0:00:02 > 0:00:03# It's a wonderful day
0:00:03 > 0:00:06# It's a wonderful day For a ride on the train. #
0:00:06 > 0:00:13April 2011, and Wales' latest railway is almost complete.
0:00:13 > 0:00:1425 miles of a narrow gauge track,
0:00:14 > 0:00:18running through the stunning scenery of Snowdonia.
0:00:18 > 0:00:20It's got to be one of the great mountain railways of the world.
0:00:20 > 0:00:22And it certainly will be when it's finished.
0:00:22 > 0:00:24I like building railways. Full stop.
0:00:24 > 0:00:28Well, I'm looking forward very, very much to it.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31It'll be one of the nicest runs in Europe, I'm sure.
0:00:31 > 0:00:35Supported by royalty, and donations from around the world,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38the Welsh Highland Railway has taken 15 years to build
0:00:38 > 0:00:40and cost almost £30 million.
0:00:42 > 0:00:43- Whoa!- W-W-W-Whoa!
0:00:43 > 0:00:45IMITATES STEAM ENGINE
0:00:45 > 0:00:48But it hasn't been an easy ride.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51Many have objected to what they see as the defiling of
0:00:51 > 0:00:53a quiet valley in the national park.
0:00:53 > 0:00:56The railway's here and we can't do anything about it.
0:00:56 > 0:00:58We've just got to work around the railway.
0:00:58 > 0:01:01It won't succeed. The one before it didn't.
0:01:01 > 0:01:02It's just toys for rich men.
0:01:04 > 0:01:08But for the volunteers who do it for the love of steam,
0:01:08 > 0:01:09it's a dream come true.
0:01:09 > 0:01:11This is not an enthusiasts' railway.
0:01:11 > 0:01:14This is a railway.
0:01:22 > 0:01:25For the past ten years, the Welsh Highland Railway has been
0:01:25 > 0:01:29managed by an unflappable Leicestershire man.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31But as the day of the opening ceremony draws closer,
0:01:31 > 0:01:35even he can't contain his excitement.
0:01:35 > 0:01:39I better go. Ever so sorry. Yeah, thank you. Bye-bye.
0:01:43 > 0:01:47I'm Paul Lewin and I'm the general manager of the Ffestiniog and
0:01:47 > 0:01:51Welsh Highland Railways and I'm just on my way to work this morning.
0:01:51 > 0:01:54I live in the railway station at Minffordd.
0:01:54 > 0:01:56I drive two miles into Porthmadog,
0:01:56 > 0:02:00following the route of the railway as I go.
0:02:00 > 0:02:03It's particularly nice going down here because of the wonderful
0:02:03 > 0:02:07view out across to Porthmadog and across the Cob.
0:02:09 > 0:02:12Before I came to the Ffestiniog Railway, I was actually
0:02:12 > 0:02:18working for a company on a global IT project based in Switzerland.
0:02:18 > 0:02:21So it was a big project management job.
0:02:21 > 0:02:22But at the same time as that,
0:02:22 > 0:02:26my hobby, of course, has always been working with railways.
0:02:26 > 0:02:30So this job gave me the opportunity to bring together the hobby
0:02:30 > 0:02:34and the professional career in one place.
0:02:34 > 0:02:40# Every morning when I wake Dear Lord, a little prayer I make
0:02:40 > 0:02:44# Oh, please do keep thy lovely eye On all poor creatures born to die. #
0:02:44 > 0:02:48Another enthusiast whose life has been profoundly affected by the railway
0:02:48 > 0:02:55is Paul Hoskins, or Tom Jones, as he's known to his fellow volunteers.
0:02:55 > 0:03:00Paul has been giving up his weekends to work on the Welsh Highland for 15 years, whatever the weather.
0:03:02 > 0:03:04Well, I try to come up here every other weekend
0:03:04 > 0:03:06but it doesn't always work out like that.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09I usually come this way.
0:03:09 > 0:03:12Even if I've got plenty of time, I normally come up around here.
0:03:12 > 0:03:16Paul Hoskins is a founder member of the volunteer works party
0:03:16 > 0:03:19known to everyone as the Black Hand Gang.
0:03:21 > 0:03:23# Pussycat, pussycat, I love you
0:03:23 > 0:03:27# Yes, I do. #
0:03:27 > 0:03:30I think there's only, out of the original gang,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33which I'd like to include myself in obviously,
0:03:33 > 0:03:36I think there may be about six or seven of us left.
