The meeting was backed up by correspondence between David Pollock and the County Solicitor and Secretary in November/December 1988, in which Pollock asked for the matter to be kept strictly confidential and specifically that WHLR (1964) Ltd should not be informed. GCC appear not to have accepted the FR's approach, although they did at least keep it confidential for the time being. On 6 November 1989 GCC reiterated its partnership with WHLR (1964) Ltd, signalling that it was ready to go ahead with the planned purchase of the trackbed from the OR for £1 and was ready to go to the High Court with the OR, to sanction the sale. At around this time, it is likely that the OR contacted the solicitors representing the FR, requiring to know the identity of the secret bidder, as he would need to declare all the interested parties at the forthcoming High Court hearing. In order to continue an interest in the WHR, the FR realised it would have to reveal its identity. First, though, the FR asked for another meeting with GCC and this took place on 21 December. At this meeting GCC produced a study which concluded that there was in fact room for two tourist railways in Porthmadog; and they said they were keen to facilitate this. At this point the FR presented a complete about-face from the position they had taken over a year earlier. The FR informed the council that they were "in the business of Railway conservation and do not wish to close any railway capable of viable development" (The WHR was of course already closed.) This apparent shift in the policies of the FR may have been helped by a number of directors and officers who pushed for, and eventually financed, a greater involvement in the restoration of the WHR. There are some doubts as to whether this apparent about-face was a truly sincere one at this time, or whether they were merely trying to break up the partnership between GCC and the WHLR (1964) Ltd – on the principle of "divide and rule". The FR still sought to acquire the trackbed, but now they claimed they wanted to lease the trackbed to the WHLR (1964) Ltd, in the same way GCC were proposing to do. As a result, GCC urged the FR to speak to WHLR (1964) Ltd. Over Christmas 1989, David Pollock contacted the chairman of WHLR (1964) Ltd, Ken Dicks, asking him for a meeting, which was held on 5 January 1990. Pollock revealed the FR's identity as the secret bidder and set out the FR's policy as set out to GCC on 21 December, offering to become the WHLR (1964) Ltd's landlord instead of GCC.