It’s here!!!!

On Wednesday 15^th April the much anticipated Snowdon Mountain Goat period carriage arrived onsite. At 7:30am the engineering staff arrived onsite to ensure the delivery went smoothly and the meet the crane required to lift the carriage onto the track.

The crane is patiently waiting for the carriage. \But where is it?

As 8:00am arrived, to our shock, the carriage didn’t! As we wondered where it could be somebody jokingly said, “I bet it has got stuck in the road works just outside the village”. Either way the carriage finally arrived after 9:00am. Onlookers were amazed by the vivid carmine red livery and intricate detailing of the wood and metal work.

Belatedly the carriage arrived

Lifting onto the track was completed in no time at all.

Lifting the carriage onto the tracks was efficiently completed in less than one hour.

Over the next week to ten days our fitters onsite will be fitting the guard rail,calibrating the automated brakes, applying decals and then commissioning will begin for the carriage to be ready for the 1^st May 2015.

The carriage was ready to be shunted into the shed for finishing touches before commissioning. 

Second Heritage Steam Carriage 2015.

The first Heritage Steam Carriage launched 2013 had a specific “female” identity synonymous with the Mountain and our sense of place i.e. The Snowdon Lily.

In addition the new carriage explored our relationship with our original company – “The Snowdon Mountain Tramroad and Hotel Company Limited” est 1896 and indeed the original livery of cream and brown was used to finish the carriage. The first Heritage steam carriage has been such a success we want to repeat the process but give the new vehicle an original identity of its own.

The Snowdon Lily. Which entered service in June 2013.

Our second heritage steam carriage will have another theme synonymous with the Mountain and our sense of place . The new carriage will have a bright new livery that reflects the heritage of locomotive No 5 that is being refurbished to push the carriage just as it did in 1896 onwards. The new livery is a bright Swiss red with the legends in either gold or chrome silver (depending on which looks best on the carriage ) . The name of the carriage is “The Snowdon Mountain Goat” which again combines unique Welsh wildlife , is a good name for Welsh translation and has a resonance as the new carriage will be climbing the mountain just as the wild goats do.

A very early picture showing the original enclosed and open topped carriages.

Like the Snowdon Lily , we will carry the same legends on the carriage. On the top of the carriage will be the Snowdon Mountain Tramroads company name board. On the doors will be the Welsh name on one and the English translation on the other , repeated both sides. On the centre side of the carriage will be the SMT  1896 logo but this time flanked by two leaping mountain goats .