A Harz narrow gauge steam train departs Westerntor with a Ffestiniog Steam 150 logo on it's smokebox last weekend - Date/Photographer unknown.
6 May 2013 HSB Congratulations on 150  Wernigerode Germany - Since 2006, the Harz narrow gauge railways GmbH (HSB) have been in partnership with one of Britain's most significant heritage railways, the Ffestiniog Railway of Wales.
Last weekend, the Ffestiniog celebrated a very special anniversary.
In celebration two HSB steam trains also ran from Wernigerode and Nordhausen on 4 and 5 May 2013 with a Steam 150 logo to acknowledge the anniversary of their Welsh partner.
For many years the Ffestiniog Railway has been one of the leading tourist attractions in the UK and has become even more important by successive line extensions.
The Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railway runs on a track width of 597 millimetres (1 foot - 11 1/2 inches).
One of the world famous "Great Little Trains of Wales" the railway today operates a series of different steam locomotives over a route of 62 kilometres (38.5 miles).
The Ffestiniog Railway is the oldest independent railway company in the world.
Beginning with horse-drawn railway cars in 1836 the railway was converted to steam operation in 1863.
The primary cargo was slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog which was transported from the quarries in the mountains to the port at the small coastal town of Porthmadog where it was shipped all over the world.
After the volume of goods declined rapidly, and passenger service came to a halt in the throes of World War II, the railway became completely silent by 1946.
Railway enthusiasts, awakened in 1954, brought the railway back to life in stages to where it is now receiving worldwide attention.
For years the Ffestiniog Railway and the Harz narrow gauge railways have had close and friendly co-operation.
This was made official in 2006 with an international partnership agreement.
The partnership includes regular visits by locomotive and railway personnel to each railway.
In April 2014, fourteen employees from the HSB worked the lines of the Ffestiniog Railway for several days.
On occasion of the Ffestiniog's 150th Anniversary two steam trains of the HSB carried the special Steam 150 logo on their smokeboxes to convey congratulations from the Harz railway workers.
Author unknown.
Loosely translated from German by Google but with additional assumptions and corrections by this editor.
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