Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway Extreme Steam Extravaganza 2026

Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway "Extreme Steam Extravaganza" Summer Gala Weekend 19th to 21st June 2026 A weekend of weird and wonderful combinations of locomotives and rolling stock in operation along the F&WHR over the mid summer weekend. Locomotive wise the smaller members of the fleet were at the forefront with Quarry Hunslet Velinheli/Felinheli, Britomart, Hugh Napier and Lilla all being used intensively on passenger services over the weekend. Baldwin Moelwyn was also out double heading and top and tailing trains with steam locomotives, while Harlech Castle and Upnor Castle featuring on passenger workings as well (with each taking turns to cover the early morning Quarryman journey starting from Blaenau Ffestiniog, very reminiscent of the push trains from the 90s). The locomotives were no the only stars of the show though, a good number of trains ran as mixed trains, with a rake of skips (with Van 1 on the rear and 3 RAF 4 wheel wagons on the front), loaded slate waggons (including returning by gravity running from Dduallt) and the S&T train (bolstered by the first bogie carriage 15). On the Welsh Highland, Ffestiniog engines ventured out with a mix of stock, while the Garratts, NG15 and Castell Caernarfon were all used intensively, particularly on mixed trains featuring SAR wagons. We see NG15 134 and Lyd double head up Nantmor Bank on Friday and returning to Porthmadog with Castell Caernarfon with the other mixed train on Saturday. Locomotive steaming issues saw delays and cancellations on Friday afternoon, and other problems continued over the weekend with further delays which lead to a good number of trains cancelled (or locos swapped) on the afternoons on Saturday and particularly Sunday, when of procession of trains were meant to run to Minffordd and return as one 'Mixed Madness' train. Another highlight was a pair of road vehicles, a Austin A30 and Mini being carried on well wagon 62 on a mixed train, with the vehicles changing over on Saturday, being driven off at Boston Lodge. www.preservedrailway.co.uk (C) Lee Andrew Davies 2026