Welsh Highland Railway or Ffestiniog Railway

DarloRich · 28 Apr 2016

I am staying at Pwllheli over the bank holiday weekend and we are having one trip on a steam train. I have never been to this part of Wales therefore i would like some advice from those with knowledge. Should i go on the Welsh Highland Railway or Ffestiniog Railway.

I know they run as one inter worked service but I will never get clearance for an all day run on both! I am assuming there will be steam running this weekend!

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MidlandMainlie · 28 Apr 2016

Having done both I would say the scenery on the Welsh Highland was better. My advice would be catch the train at Pothmadog and take a trip to Caernarfon, look round the town/ castle and catch the train back.

LNW-GW Joint · 28 Apr 2016

Best day weatherwise looks like Saturday. Wet on Sunday, showery on Monday (BBC web site).

The WHR is twice as long as the FR, and a round trip essentially takes all day.
For a shorter WHR run, you can do Porthmadog to Rhyd-Ddu, which is the most impressive bit, and get the next train straight back.
The FR is always good value, but there's not much to see at Blaenau.
Tan-y-Bwlch is a good spot for a short hike near the railway, and the stretch beyond there has the best views on the line.
The WHR is less enclosed than the FR, with more of a main-line feel, and runs with ex-South African Garratts.
The FR will have the double Fairlies.
At Porthmadog, the day starts with the 0940 to Caernarfon, and a 1005 to Blaenau, so you should be able to see them both on adjacent platforms and take your pick.

Off the rails, Criccieth is a nice seaside town, and there's always Snowdon...
The Snowdon Mountain Railway is only going 3/4 of the way up (Clogwyn) until next week, and the summit is still snow-covered.

dave_wm · 28 Apr 2016

All FR & WHR trains are booked for steam haulage nowadays, so it'll only be diesel-hauled if something's gone wrong! There's a special event on this weekend too, so a fair few extra vintage trains running on the Ffestiniog, as well as the launch of the new 'B-Set' - a brand new set of carriages (http://www.festrail.co.uk/content/publish/news/488.shtml). The two lines are quite different - the FR is shorter, but there's more history and everything is closer to you - you feel like you're rushing along. The Welsh Highland is impressive in a different way - it's a whole day out, and a slightly more stately procession through a constantly-changing array of scenery.

The event this weekend means there'll be a bit more of railway interest on the FR - we've got the England engines from the 1860s out, as well as a visiting Darjeeling Himalayan Railway engine. Plus the new train will be out and about on the FR - the 1125/1545 from Porthmadog (& return) on Sunday, and the 1005/1335 on Monday.

Ooh, and it's no more expensive than usual - an FR day rover will get you travel on all the vintage trains too (apart from the one to Beddgelert!).

http://www.festrail.co.uk/content/publish/specialevents/481.shtml

krus_aragon · 28 Apr 2016

If you're limited to one round trip, the WHR is longer! I would also suggest that Caernarfon may offer more for the day-tripping tourist than Blaenau Ffestiniog does.

The WHR's timetable is here (FR timetable). If you can make an 09:40 departure from Porthmadog, you'll be in Caernarfon for lunchtime, have a good three hours to wander around and perhaps visit the castle, then leave on the 15:45 departure to get you back to Porthmadog for 17:50.

the sniper · 28 Apr 2016

If only one, it has to be the Welsh Highland. Following the reopening of the entire line it became the clear superior of the two for me. The route is more interesting and varied. Personally I'd say the scenery is better on the WHR, even with taking into account the views lost on the Ffestiniog due to being obstructed by forestry.

You should add a poll!

M7R · 28 Apr 2016

Have done both over the years, and if I had to pick it would be WHR, we did the the first train out, all day looking round the castle and town and then last train back, made a very good day out,

IanD · 28 Apr 2016

Bus to Blaenau, FR to Porthmadog, WHR to Caernarfon then bus back to Porthmadog. A through ticket from Porthmadog to Caernarfon would fulfil the 'only one train trip' rule.

Blamethrower · 28 Apr 2016

I'd go up the Welsh Highland to Rhyd ddu, depending on service patterns you might be able to switch trains there.

Depends on what you've done before of course, I find that I start to feel a bit sick if I go all the way to caernarfon and back due to the vibrations

Robertj21a · 28 Apr 2016

I love them both but on balance it would have to be the WHR.

sprinterguy · 28 Apr 2016

I was distinctly underwhelmed by the Ffestiniog Railway the one time I travelled on it compared to the popular hype that it typically receives, although to be fair I did visit during the winter season when the full length of the line wasn't in operation.