0:03:38 > 0:03:43I've been coming up here from Llanelli, 129 miles.
0:03:43 > 0:03:46And I don't get anything from them!
0:03:46 > 0:03:51I wouldn't mind something towards the expenses from the hierarchy,
0:03:51 > 0:03:55shall I say, but I'll be in a box a long time before that happens.
0:03:58 > 0:04:00It's just a good craic.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04This is the Black Hand Gang, which are the local team.
0:04:04 > 0:04:10It's really a lot of enthusiasts involved with the whole thing.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14And it's great to see such teamwork.
0:04:14 > 0:04:16When we have visitors, we usually bring them for a ride on the train
0:04:16 > 0:04:20and it does feel special because you've been involved with it.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22So, yeah, it is great.
0:04:24 > 0:04:28I'm a good gofer, and setting things up for them.
0:04:28 > 0:04:30But obviously I'm not an engineer
0:04:30 > 0:04:34and I wouldn't like to fiddle about with the tracks myself.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37But there's lots of other things that you can do.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41The Black Hand Gang were not the only ones who helped to rebuild the railway.
0:04:41 > 0:04:46Another group, the Rest of the World Gang, have spent alternate weekends laying track.
0:04:46 > 0:04:50The old line ran between Dinas, through Waunfawr, Rhyd Ddu,
0:04:50 > 0:04:55Beddgelert, Nantmor, Pont Croesor and Porthmadog.
0:04:55 > 0:04:58It was originally built to carry slate.
0:04:58 > 0:05:02Rebuilding the derelict line has been a dream shared by many
0:05:02 > 0:05:04since work began in 1996.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08And it's not just the volunteers who are enthusiastic about
0:05:08 > 0:05:12this huge project finally reaching its conclusion.
0:05:12 > 0:05:15How do you measure enthusiasts? I was very enthusiastic, shall we say that?
0:05:15 > 0:05:18I was very enthusiastic, indeed.
0:05:18 > 0:05:22I'd led projects to overhaul locomotives,
0:05:22 > 0:05:24I'd been a director of a supporting society,
0:05:24 > 0:05:27and I spent an inordinate amount of cash getting here
0:05:27 > 0:05:31so that I could spend weekends working on the trains.
0:05:31 > 0:05:36My father and his father before him liked to spend their spare time
0:05:36 > 0:05:40building fairly large-scale model steam locomotives.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43So, even when I was a kid,
0:05:43 > 0:05:45there were always steam engines around the garden.
0:05:45 > 0:05:47I got the job of driving them and running them in.
0:05:47 > 0:05:51So, you know, I've been driving locos since I was about five years old.
0:05:51 > 0:05:56And, for many volunteers, driving, or being carried by a steam or
0:05:56 > 0:06:00diesel train, is a huge part of working on a narrow gauge railway.
0:06:00 > 0:06:04Do you know, I could still be in bed with a gorgeous blonde now?
0:06:04 > 0:06:06But here I am.
0:06:06 > 0:06:09We're heading down to Corlan,
0:06:09 > 0:06:13which is just on the other side of the Bryn y Felin road bridge.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Today, the works party head off from Rhyd Ddu which,
0:06:16 > 0:06:20at 650 feet above sea level, is the highest point on the railway.
0:06:20 > 0:06:22Two teas, one coffee, sir.
0:06:22 > 0:06:26We have the North Wales gang in the back.
0:06:26 > 0:06:28There's quite a crew of them.
0:06:28 > 0:06:31Well, still on the train now.
0:06:31 > 0:06:36- Where's she going?- Nowhere. She's taking two inches off the top.
0:06:36 > 0:06:38You've got to have something to do.
0:06:38 > 0:06:42There's only so much decorating you can do in a house.
0:06:42 > 0:06:45And then the wife gets fed up with you so you get thrown out.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47So that's what I do.
0:06:47 > 0:06:51Every hour of volunteer labour has enabled the railway to
0:06:51 > 0:06:53match fund and attract grant money.
0:06:53 > 0:06:57The value of the work done by gangs such as this one has been enormous.
0:06:57 > 0:07:00We sort of evolved and honed our skills,
0:07:00 > 0:07:03laying the track down to Caernarfon.
0:07:03 > 0:07:06And, subsequently, then going up towards Waunfawr and Rhyd Ddu
0:07:06 > 0:07:08and now all the way through to Port.
