Boston Lodge facts for kids

Boston Lodge works seen from a passing train

Boston Lodge yard, 1995

Boston Lodge is a special place in Minffordd, Penrhyndeudraeth, in north-west Wales. It's about a mile from Porthmadog, across a long path called 'The Cob'. This place is super important for the Ffestiniog Railway. It's where the railway's main workshops are located. Here, they build and fix locomotives (train engines) and carriages (passenger cars).

Boston Lodge also has its own small train station. The name 'Boston Lodge' came from Boston, Lincolnshire. This was the hometown of William Madocks, who owned the land here a long time ago.

Building the Cob and Early Days

The Great Causeway

The 'Cob' is a long path that links two areas across the River Glaslyn. Building it started in 1807 and finished in 1811. Workers dug out huge amounts of stone from both sides. This created the land where the railway workshops are today at Boston Lodge. The Cob itself is about 1 mile (1.6 km) long and 24 feet (7.3 m) wide at the top. It was a big project to reclaim land from the sea.

First Buildings at Boston Lodge

The Boston Lodge site first held buildings for the 150 men working on the Cob. There were also stables for horses and smithies for metalwork. These horses and wagons carried the heavy stones.

When the Ffestiniog Railway started using horses in 1836, these buildings were used again. Since then, Boston Lodge has always been a busy place for the railway.

The Ffestiniog Railway Works

Growing the Workshops

From 1847 to 1851, the workshops at Boston Lodge grew a lot. New buildings were added, like places to make metal parts (foundries). There were also shops for making patterns, doing blacksmith work, and carpentry. A steam engine was installed to power machines for cutting wood and working with metal.

In the 1870s, more shops were built for painting and joining wood. An 'erecting shop' was also added. This is where big engines like the double Fairlie engines Merddin Emrys (built 1879) and Livingston Thompson (built 1885) were put together. Before 1915, about 30 people worked here.

World War I and Later Years

During World War I, Boston Lodge changed. From 1915 to 1919, it became a munitions factory. Many women worked there making war supplies. After the war, the railway and its workshops faced tough times. They closed completely from 1947 to 1954.

Bringing the Railway Back to Life

The Preservation Era Begins

The workshops at Boston Lodge reopened on September 20, 1954. Since then, many old buildings have been fixed up. New machines and modern ways of working have been brought in. More workshops and storage areas for trains have also been built.

The main job of the works now is to restore and preserve the railway's historic locomotives and carriages. They also build brand new steam engines and passenger cars. Plus, they keep all the Ffestiniog Railway's vehicles running smoothly.

Working for Other Railways

Boston Lodge is so good at what it does, it even helps other railways! In 1977, they designed a system to make the "Owain Glyndwr" locomotive run on oil for the Vale of Rheidol Railway. They have also restored steam engines and built replica passenger coaches for other railways.

A New Heritage Centre

In 1998, the Ffestiniog Railway Trust received a big grant of £375,000. This money helped build an extension to the carriage workshop. This new part is called the 'Heritage Centre'. It's a safe place to restore old, historic railway vehicles. They have restored many Victorian-era passenger coaches. They also restored about 50 slate wagons, showing the different types used in the local slate industry.

Since 1993, Boston Lodge has also done a lot of work for the Welsh Highland Railway in Caernarfon. They have even built new passenger carriages for this railway.

How the Works are Laid Out

Aerial view of Boston Lodge

If you look at the aerial photo, you can see the end of the Cob. This is where the railway tracks turn into the works yard. The large white building in the front is actually two cottages. Next to them is the original 'Penrhyn Isa Cottage', which is now the railway's main office. All the other buildings in that area are part of the railway workshops and storage.

Below the railway tracks is the A487 road. In front of that is the old tollgate cottage from 1836. The road used to be on top of the Cob. But in 1836, a new road was built at a lower level. This lower road was widened in 2002 to make it safer for cars, and it now has a separate path for bikes and walkers.

The Old Toll Road

From 1811, you had to pay a small fee to use the Cob. Later, a new toll road and toll house were built. For many years, cars paid just one shilling (a small old coin) per day. After 1971, this became five pence.

In the late 1970s, a charity called "The Rebecca Trust" bought the tollgate. They continued to collect the toll and gave the money to local charities. But on March 29, 2003, the Welsh Assembly Government bought the tollgate. The toll, which was still just five pence, stopped being collected forever!

Locomotives Built at Boston Lodge

Boston Lodge has built many famous locomotives for the Ffestiniog Railway. Here are some of them:

Number	Name	Image	Wheel arrangement	Date Built	Interesting Facts
10	Merddin Emrys		0-4-0+0-4-0T	1879	This is the oldest working Double Fairlie engine on the railway. It's named after a Welsh poet. It has been updated over the years, including being changed from burning oil to burning coal.
11	Livingston Thompson		0-4-0+0-4-0T	1886	This engine is no longer in service. It has been restored and is now on display at the National Railway Museum in York.
-	Earl of Merioneth		0-4-0+0-4-0T	1979	This was the first Double Fairlie engine built by the Ffestiniog Railway after it was restored. It was designed to burn coal but was first used with oil. It was changed back to coal in 2007. It stopped running on April 8, 2018.
12	David Lloyd George		0-4-0+0-4-0T	1992	This is the newest Double Fairlie engine in the world and is still in service today.
9	Taliesin		0-4-4T	1999	This is the railway's only Single Fairlie engine. The original engine was damaged in 1935. This one is a replica, built in 1999, using a few parts from the old one. It's named after another Welsh poet.
14	Lyd		2-6-2T	2010	This engine is a copy of a Manning Wardle locomotive that used to run on the Lynton and Barnstaple Railway.
8	James Spooner		0-4-0+0-4-0T	Under Construction	This engine is currently being built. It will replace the Earl of Merioneth when it is finished.