An historic narrow gauge railway will use lottery cash to teach people heritage skills to maintain the tracks and rolling stock.
The Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways, which runs tourist services from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Caernarfon via Porthmadog, have received a £464,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) under its Skills for the Future programme for its Heritage Trainees project.
Twenty people will be offered year-long traineeships to develop their heritage skills, gain a greater understanding of the broader heritage scene and act as messengers for heritage within communities not normally associated with strong heritage links.
The program is expected to commence next spring with the first 10 trainees in post by the autumn.
Paul Lewin, director and general manager said: “Our railway thrives because of the tremendous range of skills that our team has built up over many decades.
“We are very pleased we have the opportunity to share those skills with others for the benefit of the wider heritage sector in Wales.
“We are also looking forward to the positive impacts on our own organisation that opening our doors to the wider community will bring.”
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The Ffestiniog Railway was first opened in 1836 and after closure in 1946 was reopened in the mid-1950s by enthusiasts.
The 13-mile line to Blaenau Ffestiniog was completely reopened in 1982. Work to reopen the Welsh Highland Railway began in the mid-1990s and was completed in 2009 offering passengers a spectacular, 40-mile journey through the heart of Snowdonia.
The National Lottery is investing £10.1m in 18 projects across the UK to help train a new generation of heritage craftspeople, digital specialists and entrepreneurs.
Sir Peter Luff, chairman of the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), said: “There is no quick fix to this problem. The heritage sector has been slow in widening the profile of its work force and as a consequence is on a long-term learning curve.
“We wanted to build on the legacy of our existing targeted skills funding – £47m to date – and make a further financial commitment of just over £10m.”
The funding is part of a wider commitment made by HLF in the Government’s Culture White Paper.
It will address specific skills shortages to ensure our buildings, landscapes, species, industrial heritage and museum and archive collections are sustained for the future, as well as developing important public engagement skills.
Tracey Crouch, Heritage Minister, said: “Investing in new heritage talent will ensure we build a more sustainable sector, protect our treasured history and continue to attract visitors from across the globe.
“I’m delighted to see money raised by National Lottery players being used to train and develop people’s skills and deliver on our promise in the Culture White Paper.”
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