0:07:08 > 0:07:10And I think that's our achievement,
0:07:10 > 0:07:15that over the period of the last 13/14 years,
0:07:15 > 0:07:20we've laid this line from Caernarfon through to Porthmadog,
0:07:20 > 0:07:2390 percent of it done by volunteers.
0:07:23 > 0:07:27I've known Dafydd Thomas now for over 40 years.
0:07:29 > 0:07:33He's just had two major operations on his knees.
0:07:33 > 0:07:36And he has worked hard on his physiotherapy,
0:07:36 > 0:07:40so he can get back to what he loves, which is this.
0:07:40 > 0:07:43And, through his dedication to this thing,
0:07:43 > 0:07:46Dafydd Thomas has become the chairman or,
0:07:46 > 0:07:48as we know him, Ogo. O-G-O.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51O Great One.
0:07:51 > 0:07:53And Ogo's in charge.
0:07:53 > 0:07:57Those that are having their tea break, can have their tea break.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59And the rest of you can get these tools off.
0:07:59 > 0:08:03The generator we'd normally use has been stolen by naughty boys
0:08:03 > 0:08:04when it was stored at Dinas.
0:08:04 > 0:08:08So we have to use the old one and its output isn't very good.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11It takes a month to boil a kettle of water.
0:08:11 > 0:08:15And all these guys here are complaining that their tea's not ready for dinner
0:08:15 > 0:08:18so I'm going to be in the bad books, yet again!
0:08:18 > 0:08:20But never mind!
0:08:20 > 0:08:22I don't know why I come here, you know.
0:08:24 > 0:08:29I love trains. I have done since I was knee-high to a grasshopper.
0:08:29 > 0:08:31My father was a quarryman in Bethesda
0:08:31 > 0:08:35and he used to come home on the Penrhyn Railway.
0:08:35 > 0:08:38And we used to put Blanche and Linda to bed in the sheds.
0:08:38 > 0:08:41And then I would go home on the back of my father's moped,
0:08:41 > 0:08:44back to where we lived.
0:08:44 > 0:08:47And I think some of that steam got stuck in my blood.
0:08:47 > 0:08:49And it's still there now.
0:08:49 > 0:08:54Working on the railway has become a central part of all their lives.
0:08:54 > 0:08:56But for Dafydd, it's been a lifesaver.
0:08:56 > 0:08:59Until two and a half years ago,
0:08:59 > 0:09:01I was the director of Theatr Gwynedd in Bangor.
0:09:01 > 0:09:06Unfortunately the theatre was closed and I was made redundant.
0:09:06 > 0:09:10You felt bitter towards the end, you know.
0:09:10 > 0:09:13And to me personally, it was...
0:09:13 > 0:09:17I did try for other jobs but, at the time, I was 60 years of age.
0:09:17 > 0:09:20Who wants to take on a 60-year-old person that's
0:09:20 > 0:09:22worked in the theatre for over 30 years?
0:09:22 > 0:09:24I'll have to go up out of the way.
0:09:24 > 0:09:26You can take this one, yeah?
0:09:26 > 0:09:30Being involved with the railway was a great help to me.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34I was able to sort of throw myself into projects there.
0:09:34 > 0:09:37And it took my mind off it.
0:09:37 > 0:09:40It was an alternative way of filling my day, if you like.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44For Paul Hoskins also, the railway has been a source of strength
0:09:44 > 0:09:47through difficult times of his own.
0:09:47 > 0:09:52It was confirmed back in November 2009 I had prostate cancer.
0:09:52 > 0:09:56And I started having radiotherapy for it.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01Actually I fared very well.
0:10:01 > 0:10:04I mean, I didn't feel tired or anything.
0:10:04 > 0:10:06I was able to do lots of things after.
0:10:08 > 0:10:10It's sort of a funny thing, cancer.
0:10:10 > 0:10:13I'm not saying it will ever come back.
0:10:13 > 0:10:16Touch wood, I hope it never will.
0:10:17 > 0:10:20You know, it did scare me.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25But the family, oh, I'd say it scared them quite a bit.
0:10:25 > 0:10:28But me, I was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
0:10:30 > 0:10:31I just had to carry on.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37Paul has been a lucky man to realise his dream.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40But, due to work commitments in Llanelli,
0:10:40 > 0:10:43he was unable to be at Caernarfon on a truly historic day.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46A day organised to thank the volunteers
0:10:46 > 0:10:50and supporters who have given so generously of their time and money.
