The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways (F&WHR) will be taking part in the worldwide whistle-up to mark the first day of the railway’s bicentenary year.

On Wednesday (1 January, New Year’s Day) at noon, the Railways will be ‘Whistling for Wales’ as their contribution to the ‘steamy salute’.

Initially planned as a national UK event, the Whistle-Up has been joined by overseas heritage railways to become a global event.

The F&WHR have arranged for enthusiasts to join in the celebration either in person or online.

Hunslet locomotives 2-4-0STT ‘Linda’ and No. 589 ‘Blanche’ will sound their whistles.

Linda benefitted from an overhaul a year ago. Linda and Blanche feature on a mug available from RailAdvent’s shop.

Passengers on the morning ‘Christmas Mountain Spirit‘ will hear the whistles as the train passes round the Dduallt spiral.

In Porthmadog, 0-4-0 Hunslet quarry steam locomotive ‘Hugh Napier‘ and 1864-built saddle tank locomotive ‘Palmerston‘ will be in operation. One or both of them will be at Harbour station, where enthusiasts can watch and photograph them.

The F&WHR will be live streaming on their Facebook page from Rhyd Ddu. General Manager Paul Lewin will welcome viewers to watch locomotive NG/G16 No.143, as it hauls the ‘Christmas Cwellyn’ train from Caernarfon.

The Welsh Highland Railway is the UK’s longest heritage railway, running for twenty-five miles from Caernarfon to Porthmadog. The Ffestiniog Railway also runs from Porthmadog, along a thirteen-and-a-half-mile route to the slate-quarrying town of Blaenau Ffestiniog.