Welsh Highland Railway Limited

The Welsh Highland Railway Ltd operates a narrow gauge steam railway in Porthmadog in order to revive and preserve the spirit of the original railway that closed in 1937. The charity owns, maintains and operates Russell, the sole surviving steam engine from the original railway, now over 100 years old, together with other heritage rolling stock and artefacts. A new museum building opened in 2009.

In the charity's own words, from the register.

In Wales

• Gwynedd

Area of benefit in its governing document: Gwynedd

The places the charity told the Commission it works in.

In the year ending 31 December 2025, it had income of £205,520 and spent £147,470.

Figures as the charity reported them to the Charity Commission. Staff and volunteer numbers are only asked of charities with income over £10,000. A year with no row was not reported.

Separate measures from the charity's own returns and accounts, each with its year. Read them together: no single measure says how well a charity is run.

Income over time

Up 79%, from £114,971 in the year to 31 December 2021 to £205,520 in the year to 31 December 2025.

Spending against income

It spent 72% of its income in the year to 31 December 2025. It spent less than its income in each of the 5 years shown.

From the annual returns the charity filed with the Charity Commission. The largest funder comes from its accounts, read by AI.

Government grants in the year ending 31 December 2025: Not reported. Government contracts: Not reported.

From the charity's annual return to the Charity Commission, which asks every charity with income over £10,000 how much came from government grants and contracts. It does not say which part of government. These totals are separate from the named funders read from its accounts and the grants published on 360Giving, and are not added to them.

No grants to this charity appear in 360Giving data.

Only funders that publish their grants to 360Giving are included, and many do not. These are amounts funders awarded, which can differ from what the charity received in a given year, so they are shown apart from the accounts figures above.

Council business that names this charity, from the records councils publish, gathered by OpenCouncil. Newest first.

• 28 September 2026, Gwynedd

  Named in an agenda item or minute of Planning Committee

  Application No C25/0946/44/EIA Land Along The A483 Corridor, Porthmadog

  Read the meeting record

We count a mention only when the record gives the charity's full registered name or its charity number. A mention shows the charity was named in that record. Follow the link to read what the record says.

Senedd and Welsh Government records that name this charity, gathered by OpenSenedd. Newest first.

• 8 March 2024

  Named in a written question from Gareth Davies

  Addressed to the Minister for Economy.

  …vehicle parking facilities at their station in Devils Bridge. Under the same programme, Visit Wales provided support of £1,084,368 to the Welsh Highland Railway towards the construction of a new station at Caernarfon. During the early Covid pandemic, Cadw helped to distribute financial support from…

  Read the record

• 20 September 2023

  Named by Sam Rowlands in the Senedd

  …h around £0.5 billion to the economy. You'll be aware of some significant heritage railways in my patch, in north Wales—the Ffestiniog and Welsh highland railway partially running through the region, attracting around 200,000 visitors a year. And there is, of course, also the Llangollen to Corwen ra…

  Read the record

We count a mention only when the record gives the charity's full registered name or its charity number. A mention shows the charity was named in that record. Follow the link to read it in full.

8 trustees run the charity.

• Alex George WrayAppointed 13 September 2025
• Michael Mattocks ChapmanAppointed 1 August 2015
• Myles Oliver Stephen JonesAppointed 13 September 2025
• Nicholas John CutmoreAppointed 11 November 2023
• Nicholas PellAppointed 28 July 2018
• Oliver Samuel MannAppointed 11 November 2023
• Richard Alexander Sinclair
• Stephen George Wentworth Currin

Trustees are responsible in law for the charity. Names are as they appear on the public register.

Of the last 5 annual returns that were due, 5 arrived by the deadline.

Charities with income over £10,000 send an annual return within 10 months of their year end, and those over £25,000 also send their accounts. Smaller charities only update their income and spending on the register. The dates are when the Commission received each document.

Charity number

1039817

Status

Registered

Registered with the Commission

28 July 1994

Governing document

MEMORANDUM AND ARTICLES OF ASSOCIATION INCORPORATED ON 30 JANUARY 1964 AS AMENDED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION DATED 1 MAY 1994 AND AMENDED 25 JULY 1996 AS AMENDED BY SPECIAL RESOLUTION OF 26 JUNE 2004 as amended on 28 Jul 2007

Company number

00790125This company on OpenEconomyThis company on Companies House

Website

www.whr.co.ukAs the charity gave it on the register.

Council area of its contact address

Gwynedd

• Register details, income, spending, trustees and filing dates: Charity Commission for England and Wales, register of charities. Loaded by OpenEconomy on 2 November 2026.
• Grants awarded: 360Giving open grants data, from funders that publish there, as loaded by OpenEconomy.
• In council meetings: councils' published meeting records, gathered by OpenCouncil and matched to the charity by OpenEconomy on 4 November 2026.
• In the Senedd and Welsh Government: records gathered by OpenSenedd and matched to the charity by OpenEconomy on 5 November 2026.

• This charity on the Charity Commission register
• 360Giving open grants data
• This charity on OpenEconomy

• OpenCouncil: council records that name this charity
• OpenSenedd: Senedd records that name this charity
• OpenCouncil: Gwynedd Council's meetings and decisions
• OpenEconomy: Gwynedd's economy in figures
• OpenSenedd: the Members of the Senedd for Gwynedd Maldwyn
• OpenSenedd: the Members of the Senedd for Bangor Conwy Môn