0:10:50 > 0:10:53The chance to be the first-ever passengers on
0:10:53 > 0:10:55the completely restored track.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58Yet another momentous day for the Welsh Highland Railway.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00But this one is a bit special, isn't it?
0:11:00 > 0:11:05Going all the way to Porthmadog on a Welsh Highland train from Caernarfon.
0:11:05 > 0:11:08And, when you look back at the beginning of the project,
0:11:08 > 0:11:12there was the poster with a picture of a train in the Aberglaslyn Pass,
0:11:12 > 0:11:15hauled by a red Beyer-Garratt steam engine. And guess what?
0:11:15 > 0:11:19We're on a train hauled by a red Beyer-Garrett steam engine
0:11:19 > 0:11:21that's going to take us all the way to Porthmadog.
0:11:21 > 0:11:23So, yeah, a very special day.
0:11:23 > 0:11:27We live in Nottinghamshire, in a little village close to the Derbyshire border.
0:11:27 > 0:11:31And we've come here today because we're sponsors
0:11:31 > 0:11:34of the West Highland Railway and, as we're sponsors, we're able to
0:11:34 > 0:11:37come on this first trip which is rather exciting, really!
0:11:40 > 0:11:43I've been a supporter since I was in school, really.
0:11:43 > 0:11:45And it was one of my favourite lost causes.
0:11:45 > 0:11:50To walk the track down the Glaslyn Gorge and through the tunnels,
0:11:50 > 0:11:53through the Nantmor tunnel, and try and visualise the trains there,
0:11:53 > 0:11:56without ever actually dreaming that it would ever happen.
0:11:56 > 0:12:02I've been volunteering in the Black Hand Gang and contributing.
0:12:06 > 0:12:09Ten years we've been striving.
0:12:09 > 0:12:12Bit of a Speedy Gonzalez.
0:12:12 > 0:12:15Oh, he was a speed type person!
0:12:15 > 0:12:18All the people you see around us here
0:12:18 > 0:12:20have all been involved in some way or other.
0:12:20 > 0:12:24Whether they've come along and wielded a shovel or sent a cheque,
0:12:24 > 0:12:28it's all helped to get where we are today.
0:12:28 > 0:12:30Achievement!
0:12:30 > 0:12:32You know, it's been done.
0:12:39 > 0:12:43When those trains hauled into Porthmadog
0:12:43 > 0:12:46and those people came out waving flags and cheering...
0:12:46 > 0:12:48Well, I'd never seen anything like it in my life.
0:12:48 > 0:12:51Ten years ago, "We don't want trains in our streets.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55"We don't want these dirty things going through our countryside."
0:12:55 > 0:12:57Forgot about it all now,
0:12:57 > 0:12:59the local people.
0:12:59 > 0:13:03A truly remarkable sight, to see a huge steam train running along and
0:13:03 > 0:13:07across the High Street in Porthmadog for the first time in decades.
0:13:07 > 0:13:10You never thought for one moment that all those people in Porthmadog
0:13:10 > 0:13:15would be there just to say thank you in a way.
0:13:15 > 0:13:17Well, it brought a lump to my throat.
0:13:17 > 0:13:19It brought a tear to my eye, I think.
0:13:19 > 0:13:23For Tony Williams, who drove the first ever Beyer-Garratt loco
0:13:23 > 0:13:26on the railway in Wales, it's a proud moment.
0:13:26 > 0:13:30I'm a very lucky man and if I don't have to drive again, it'll be sad.
0:13:30 > 0:13:33But there we are, I've achieved something.
0:13:33 > 0:13:36Personally, it's very much a dream come true.
0:13:36 > 0:13:39Because there was a time, last Christmas,
0:13:39 > 0:13:42when I didn't think I'd ever see it done.
0:13:42 > 0:13:46So today it's been very special and I am very lucky.
0:13:49 > 0:13:53Rebuilding the line has meant that old stretches of derelict track,
0:13:53 > 0:13:57that had been absorbed into fields and farms, have been dug out and
0:13:57 > 0:14:02opened up again, altering not just the countryside but a way of life.
0:14:02 > 0:14:05This is Cwm Clych farm and this is where my husband
0:14:05 > 0:14:08and his father are farming.
0:14:08 > 0:14:11We've got two young daughters and, as you can see,
0:14:11 > 0:14:14the railway's cutting through the farm three times.
0:14:16 > 0:14:22The railway, really, it can affect the farm on a daily basis,
0:14:22 > 0:14:23to be honest with you.
