By the early 1860s Llan Ffestiniog had largely become a dormitory town supplying workers to the slate industry around Blaenau Ffestiniog. The quarries at Blaenau were connected to the harbour at Porthmadog by the recently built Festiniog Railway (FR) and as a result were able to significantly increase their output and profitability. However the FR was struggling to cope ("hopelessly overburdened" according to the standard work on the F&BR) with the volume of traffic from the quarries and some owners - notably Samuel Holland, later to be a local MP - were looking for other outlets for their product at lower charges.