NEWS FOCUS Still steaming on Rumours of the demise of steam working on the UK’s world-renowned rack railway are premature, as Andrew Charman discovered on the first Snowdon ‘Heritage Steam Experience.’ n NGW 85 we reported the arrival steam journey, but simply Background handles, finished in a plain wood of four brand-new carriages on the because they want to get to the photo: Steam will livery with ‘Snowdon Mountain ISnowdon – ultra- summit of the 3,560ft (1,085m) still be climbing to Tramroad & Hotels Company Ltd’ modern, higher capacity vehicles, mountain. And with the steam locos Snowdon summit destination boards as worn in 1896, costing more than £300,000 each. costing at least 10 times more to run in the future. the body is in fact just as new tech as

Less widely publicised, however, than the Hunslet-supplied quartet of Below: Loco no 2 its contemporary counterparts, and was the fact that these new vehicles diesels, the economics for retaining ‘Enid’, one of the from the same builder. Garmendale cannot be used with the eight steam steam simply don’t add up. 1896 originals, Engineering Ltd is based in Ilkeston, that have been climbing Far from killing off steam, rests at Clogwyn. Derbyshire and best known for Snowdon since 1896. So was this the however, the new carriages have making rides for major theme parks. end for steam on the mountain? boosted its chances. They seat 74 Facing page, The carriage was delivered to the Some clearly thought so, one website passengers each, compared to 56 of clockwise from SMR depot at Llanberis on 13th May claiming only in recent weeks that all the previous vehicles, and effectively top left: The new and no time lost in commissioning it. bar one of the Snowdon locos have accommodate 90 per cent of service carriage includes Clearly the line is expecting big things facsimiles of the already been withdrawn. needs – opening a window for the 1896 destination of this service – Robertshaw told us The reality is rather different, and steam locos to cover the other 10 per boards and logo. that the same lorry that delivered the rather better. Almost as the web piece cent. The result is the Heritage Steam carriage had taken back another appeared NGW was riding to Experience, launched in June, and a The -style underframe, which Garmendale will Snowdon summit propelled by loco part of the regular timetable with two interior offers store with the intention of building a no 2 ‘Enid’, one of those said to be daily return trips to the summit. good views of the second vehicle. already out of service. The occasion mountain through was the launch of the line’s new Heritage carriage large windows. Four locomotives Heritage Steam Experience, designed Specifically for this service, the So where does this leave the fleet of Locos ‘Padarn’ to complement the diesel services, railway has commissioned a new and ‘Snowdon’ steam locomotives? According to and crucially to run as part of the ‘heritage-style’ carriage body, built on will likely not run Robertshaw the intention is to daily timetable... the underframe of carriage no 2 that this year but do maintain a service fleet of four – dates from 1896. Replacing a body have a future. three running and one under Meeting demand fitted in the early 1950s, the new overhaul. The 1895 originals Enid Many enthusiasts find it easy to get shell is not a replica of the 1896 Enid and the and no 3 ‘Wyddfa’ are currently in the wrong idea about the Snowdon original, merely designed to evoke it, heritage carriage, service and will be joined by no 4 Mountain Railway. While located visually similar from the outside with continuing a daily ‘Snowdon’ of 1896 and no 6 ‘Padarn’ smack in the middle of ‘Great Little the biggest difference a lack of steam service on of the later 1922 class. the mountain. of ’ country, it is not a compartment doors. According to No 5 ‘Moel Siabod’ of 1896 and heritage railway as such. The line sees SMR Engineering Manager Mike Most passengers 1923-built pair no 7 ‘Ralph’ and no 8 around 140,000 return journeys each Robertshaw these were sacrificed to will still travel ‘Eryri’, all unused for many years and year, and perennially faces a problem preserve structural integrity, and in contemporary for a long time stored boiler-less in most lines would like to have – instead a tram-style central aisle carriages pushed the open, have been moved offsite finding enough seats for all those design used inside to allow easy access by diesels. who want to travel. But likely nine through doors on each corner. All photos by out of 10 of these travellers ride not While looking the part – retaining Andrew Charman because they want to experience a original brass door fittings and

18 No 88 – NARROW GAUGE WORLD NEWS FOCUS

to undercover storage – Robertshaw admits their future is undecided. The ’s delicate balancing of heritage versus modern economics and capacity may not please all, but NGW for one thinks the scheme worthy of praise – for the foreseeable future steam locos will still be powering to the top of a Welsh mountain... NGW “The plan is More Information to maintain a service The Heritage Steam Experience runs at 10.30 and 1.30 each day and fleet of costs £8 more than the diesel four steam services – however passengers get an locos – three hour at the summit instead of the running and usual half-hour. Pre-booking, especially in summer, is advised at one under www.snowdonrailway.co.uk overhaul...”

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