The Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways is currently planning for a busy weekend in June when it will hold its ‘Railway 200 – FR Platinum Jubilee Weekend’.

Two momentous landmarks will be celebrated from Thursday, 19th until Sunday, June 22nd June, with the 70th anniversary of passenger trains resuming on the Ffestiniog Railway and 2025 being the 200th anniversary of the birth of the modern railway being celebrated with Railway 200 events nationwide.

This ‘200 Wheels on the Cob’ cavalcade will undoubtedly be the highlight of the weekend, taking place on Sunday, 22nd of June.

This will be a cavalcade of Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways’ engines throughout the years, lining up in formation across the iconic Cob embankment.

The weekend’s events start on the evening of Thursday, 19th June, when Simplex Mary Ann will give visitors the chance to savour the historic moment with a ride across the Cob to Boston Lodge.

To help visitors travel to Porthmadog for the evening, extra services will run from Blaenau Ffestiniog at 17:35 and 20:50 to connect with Transport for Wales Conwy Valley services.

Friday, 20th June starts with a service at 07:00 hauled by diesel Upnor Castle. Trains will run to Minffordd and Tan y Bwlch, and Linda and Blanche will operate a service to Caernarfon.

Visitors take a trip on an infrastructure train or ride on an inspection train to Dduallt behind Moelwyn. In the evening, Merddin Emrys and Prince will run non-stop from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog, in both directions.

On Saturday, 21st June, an early steam-hauled train will give a good view of a spectacular ‘200 wheel’ goods train at Tanygrisiau.

In the afternoon, there will be a recreation of trains crossing at Dduallt, whilst Linda takes one trip to Minffordd and one to Tan y Bwlch with a 1950s style flying flea, made up of four-wheel carriages and bogies.

The last day of the event is on Sunday, 22nd June 2025, and it will celebrate 200 years of railways with a ‘200 Steam Wheels on the Cob spectacle on a Grand Cavalcade from Boston Lodge to Porthmadog, with the locomotives in the order of their preservation.

An auction is being held on Sunday, 4th May for a selection of Cavalcade footplate passes.
Tickets and full details regarding the weekend will be available on the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railway’s website.

The weekend’s events are being planned by Clare Britton, the Events Co-ordinator at the Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways. Clare Britton first visited the railway as a child and has fond memories of visiting it with her parents, and later, as a volunteer.

On New Year’s Day, the railway took part in the worldwide whistle-up to mark the first day of Railway 200. On 21st, 22nd, and 23rd March 2025, visitors with a National Lottery ticket or scratch card can take free tours of Boston Lodge works as part of the National Lottery Open Week.