National Railway Heritage Award (NRHA) Ceremony at Penrhyn Station

On Saturday 5^th July a ceremony was held at Penrhyn station to formally unveil two plaques which marked the completion of the project for renovating the external side of the Penrhyn Station building, an accomplishment that won the National Railway Heritage Award for a Volunteer Project in 2024.

The project was originally undertaken due to rotting in a lot of the external timber cladding. Due to the Grade 2 Listing of the building, Listed Building officers were invited to the site before the project commenced so that it could be agreed what work would be acceptable and what was not.

Work to the building included fitted insulation and waterproofing to the walls which had to be propped up in places to renew the frame of the building. Plastic gutters were also replaced with cast iron at the rear and chimneys were rebuilt where necessary.

The volunteers involved in the project were invited to the ceremony plus a guest if they wished, this included Paul Scarisbrick, a retired Architect, who volunteered helping specify what was required to gain Listed Building approval. Other attendees included representatives from the NRHA, Network Rail, the sponsors of the award and a local councillor.

Representing the NRHA was Andy Savage, the Chairman and long-time FR volunteer; Robert Heywood and Gavin Johns, one of the two judges who judged the project back in July 2024.

Gavin had attended a tour of Boston Lodge with FFWHR General Manager; Paul Lewin on Friday, judging the Boston Lodge project as part of the Award process for 2025.

Meryl Roberts, the local Gwynedd County Councillor and Chair of Penrhyn Town Council also attended the ceremony.

The Ffestiniog Railway were represented by a number of staff and volunteers including Iain Wilkinson, Kate Knowles and Phil Hawkins.

The ceremony started with introductions by Alan Norton before speeches from Andy Savage, Gwyn Rees (Network Rail) and Meryl Roberts.

Following the speeches, the two plaques were unveiled by Sue and Tim Sharp, two of the regular volunteers on the project. The plaques are placed either side of the entrance door, through which volunteers go when they are staying in the hostel.

After this, attendees travelled in a reserved coach on the Mountain Spirit to Tan y Bwlch where there were opportunities to have a look at the current project of renovating Station House. 

All in all, a very successful day and a fitting way to celebrate the renovation of Penrhyn Station.