I have only just found this Board and have enjoyed looking at the photos of the Ffestiniog Railway, plus Llangollen railway, Flying Scotsman and more. The trips I had on the Ffestiniog Railway and Llangollen Railway were always a wonderful experience. It is due to the hard work of the volunteers that we can relive the days of steam and trains as they used to be (better than these days).
The railways of North Wales are in my blood, could be in the genes too. My mother worked for the LMS in Llandudno station and Deganwy station in WW2. My grandfather was on the LMS but started on the LNER. He was in Llandudno, the Junction and other stations from time to time. He then went on to the commercial side of things and built up that business. He was once offered Chester station but my grandmother refused to move to Chester (from Llandudno), saying it was too damp. She claimed the river brought in the damp and the walls held it in. My gt grandfather started in Mold and later went to Holyhead where he remained until he retired. Then a gt gt grandfather worked in Mold station from 1851 until he died in the 1880s. He started as a Porter and worked his way up to Head Porter!
I am sure I remember my mother talking about the Flying Scotsman coming to Llandudno and breaking speed records for the journey to London. She told me the time it took for the journey and it was less than the current Virgin trains. Does anyone know if that was right?
The train travel in WW2 sounded as though Llandudno station was at its heyday with all the troops coming in and evacuees arriving from London etc.
Helig