0:14:26 > 0:14:29If my husband is gathering on the mountain, it can be very
0:14:29 > 0:14:33difficult bringing the sheep down to the bottom fields here.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40Before the railway, there was only two of them gathering.
0:14:40 > 0:14:45But, at the moment, because we've got an open crossing here,
0:14:45 > 0:14:49it takes about four, five people to bring them down,
0:14:49 > 0:14:51so that can be very difficult.
0:14:53 > 0:14:57The girls, they're seven and five.
0:14:57 > 0:15:00It's an adventure for them, isn't it?
0:15:00 > 0:15:03You know, that the train is passing the house.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07Every time they see the train, they come out, they wave
0:15:07 > 0:15:09and people on the train wave back, so it's nice for them.
0:15:09 > 0:15:13But, as I say, at the end of the day we can't do anything about it.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17We've just got to work together and hope for the best.
0:15:35 > 0:15:38Good morning, welcome to Santa HQ.
0:15:38 > 0:15:42It looks very cold outside.
0:15:42 > 0:15:45- I can see that from your goosepimples, Martin!- Yeah.
0:15:45 > 0:15:47- Raring to go?- Raring to go!
0:15:47 > 0:15:49Let's get elfing!
0:15:49 > 0:15:51Remembering elf and safety, of course.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53Take that man out and shoot him.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56The Black Hand Gang are a versatile lot
0:15:56 > 0:15:58and don't just work on the track bed.
0:15:58 > 0:16:01For the actors and exhibitionists amongst them,
0:16:01 > 0:16:05Christmas is an opportunity to get into the festive spirit.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11My name's Tony Murphy and I do it for the fun of it.
0:16:11 > 0:16:13And to see the sparkle in those little eyes is wonderful.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18This is our tenth anniversary this year.
0:16:18 > 0:16:21Those ten years have gone quick, I tell you.
0:16:23 > 0:16:27It's an hour and a half round trip, which is just right.
0:16:27 > 0:16:32If it was any longer, the little ones would get fed up, I think.
0:16:38 > 0:16:39Oh, it's going very well.
0:16:39 > 0:16:41Speak for yourself, fatty.
0:16:41 > 0:16:44Ho-ho-ho! He's a miserable elf, that one, isn't he?
0:16:51 > 0:16:54We've got seven minutes per coach.
0:16:54 > 0:16:56Sometimes we have to slow the engine down.
0:16:56 > 0:16:59If we're not on the second coach by Dinas, we're in trouble.
0:17:01 > 0:17:04- Ready, Santa! Wheeeee! - Hwnna i Tomos?
0:17:06 > 0:17:08What do you want from Santa for Christmas?
0:17:08 > 0:17:11- Tell him, "Sausages, Santa." - He doesn't want sausages!
0:17:13 > 0:17:16Lego! Ho-ho-ho! I love Lego!
0:17:18 > 0:17:22In deepest winter, trains seldom run between Caernarfon and Porthmadog,
0:17:22 > 0:17:26as conditions are too icy and passengers few and far between.
0:17:29 > 0:17:32At £10 a head though, these Santa trains are a good source
0:17:32 > 0:17:35of income for the railway and fun to boot.
0:17:35 > 0:17:37Brilliant fun! Your own kids are grown up
0:17:37 > 0:17:40and you lose that little bit of magic at Christmas.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43Oof! And things like this happen, as well!
0:17:43 > 0:17:45All good, clean fun.
0:17:45 > 0:17:48I'm having such a good time.
0:17:48 > 0:17:50I've had a direct hit on my head
0:17:50 > 0:17:53so I've been trying to get my own back on him.
0:17:53 > 0:17:56Come and get me if you think you can!
0:17:58 > 0:18:01I've got to watch. He's stood up there.
0:18:01 > 0:18:04We nearly missed the train, coming across Anglesey in the snow.
0:18:04 > 0:18:08But we got here. And they're really enjoying it, it's wonderful.
0:18:08 > 0:18:09We've done it once before.
0:18:09 > 0:18:12Me, the in-laws, my wife and my two kids
0:18:12 > 0:18:15drove about four or five hours from RAF Mildenhall.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20Coming out here just to enjoy the snow, the beautiful scenery.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24We don't see a lot of landscape like this in California.
0:18:27 > 0:18:29Best thing ever, all year round.
0:18:29 > 0:18:33I can't wait till next Christmas to come round and do it again.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39# We wish you a Merry Christmas
0:18:39 > 0:18:41# We wish you a Merry Christmas
0:18:41 > 0:18:42# And a happy New Year!
