Thanks to a £300,000 Coastal Communities Fund grant, the Talyllyn Railway has been able to order new carriages.

We’re pleased to announce as part of our Coastal Communities Fund award, we have placed an order for new bogie carriages to be built by the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways at their workshops in Boston Lodge, Porthmadog.

The new carriages will be a brilliant addition to our current fleet – increasing passenger capacity, providing heated carriages during colder months and allowing our original vintage carriages to have a break from regular service.

Stuart Williams, our General Manager commented:

“We are delighted to be able to award the contract to fellow Great Little Trains of Wales members, the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways. Their works at Boston Lodge have produced some exceptional examples of carriages for narrow gauge railways throughout the UK and we are confident that the three new carriages will be a great asset to the railway going forward. We are also pleased that the contract will benefit another coastal-based business in Wales and boost the Gwynedd economy as a whole – both during the construction and when in use.”

Speaking on behalf of the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways, General Manager Paul Lewin said:

“The friendship between the Talyllyn and Ffestiniog railways goes back right to the very earliest days of railway preservation. It is therefore very pleasing indeed to win the contract for the construction of new carriages. The team at Boston Lodge have built up a very strong reputation for high quality work and it is good to know that the jobs of those skilled craftsmen have been secured for years to come as a result of this contract.”