The Ffestiniog Railway is probably the most famous of all steam railways. It started its life as a gravity driven track to take slate from the mountains down the 13 miles to Porthmadog and was drawn back uphill by horses. Later on it was converted to steam power and it reached its peak as a freight service around 1900.

The railway closed and fell into disuse at the end of the 2nd World War until 1954 when the first restoration works began. After several years the line was re-opened as far as Tan y Bwlch about 1 mile down from Plas y Dduallt.

After the 2nd World War a section of the disused line was flooded by the creation of a hydro electric reservoir which became the cause of the legendary, 17-year legal battle for compensation. This meant that the upper reaches of the line took many more years to restore and the service to Blaenau Ffestiniog did not open until 1982.

The revised route needed to run higher than the original route and to gain the necessary elevation a spiral was created at Dduallt Station (10 minutes walk from the house) whereby the train loops back over itself. This is the only example of a spiral in UK.