0:18:42 > 0:18:46# Good tidings we bring To you and your King
0:18:46 > 0:18:50# We wish you a Merry Christmas And a happy New Year! #
0:18:50 > 0:18:53Nadolig llawen, Merry Christmas, everybody!
0:18:53 > 0:18:55THEY CHEER
0:18:55 > 0:18:56We love Christmas!
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Just four months later, and at the Ffestiniog Railway
0:19:01 > 0:19:04headquarters in Porthmadog, last-minute preparations
0:19:04 > 0:19:08are under way for the formal opening of the Welsh Highland line.
0:19:08 > 0:19:09OK, thank you.
0:19:13 > 0:19:16- Pauline?- Yes?- Could you pop in and...
0:19:16 > 0:19:19For Paul Lewin, his PA Pauline Holloway, and their
0:19:19 > 0:19:2465 full-time staff, this is the culmination of years of hard work.
0:19:24 > 0:19:29I used to volunteer here which is how I started here. That was fun.
0:19:29 > 0:19:30I still do some volunteering.
0:19:30 > 0:19:33If Paul's out on the locomotive or my husband is,
0:19:33 > 0:19:35then I'll go and clean the locos some mornings, don't I?
0:19:35 > 0:19:36And I love that!
0:19:36 > 0:19:40The formal opening by a world-famous celebrity has
0:19:40 > 0:19:42been in the calendar for years.
0:19:44 > 0:19:47The reason it's happening on the 20th April is that it's the
0:19:47 > 0:19:53175th anniversary of the Ffestiniog Railway opening, back in 1836.
0:19:53 > 0:19:54So it's a major day in our calendar.
0:19:54 > 0:19:58As you can see, there's a photograph on the table here.
0:19:58 > 0:20:01We'll be unveiling this plaque which has been made of
0:20:01 > 0:20:04Blaenau Ffestiniog slate and, yesterday, it was transported
0:20:04 > 0:20:09from Blaenau Ffestiniog down to Porthmadog by train.
0:20:09 > 0:20:11And that's the plaque that we'll be having
0:20:11 > 0:20:14unveiled by Peter Waterman on the actual day.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20Down at Harbour Station, it's all hands on deck.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24There's still a lot to do.
0:20:24 > 0:20:28I'm busy trying to get ready for the event at the weekend.
0:20:28 > 0:20:31So I've got lots of other things to do, as well.
0:20:31 > 0:20:35Clare Britton is now commercial manager at Ffestiniog Railway,
0:20:35 > 0:20:37and all because of her mother's pioneering spirit.
0:20:37 > 0:20:41My mother was a volunteer back in the 1960s and '70s.
0:20:41 > 0:20:43She was very interested in the railway
0:20:43 > 0:20:47and we used to get dragged along when we were on holiday in Wales.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50And I helped from when I was about nine or ten,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52helping her to do little bits around the railway.
0:20:52 > 0:20:55Then I found that I was interested myself and I stayed,
0:20:55 > 0:20:58went to university in Bangor and here I am!
0:20:58 > 0:21:03Angela Harrington, Clare's mum, has been a trailblazer all her life.
0:21:03 > 0:21:07Well, yes, I was the first lady to be a fireman.
0:21:07 > 0:21:10And I was also the first lady to be a director.
0:21:10 > 0:21:13I've always been interested in trains, particularly steam engines
0:21:13 > 0:21:18and I just like to be out in the fresh air,
0:21:18 > 0:21:19and up in the hills.
0:21:19 > 0:21:22You can't beat it in the winter on a sunny day.
0:21:22 > 0:21:24Not so good when it's pouring with rain and
0:21:24 > 0:21:27you've got cluttered up with oilskins and welly boots.
0:21:27 > 0:21:30As the only female member of the track gang,
0:21:30 > 0:21:33Angela visited Wales monthly.
0:21:33 > 0:21:36Lodgings were a damp and dingy cottage in the Welsh hills.
0:21:36 > 0:21:40The others used to sleep in bunks down the other end of the cottage
0:21:40 > 0:21:44but I used to go in the kitchen because that was the warmest place.
0:21:44 > 0:21:46I could put some money in the meter
0:21:46 > 0:21:50and turn the oven on and open the door, and keep warm that way!
0:21:50 > 0:21:53Several Monday mornings I've gone to work and gone up to the office on
0:21:53 > 0:21:58my bottom up the stairs when nobody was looking because I was so stiff!
