Editing Conwy Valley line (section)

==Steam workings==
[[File:LMS 48151 at Llandudno Junction.JPG|225px|thumb|right|LMS 8F no 48151 waiting to depart from Llandudno Jcn with "The Welsh Mountaineer" on Tue 19 August 2014.]]
[[File:61994 The Great Marquess resting in Blaenau Ffestiniog.jpg|225px|thumb|right|LNER K4 no 61994 The Great Marquess in the loop at Blaenau Ffestiniog after arriving with "The Welsh Mountaineer" on Tue 29 July 2014.]]

1998 the first steam working in the preservation era was to run back to [[Blaenau Ffestiniog]] from [[London]] behind a [[BR Standard Class 4 2-6-4T|BR Standard 4 Tank]] no 80079. The first attempt up the route on 2 May 1998 ended in failure as the engine stalled near [[Pont-y-Pant railway station|Pont-y-Pant]] and due to the water supply running low resulted in the train having to be rescued and then returned to [[Llandudno]]. A second attempt a day later, this time with just four coaches instead of the previous six, proved successful, with 80079 becoming the first standard gauge steam locomotive in Blaenau for 31 years.

On 1 May 1999 [[LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0|LMS black 5]] no 45407 worked "The Conwy Climber" tour from Llandudno Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog. From the lessons learnt with 80079, it was decided that although 45407 was a power class 5 engine (The BR standard being power class 4) 45407 would take a maximum of four coaches up the line while working solo. 45407 first took four coaches up to Blaenau without problems and then returned light engine to Llandudno Junction to collect the remaining four coaches. The eight coaches were then coupled together for the return trip to Llandudno Junction.<ref>{{Cite web| url=http://www.penmorfa.com/Conwy/steam1.html| title=Steam to Blaenau Ffestiniog in 1998 and 1999| website=penmorfa.com}}</ref>

Five months later on 17 October the BR Standard tank no 80079 returned for a rematch on the route, this time she was to haul four coaches instead of six, and she was working the trip with another member of her class no 80098. Once again 80079 slipped to a stand near Pont-y-Pant and 80098, which had been waiting with the second portion of the train at Llanrwst, was detached to bank 80079 up to Blaenau. Thereafter the two engines double-headed the remaining four coaches before reforming the train to eight coaches for the journey back to Llandudno.

In 2009, after a 10-year gap since the BR Standard tanks had worked up the route, The Railway Touring Company ran a special under the name "The Welsh Mountaineer" from Worcester to Blaenau Ffestiniog with two LMS Black 5s working the train from Llandudno Junction for the journey up the route to Blaenau. The Black 5s chosen for the trip were [[Bert Hitchen]]'s no. [[LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 5231|45231, The Sherwood Forester]] and Ian Riley's no. 45407, The Lancashire Fusilier. The locos' support coaches were left at Llandudno for the journey, leaving them with a load of nine coaches to take up the line's 1 in 47 gradient. After the success of this trip a number of regular "Welsh Mountaineer" trips are run on some Tuesdays from [[Preston, Lancashire|Preston]] to Blaenau during the summer months, and today these trips are still running. Unlike the trip with 45231 and 45407 which hauled nine coaches, steam engines on their own are only permitted to haul upo to six coaches, owing to the gradient and curvature of the track.

Other than the trip in 2009 which ran from Worcester the majority of trips ran from Preston to Blaenau via [[Warrington]] and [[Frodsham]] before joining the North Wales Coast Line at [[Chester]] for the journey to Llandudno Junction. From Preston to Chester the engines run in the usual chimney-first formation and from Chester after turning on the triangular junction the engine runs tender first to Llandudno Junction, where the tour would reverse direction.

===Storm Gareth damage and reopening special===
[[File:48151 & 45690 Leander parked up side by side in Blaenau Ffestiniog.jpg|225px|thumb|right|48151 & 45690 Leander parked up side by side after arriving with "The Conwy Quest" railtour on Sat 3 August 2019.]]
[[File:Rheilffordd Dyffryn Conwy headboard.jpg|225px|thumb|right|The headboard that was worn by the [[LMS Stanier Class 8F|LMS 8F]] no [[LMS Stanier Class 8F 8151|48151]] during "The Conwy Quest" railtour.]]
In March 2019 the route was temporarily closed following multiple washouts along the route inflicted by [[Storm Gareth]]. The damage from the storm had left sections of the line suspended in the air as the embankments had been washed away, and other sections were under water, which made the route unsafe for rail traffic.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/pictures-show-significant-damage-train-15990628| title=Images reveal 'significant' damage to train line shut after severe flooding| first=Sarah| last=Hodgson| date=29 March 2019| website=NorthWalesLive}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.conwyvalleyrailway.co.uk/2019/03/22/fascinating-drone-footage-reveals-extensive-damage-on-conwy-valley-line/| title=Fascinating drone footage reveals extensive damage on Conwy Valley Line| date=March 22, 2019| website=Conwy Valley and North West Wales Coast Community Rail Partnership}}</ref> "[[Transport for Wales Rail]]" services had to be cancelled as a result of the damage, and replacement bus services ran, calling at stations along the route, while the line was closed to all rail traffic including charter trains.

Following repair work, the line from Llandudno Junction to North Llanwrst was re-opened on 24 July 2019; the rest of the route would reopen in August. To mark the full reopening of the line, [[Transport for Wales Rail]] in co-operation with [[West Coast Railways]] ran a train called "The Conwy Quest" from Chester to Blaenau Ffestiniog via Llandudno Junction on Saturday 3 August.<ref>{{cite web| url=https://tfwrail.wales/the-conwy-quest/| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200925094512/https://tfwrail.wales/the-conwy-quest/| archive-date=September 25, 2020| title=The Conwy Quest Railtour, Sat 3rd Aug 2019| website=Transport for Wales}}</ref>

The trip was to be worked by two steam locomotives, and the two engines chosen for the trip were Chris Beet's [[LMS Jubilee Class]] no. [[LMS Jubilee Class 5690 Leander|45690 Leander]] and David Smith's [[LMS Stanier Class 8F|LMS 8F Class]] no. [[LMS Stanier Class 8F 8151|48151]]. Like the run in 2009, the locos hauled nine coaches up the branch, including the support coach, and the two engines ran tender first to Llandudno Junction; but this time the trip was steam-hauled throughout instead of being hauled by a diesel to the junction.

Locos that have visited the route in recent years include: [[LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 4932|44932]], [[LMS Stanier Class 5 4-6-0 5231|45231 The Sherwood Forester]], 45407 The Lancashire Fusilier, 45690 Leander, [[LMS Royal Scot Class 6115 Scots Guardsman|46115 Scots Guardsman]],<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/historic-steam-train-arrives-gwynedd-13385877| title=Historic steam train arrives in Gwynedd from Preston| first=Eryl| last=Crump| date=25 July 2017| website=NorthWalesLive}}</ref> 48151<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.nwrail.org.uk/nw1008a.htm| title=The Welsh Mountaineer| website=North Wales Coast Railway: Notice Board| date=2 August 2010| access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref> and [[LNER Gresley K4 61994 The Great Marquess|61994 The Great Marquess]].<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.penmorfa.com/Conwy/61994.htm| title=61994, Preston to Blaenau Ffestiniog, 21 August 2012| website=Penmorfa.com| access-date=31 May 2017}}</ref>