An initiative in Gwynedd is exploring a path toward sustainability for two distinct sectors: heritage steam railways and livestock farming. The Continuity Biocoal Project, developed in collaboration with partners in Wales and Ireland, is investigating a biomass-based fuel—such as torrefied olive stones and wood—designed to emulate traditional coal for steam engines.

MP Liz Saville Roberts visited Fferm Tynyclwt to see the project firsthand as part of the nationwide Railway 200 campaign. She noted that the initiative offers a potential lifeline to heritage railways that face mounting environmental pressures and increasingly expensive, dwindling supplies of traditional coal. The project, she added, shows how Wales can lead in climate-conscious innovation.

Colin Keyse, involved with the work, acknowledged the technical challenge of upgrading a Biocoal product, which already exists for general heating, to be a viable fuel for moving historic locomotives. While their small on-farm plant primarily produces BiocharBiochar is a carbon-rich material created from biomass decomposition in low-oxygen conditions. It has important applications in environmental remediation, soil improvement, agriculture, carbon sequestration, energy storage, and sustainable materials, promoting efficiency and reducing waste in various contexts while addressing climate change challenges. More for local agricultural use, they are working to refine the Biocoal process to support Wales’ important tourism industry.

Historian Bob Gwynne, who advises the Llangollen Railway, views the development as a crucial initial step. He believes torrefied biomassBiomass is a complex biological organic or non-organic solid product derived from living or recently living organism and available naturally. Various types of wastes such as animal manure, waste paper, sludge and many industrial wastes are also treated as biomass because like natural biomass these More shows promise as a substitute for coal in some operations, particularly shorter lines without steep gradients. Critically, the technology also offers significant benefits to agriculture, such as helping to deliver clean water, making the burnable fuel a valuable byproduct of this farming application.

As the heritage rail sector searches for alternatives, this Fferm Tynyclwt scheme demonstrates how local innovation, potentially aligning farming and technology, could lead to a solution for keeping some of Wales’ steam heritage running in a more sustainable manner.