Another day in hog heaven riding railways

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Friday 24th July
Another day in hog heaven riding railways
We have two nights here in Prestatyn so we can look around the area with two main attractions close by being The Snowden Mountain railway and Caernarfon Castle.
The weather forecast was still a bit iffy for riding trains up mountainsides but we decided we should do it no matter what as it was probably going to be an activity that took 2 or 3 hours.
Looking outside as we finished breakfast the weather was fine with a high overcast and so we set off the A55 for Llanberis at the foot of Mount Snowden.
We were fortunate to arrive at a time when there were still seats available on the trains that left every half hour and managed to get seats on the 12.30pm.The ride would take an hour approx in each direction with a further half hour stop at the top.
There was an option of riding the train up and walking back down the 1085 metre high hill/mountain which would take about 2 or 3 hours on its own.We went for the return fare thinking ahead that we needed enough time to drive down to Caernarfon and the castle.
To fill in the time to our trip up the hill we watched a movie on why and how the railway was built.At the time a group of people suggested that the railway be built the owner of the land said a definite no and plans were put aside.It was only when another railway was being planned for the other side of the mountain that the land owner agress and over the next two years in the late 1800’s the line was built.
We watched the midday train hauled by a diesel engine depart.We realised that our train would be hauled by a steam engine and the original and oldest one to boot.!!So timing was everything.
The engine hauls one carriage of 50 odd people up the cog system railway.The steam engine is fired by coal and gets through so much water on the way up that it has to refill its tanks at the half way point.The boiler of the engine is inclined so that when the engine is chuffing its way up hill at even the steepest point of the track,the water in the boiler stays level and doesn’t slosh down one end.Such is the steepness of the rail line.!!
We had one of the original carriages to ride in as well with separate compartments with the only problem being each compartment was for 8 people who all had to squeeze in.By the time we got going everyone seemed to have juggled around to have enough room to stretch ones legs.We have a Welsh couple opposite us who had a good sense of humour and spoke with that lovely Welsh accent.
The ride was an interesting one although it took a few minutes to get used to the jerky motion of the cog system as the train set off.The first feature was a 400 foot viaduct shortly after we left the station and then the line started the first steep climb.
The train doesn’t travel at more than 5 mph which is an important feature especially on the way down!!We were told that if the train speed went over 5 mph the brakes would come on automatically.Thank goodness for that.!!
There was a second track at the half way point and we met a train coming downhill while we were refilling with water.Looking up ahead the line became increasingly steeper running along a ridge with long drops on both sides.
The engine kept up the steady 5 mph pushing the carriage in front.The views down to the valley on the left hand side were particulary steep while on the right hand side there was the track up the mountain on which there were many people doing the walk both up and down.
Threequarters of the way up there was another siding and we waited for two more trains to come down the steepest part of the track.Here we were just short of entering the mist and low cloud that was covering the top of the mountain.
As we chugged up the steepest part of the line we found ourselves listened even more closely to the chug chug chug of the engine ensuring that it wasn’t missing a beat which might have meant testing the trains brakes!!
At the top the mist swirled around and it was decidably cooler than at the bottom.
We had a half hour to fill in so we looked over the brand new station and cafeteria that has been built at the top.We don’t know what it replaced but the new shelter was a welcome place to get inside from the chill.
However we did venture up the 30 odd steps to get to a small cairn built on the top of the mountain to say we had actually been to the very top.It was quite astounding to see the number of people arriving at the top having walked up wearing shorts and t shirts in what must have been temperatures of no more than 5C!!
For the ride down we swapped sides in the carriage to get a different view that we had on the way up and it gave us a better appreciation of just how steep it was down to the valley.
The train ride has to be one of the best and most spectacular in the world and we are pleased we made our way back to stay in North Wales so that we had the opportunity to take it.And although the weather wasn’t clear at the top we felt it actually worked out quite well as it gave a contrast between the sun that was out until we reached the three quarter point and the mist at the top.
It was now 3pm and after a quick late lunch on the tail gate of RR we were off down the road to Caernarfon.
We still had an hour to look over the castle before it closed for the day.It seems odd that a lot of the attractions close so early when it is light for a longer period in the height of the summer and could get more paying visitors if they were open longer.
The castle was built over 700 years ago and the outside walls,ramparts and many of the internal rooms connected to the walls are still intact without a great deal of restoration.
The dias on which Charles was made Prince of Wales is still in place and there is a display of the inauguration including the chair the Queen sat on and the stool Charles knelt down before his mother.It was clearly back then a big occasion for the Welsh although you don’t get the feel today that it is of such importance.
The plan was to follow our rule of not taking the same road twice to get back home and our route was to be through the countryside.However we were foiled by a road that had been closed for some unexplained reason so we ended up returning via the A55 to Prestatyn.

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Comments

[Chris]

Train trips from the past
Reading about your train trip up Mt Snowden must have brought back memories of our train trip over the Rimutakas on one of the last Fell engine trips. It went so slow we got off and walked beside it. Oops!! you were only 3.