The Welsh Highland Railway is by far the more dramatic and enjoyable journey, IMO: Comparably massive Garratt locomotives (relative to their gauge) hauling the trains, and dramatic (for a railway line) traverses such as the Aberglaslyn pass south of Beddgelert to experience.

There is also a cracking brewpub by Waunfawr station, by the name of the Snowdonia Parc, which brews it's own range of ales as well as serving local names from others while providing solid pub grub and a campsite at the same time.

30907 · 28 Apr 2016

IanD said:
Bus to Blaenau, FR to Porthmadog, WHR to Caernarfon then bus back to Porthmadog. A through ticket from Porthmadog to Caernarfon would fulfil the 'only one train trip' rule.

Other way round, surely, as the FR is best done uphill!

The downside of the WHR is the ex LNWR bit north of Dinas which is much less interesting IMO. And do you get much time in Caernarfon?

Bletchleyite · 28 Apr 2016

I find the WHR has a very mainline feel to it - something I do quite like.

DarloRich · 2 May 2016

thanks for the advice! Looks like the consensus is the WHR. I will check both out in a bit more detail this morning.

MODS: apologies, i had tabbed browsing open and originally posted in the general tab.
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Booked the whr for today - £70 for 2 adults and a hound (who has his own ticket! ) hope it is worth it
--- old post above --- --- new post below ---
Well it was expensive (very) terrible weather (very) but still a really good day out - and it was a full day out. Trip report to follow when I get time

philjo · 5 May 2016

Can anyone confirm if the North Wales (1 day) rover gives discounted fares on the WHR and FR ?

The Railrover site says it is half price fare but this discount is not mentioned on national rail or arriva trains sites.

http://www.railrover.org/pages/north-wales-rover.html

Also, National rail site says it can be used on some local buses but the Arriva site says no discount on the buses. which is correct?

I am planning to use this on Saturday to do a circular trip - Shrewsbury to Porthmadog then WHR, bus to Bangor and train back to shrewsbury.

there is a round robin ticket available for doing the circular journey involving the Ffestiniog, pity there isn't an equivalent for the Welsh Highland Railway& bus to/from Bangor.

IanD · 5 May 2016

philjo said:
Can anyone confirm if the North Wales (1 day) rover gives discounted fares on the WHR and FR ?

The Railrover site says it is half price fare but this discount is not mentioned on national rail or arriva trains sites.

http://www.railrover.org/pages/north-wales-rover.html

Also, National rail site says it can be used on some local buses but the Arriva site says no discount on the buses. which is correct?

I am planning to use this on Saturday to do a circular trip - Shrewsbury to Porthmadog then WHR, bus to Bangor and train back to shrewsbury.

there is a round robin ticket available for doing the circular journey involving the Ffestiniog, pity there isn't an equivalent for the Welsh Highland Railway& bus to/from Bangor.

The T&Cs for the North Wales Ranger say it's valid for 1 day on trains and 1 day on buses (presumably th same day

)

https://www.arrivatrainswales.co.uk/RoversRangersTermsConditions/#NorthWales

Last time I bought one, only the All Zones version gave a 50% discount on the WHR and FR. Presumably that's what you'll be buying anyway. I did contact WHR/FR before I went just to make sure the discount was till available.

philjo · 5 May 2016

Thanks for that.
Yes, it will be the all zones version as I would be travelling from Shrewsbury.

krus_aragon · 5 May 2016

Most local bus services accept the zonal tickets: I haven't come across one that doesn't. See the list of companies on the printed leaflet.

Purchasing the rover on a bus can be a bit tricky, only due to staff being unfamiliar with how to issue one. I've had to instruct a few local bus drivers on where to find them (and which abbreviation matches the zones I want).

In years gone by, the all-zone variety used to include complimentary travel on the Ffestiniog, but this is now, as stated, just a 50% discount.

philjo · 5 May 2016

Many thanks for the link to the leaflet - I think it used to be on the ATW site but it wasn't obvious when I looked.
I'll be purchasing my ticket from the ticket office at Shrewsbury.

30907 · 5 May 2016

It's 50% off the full fare for the relevant journey. Good for one way trips (think I've done 4 so far).

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