A £4.2 million project to redevelop historic railway workshops has been given a cash boost by the Heritage Lottery Fund of more than £150,000.

The fund has awarded the project initial support of £153,400 to enable them to develop the project plans and apply for a full National Lottery Grant of £3,144,100 at a later date.

Projects chosen by the Heritage Lottery Fund have up to two years to complete the development phase and submit an application for the full funding amount.

These detailed proposals are then considered by The National Lottery Heritage Fund at the second round, where a final decision is made on the full funding award.

The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway project to redevelop the railway’s historic workshops at Boston Lodge has two primary aims.

The first highlight the historical significance of the Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways and the second is to secure the future of the historic railway works site at Boston Lodge, near Porthmadog, by conserving the remaining 19th century buildings to ensure that they can continue to function effectively into the 21st century.

Project director and the railway’s general manager, Paul Lewin, said: “The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways have an impressive track record of delivering ambitious projects.

“This project is intended to extend that record, and builds on recent success working with the NLHF Skills for the Future project.

“For Boston Lodge Works the project comes not a moment too soon. The reputation and importance of this workshop is known far and wide in the heritage railway and industrial history sectors and yet, before our eyes, the very fabric of the site and its heritage buildings is crumbling.

“Some new buildings have been included in the plans, with the objective of ensuring that in future these will accommodate the lion’s share of heavy engineering work, thus permitting the conservation and more gentle use of the older buildings."

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