As part of a new interpretation project, the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways, Britain’s longest preserved steam railway, is asking people living between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Caernarfon, and beyond, to come forward with their railway stories.
These may include family history of ancestors who worked on the railways or how the railways impacted communities or lives.
The appeal is part of a National Lottery Heritage Fund project which will see a focus on new interpretation across both railways, as well as new building works at Boston Lodge, the Ffestiniog Railway works, where locomotives and carriages have been built and maintained for almost 200 years. An ultimate objective of the project is to open Boston Lodge for guided tours in 2024.
The railways have not tried this approach before; it is an interesting departure for them. They are keen to encourage people to come forward because there must be an enormous fund of stories considering that railway development started in the 1830’s and has continued to the present day with the preservation era that began in the 1950’s.
Can these stories help the railway? Jim Embrey, the project’s Interpretation Officer, is convinced of this and has said “We know that many people locally have had grandparents and great grandparents who worked on the railway. Our aim is to capture their stories and to use them to enhance our visitors’ experience by telling them these tales and hopefully encourage them to make return visits”.
If people are interested in contributing their stories to the project, they can contact the Interpretation Officer. Those who wish to have a deeper involvement in the project, further researching the stories that come forward using the railway’s considerable archives, are invited to volunteer and will be given training to help in this work.
Jim Embrey is very keen to hear from people with interesting stories as well as those wanting to do the more detailed research, his email address is jembrey@ffwhr.com.
Fel rhan o brosiect dehongli newydd, mae Rheilffordd Ffestiniog ac Eryri, y rheilffordd stêm draddodiadol hiraf ym Mhrydain, yn gofyn i bobl sy’n byw rhwng Blaenau Ffestiniog a Chaernarfon, a thu hwnt, i ddod ymlaen gyda’u straeon am y rheilffyrdd.
Gall y rhain gynnwys hanesion teuluol am hynafiaid a oedd yn gweithio ar y rheilffyrdd, neu sut yr effeithiodd y rheilffyrdd ar gymunedau neu fywydau.
Mae’r apêl yn rhan o brosiect Cronfa Dreftadaeth y Loteri Genedlaethol a fydd yn canolbwyntio ar ddehongliadau newydd ar draws y ddwy reilffordd, yn ogystal â gwaith adeiladu newydd yn Boston Lodge, safle gweithdai Rheilffordd Ffestiniog, lle mae locomotifau a cherbydau wedi cael eu hadeiladu a’u cynnal a’u cadw ers bron i 200 mlynedd. Prif amcanion y prosiect yn y pen draw yw agor Boston Lodge ar gyfer teithiau tywys yn 2024.
Nid yw’r rheilffyrdd wedi rhoi cynnig ar y dull hwn o’r blaen; mae’n llwybr newydd diddorol yn eu hanes. Maen nhw’n awyddus i annog pobl i ddod ymlaen oherwydd mae’n rhaid bod llond trol o straeon i’w cael o gofio bod y gwaith o ddatblygu’r rheilffyrdd wedi dechrau yn yr 1830au, ac wedi parhau hyd heddiw, gyda’r cyfnod cadwraeth yn dechrau yn yr 1950au.
Ydy’r straeon hyn yn gallu helpu’r rheilffordd? Mae Jim Embrey, Swyddog Dehongli’r prosiect, yn siŵr o hynny a dywedodd “Rydyn ni’n gwybod bod gan lawer o bobl leol neiniau a theidiau, yn ogystal â hen neiniau a hen deidiau, a oedd yn gweithio ar y rheilffordd. Ein nod yw cofnodi eu straeon a’u defnyddio i wella profiad ein hymwelwyr drwy adrodd y straeon hyn wrthynt a, gobeithio, eu hannog i ymweld â ni eto.”
Os oes gan bobl ddiddordeb mewn cyfrannu eu straeon i’r prosiect, gallan nhw gysylltu â’r Swyddog Dehongli. Gallwch wirfoddoli os ydych yn dymuno cymryd mwy o ran yn y prosiect trwy ymchwilio ymhellach i’r straeon a gyflwynir gan ddefnyddio archifau sylweddol y rheilffordd, a byddwch yn cael hyfforddiant i helpu gyda’r gwaith hwn. Mae Jim Embrey yn awyddus iawn i glywed gan bobl sydd â straeon diddorol yn ogystal â’r rheini sy’n awyddus i wneud yr ymchwil manylach. Cysylltwch trwy anfon neges e-bost at jembrey@ffwhr.com.