0:21:58 > 0:22:03At 74, Angela Harrington is still busy helping out.
0:22:03 > 0:22:05And, like many other volunteers,
0:22:05 > 0:22:08the railway has become a huge part of her life.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12Yes, I lost my husband nearly three years ago.
0:22:12 > 0:22:16And I felt that I would like a complete change in my life.
0:22:16 > 0:22:18It was time to do something different.
0:22:18 > 0:22:21So I bought a little cottage here which I intended to
0:22:21 > 0:22:26use as a holiday home and come and spend quite a lot of time here.
0:22:26 > 0:22:28But every time I came, the more I came,
0:22:28 > 0:22:30the less I wanted to go back to Nottingham.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32So I've stayed.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35It is the steam that interests her.
0:22:35 > 0:22:39But, also, the railway is such a lovely big family thing that
0:22:39 > 0:22:40you get hooked for lots of reasons.
0:22:40 > 0:22:42I think it's not just the steam.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44It's the people that you meet and it's running a railway.
0:22:44 > 0:22:46There's a buzz about it.
0:22:46 > 0:22:50From now on, passengers will be able to travel from Harbour Station
0:22:50 > 0:22:52in Porthmadog in two directions.
0:22:52 > 0:22:57On the Welsh Highland Beyer-Garratt engines to Caernarfon.
0:22:57 > 0:23:00And on the smaller engines of the Ffestiniog Railway to
0:23:00 > 0:23:02Tan-y-Bwlch and Blaenau Ffestiniog.
0:23:02 > 0:23:03The workload has, in effect,
0:23:03 > 0:23:07doubled and, with the formal opening about to happen,
0:23:07 > 0:23:11it's a busy time at Boston Lodge for Tony Williams and his team.
0:23:11 > 0:23:16When something like this comes along, it throws the schedule a little bit.
0:23:16 > 0:23:18There's quite a lot to do.
0:23:18 > 0:23:22Little things to finalise, things to check over.
0:23:22 > 0:23:24There's a lot of jiggling and balancing,
0:23:24 > 0:23:26getting the right locomotive in the right place.
0:23:26 > 0:23:28Getting the right crew in the right place.
0:23:28 > 0:23:32So it's just a bit of a logistical nightmare, more than anything else.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38'We'll be ready at the time the train is signalled away by the guard, hopefully!'
0:23:46 > 0:23:48It's the day of the grand opening.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50And local dignitaries,
0:23:50 > 0:23:54staff and volunteers are gathering to greet the celebrity guest.
0:23:54 > 0:23:58Peter Waterman is a diehard train enthusiast.
0:23:58 > 0:24:02He owns several trains and runs a railway workshop in Crewe.
0:24:02 > 0:24:06He's built up a close relationship with the Welsh Highland project.
0:24:06 > 0:24:09So much so that he even bought his own Beyer-Garratt engine.
0:24:09 > 0:24:11I started on the railway
0:24:11 > 0:24:13in 1962 in steam days.
0:24:13 > 0:24:16I was born next to a railway line in 1947
0:24:16 > 0:24:20so I've never known anything but railway engines.
0:24:20 > 0:24:23And I've always said to people, "As I lay in my cot, it was
0:24:23 > 0:24:27"the sound of those coal engines coming out of the collieries."
0:24:27 > 0:24:29You know, that's what I grew up on.
0:24:29 > 0:24:30And it's never left me.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35He's a good railwayman, yes.
0:24:35 > 0:24:39He's been in the business for over 50 years apparently.
0:24:39 > 0:24:44For him to be here today, obviously it's a very special occasion.
0:24:44 > 0:24:48The story of Peter Waterman is simply that he had never
0:24:48 > 0:24:50travelled on a narrow gauge train.
0:24:50 > 0:24:54I invited him along to come for a ride on the Ffestiniog Railway.
0:24:54 > 0:24:57He agreed to do that and he came for the day.
0:24:57 > 0:24:59He rode in a gravity slate train.
0:24:59 > 0:25:02He went on the footplate of a Ffestiniog engine.
0:25:02 > 0:25:07But then we took him on a Welsh Highland Railway Garratt locomotive,
0:25:07 > 0:25:10number 87, and we gave him the shovel and he fired the engine.
0:25:10 > 0:25:12And he absolutely loved it!
0:25:14 > 0:25:20Nothing prepared me for the day that Paul put me on the Beyer-Garratts.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22I mean, that was me. I was like a schoolboy.
