‘Have a Go’ workshops – Build a carriage!

COME AND BUILD A CARRIAGE IN A WEEKEND… THE ULTIMATE KIT BUILD..!

To kick off our programme of ‘Have a Go’ training workshops, we are hosting a free 4-day ‘Build a Carriage’ workshop between Friday, 12th – Monday, 15th July 2024.

During this unique workshop, participants will help assemble an entire carriage body framework in our world-renowned Boston Lodge Carriage Workshops.

Our skilled carpenters have been machining all the timber to assemble the latest carriage body to be built at Boston Lodge and a dry fit of all these accurately machined components is now being checked.

This means participants will see a complete frame on the first day of the workshop, then help to disassemble it in full. The methodical work of a ‘wet fit’ will then follow as the frame is glued, assembled, clamped and checked many times. Barring any major issues, the final day of the workshop should end with group photos around a complete carriage body.

Tea, Coffee and Cold drinks will be provided and the odd Cake might appear but participants will need to bring their own lunch, old clothes, overalls and safety boots.

The workshop which takes place between 09:00 – 16:30 on all four days will be limited to 5 participants and will fill on a first come first served basis.

Please note: Participants are expected to arrive at Boston Lodge themselves (there will be no shuttle trains available) and will need to be reasonably physically able with some basic practical skills. Joinery skills or advanced knowledge of carriage building are not necessary.

Participants for this workshop must be 16 years or older. 

If you are interested but not only available on these dates (or all of these dates), please do still get in touch as we may still be able to get you involved on fewer or alternative dates.

This workshop is provided free of charge thanks to support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund, Ffestiniog Railway Society and FfWHR Trust.

To enquire further or book your place, please contact Iain Wilkinson: iwilkinson@ffwhr.com

This workshop is the first in a series of ‘Have a Go’ workshops so keep a look out for further dates during 2024.