The first major project on which I have worked. this was for my degree with the open university and had to be on something to do with Wales. Having always enjoyed reading about the history of the railways, I really wanted to do something on the railways of Wales. After flicking around various websites before the module started, I noticed that the Ffestiniog railway has been an independent company since it was created in 1832. Even with the railways act 1921 and nationalisation. So, I wondered why that would be. As the module progressed it looked like I might need to expand on the subject to fulfil the 7000 word limit imposed. so, changes were made to look at either why Wales had more railways than any other nation in the United Kingdom relative to its size or look at the industrial railways of Wales. I pitched these to my tutor who stated I would need to cut them down and pinpoint my research or there would not be enough space to explore it properly. with which I explained my original proposal and was given the green light for it. About 3 month later, it was ready for sending in. on the off chance I also sent it to the Ffestiniog Heritage Society to see if they would like to publish it in their magazine, which they heartedly agreed to. when this is released, I will post a link to the article for your enjoyment. Being on my own for the research to this project was daunting at first wondering how I was going to get the information for this project. but as I went along, I found many area on the internet to glean information from, such as the archive for acts of parliament, which allowed me to look at relevant acts. There was also the relevant museums and heritage centres for the railways involved with the history. contacting the archivists at these places was invaluable with which direction to go and sources within their archives.