0:25:22 > 0:25:25It was the most revolutionary...
0:25:25 > 0:25:28It doesn't matter how many steam engines I owned,
0:25:28 > 0:25:32I left and it was that inevitable thing, I said to Paul,
0:25:32 > 0:25:36"If I bought one of these, do you think I could run it here?"
0:25:36 > 0:25:39And I remember him saying, "Yeah, yeah." And I said, "Are there any?"
0:25:39 > 0:25:40And he said, "Yeah."
0:25:40 > 0:25:44I don't think he thought I was serious but I got back to Crewe
0:25:44 > 0:25:48and I said, "Ring this guy at the Welsh Highland. His name's Paul.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53"Get hold of where we can get these engines in South Africa and get one back."
0:25:53 > 0:25:55And the guys at Crewe, still to this day, say,
0:25:55 > 0:25:57"When you actually told us to go to South Africa
0:25:57 > 0:26:01"and buy one of these locos, we didn't really think you meant it."
0:26:01 > 0:26:06After 175 years, I'm sorry it's an Englishman pulling this plaque
0:26:06 > 0:26:08but I have got a claim.
0:26:08 > 0:26:10My children are half Welsh.
0:26:10 > 0:26:14And I did once enter a Welsh song that I wrote
0:26:14 > 0:26:17into the Eurovision Song competition.
0:26:17 > 0:26:19Not a lot of people know this,
0:26:19 > 0:26:20and it was called
0:26:20 > 0:26:24Llanfair-pwllgwyngyll-gogerych- wyrndrobwll-llantysilio-gogogoch
0:26:24 > 0:26:26to a tune.
0:26:26 > 0:26:27I kid you not.
0:26:27 > 0:26:30It actually made the last eight.
0:26:30 > 0:26:31MUTED LAUGHTER
0:26:31 > 0:26:34So I'm going to now open this because there's a lot to do.
0:26:34 > 0:26:35I'm so proud of this.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37And I would like to say to all the guys
0:26:37 > 0:26:39and all the people that have done this, well done.
0:26:39 > 0:26:42It really is magnificent. Well done.
0:26:42 > 0:26:43APPLAUSE
0:26:45 > 0:26:48After decades in the planning, and 15 years in the building,
0:26:48 > 0:26:52Wales' latest railway is now open for business.
0:26:54 > 0:26:57Many have supported the venture.
0:26:57 > 0:27:02Royalty, celebrities and thousands of men and women who have
0:27:02 > 0:27:05given time and money to see the realisation of a dream.
0:27:05 > 0:27:10For the architects of the project, the reality does not disappoint.
0:27:10 > 0:27:12To rebuild a narrow gauge railway is,
0:27:12 > 0:27:17to me, a heaven-sent opportunity.
0:27:17 > 0:27:19And rebuilding the Welsh Highland Railway
0:27:19 > 0:27:22has caused me immense satisfaction.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25It seemed an impossible dream.
0:27:25 > 0:27:27And, well, impossible dreams are just challenges.
0:27:30 > 0:27:33I don't know if, from the beginning, we were actually convinced we could
0:27:33 > 0:27:37do the job but we said, "We're going to give this our best shot." And it's worked!
0:27:37 > 0:27:42It's come together and it's been a wonderful success.
0:27:42 > 0:27:43I'm delighted.
0:27:43 > 0:27:46I can look back over those 20 years and say,
0:27:46 > 0:27:49"Yeah, that was a great time, building that railway."
0:27:51 > 0:27:56I'm going to feel lost, but only for a short time because I'll still
0:27:56 > 0:27:59be coming up here, volunteering.
0:27:59 > 0:28:00There'll still be things to do.
0:28:00 > 0:28:04You've always got something to do cos it's a living, breathing thing.
0:28:07 > 0:28:09Putting it down is OK.
0:28:09 > 0:28:12Now we've got to run it.
0:28:12 > 0:28:1525 miles through Snowdonia.
0:28:15 > 0:28:18It doesn't look after itself.
0:28:18 > 0:28:20I think the work will be here when the rest of us
0:28:20 > 0:28:22have all gone to meet our maker.
0:28:22 > 0:28:25And, when my days are finished,
0:28:25 > 0:28:28I want my ashes scattered along it somewhere.
0:28:28 > 0:28:31It's going to be strange.
0:28:32 > 0:28:34I'm a little bit tearful now.
0:28:36 > 0:28:37Ahem.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd