peopleare constantly complaining of the insecurityand worthlessness of our brakes.Please deliver the remainder of the wagonson order without delay as they are mosturgently wanted.”

28th August 1900 to: J. Williams (GlaslynFoundry?)

“I was very much surprised to hear from youlast Friday that you have none of the wagonbodies yet made. Surely there is no need toawait the delivery of the wheels beforeproceeding with this part of the work?”28th August 1900 to Robert Isaac. (ofOwen, Isaac & Owens)“The progress you are making with thedelivery of the Slate Wagons on order is soslow that we are put to extremeinconvenience and loss. In fact we cannot geton at all as things are at the moment.If you cannot do it at a very much quickerrate than you have been doing it I must makeother arrangements.”

Furthermore the Croesor Quarry waybillscovering the period March – August 1898 arealso available. These detail the number andsize of slates per wagon and its destination.The bulk were destined for ‘Croesor SidingStock’ – i.e., Beddgelert Siding, but somewent to the North Wales Slate Co’s wharf orSouth Snowdon wharf at ‘Harbour’necessitating using the Cambrian/CroesorCrossing. Slates from Rhosydd were alsostacked at ‘Croesor Siding’.In some cases both morning and afternoon‘runs’ are detailed with the maximumnumber of wagons per ‘run’ being eight, butthree or six tended to be the norm. As onemight expect the waybills detail wagonnumbers between 1 & 56!So there we have it ‘assume nothing’!

‘A Silly Little Railway’Alas Clough Williams Ellis (of Port Merionfame) was not a railway buff. His less than

enthusiastic comments about the Welsh Highlandwere aired in his book ‘On Trust for the Nation’

published by the National Trust in 1948 andreproduced below.

A Personal Philosophyfrom John Keylock

LetterCarnarvon /Caernarvon.

SirIt may be helpful to record that theofficial spelling of the borough andcounty was revised in 1926 fromCarnarvon to Caernarvon. The boroughadopted the spelling in February - thefirst minutes bearing the new spellingwere those of the meeting on 2 February1926, which contained minute 5: "It wasreported that the County Council hadagreed to the application to substitute"Caernarvon" for Carnarvon as the nameof the Borough, Urban District andTown." The LMS renamed their stationfrom the 27 March 1926. The countycouncil followed suit, being formallyrenamed with the new spelling from 1July 1926.

The adoption of Caernarfon followed inthe early 1970s and was thus adopted bythe "new" Welsh Highland Railway.Richard Maund

Croesor tramway wagon plate, found nearCroesor Quarries in the early 1950s. Plate

measures 4 -1/2” x 2 -1/2”

whh no. 49 - welsh highland railway heritage group · corrugated iron. this latest addition to ......

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