Welsh Highland Railway 

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Caenarfon Station: Refreshments, gifts, souvenirs

The West Highland Railway (WHR) was planned by Caernarfonshire local authorities to run between the harbour towns of Carnarvon and Porthmadoc (the English names were used at this time). Permission was delayed by the 1914-18 war but was granted in 1922. A train service started on 31 July 1922 with the line being completed by 1 June 1923. Unfortunately the railway was not a success, in 1927 it was declared bankrupt. The WHR carried on for a further ten years, passenger trains stopped in 1936 with freight service ending a year later. In 1941 the Ministry of Supply requisitioned the remains of the line for the war effort.

There were still many obstacles to overcome but eventually work started on the railway in 1997.  A service from Dinas to Waunfawr began on 30 June 2000, Rhyd Ddu was reached on 18 June 2003,  after this trains went to Hafod Llyn a distance of 19 miles. In 2010 the journey extended to Pont Croesor and in 2011 trains now run to Portmadog. Note that because there is only one platform at Porthmadog station space is limited, only two trains a day will make the complete journey from Caenarfon to Porthmadog  At other times the service will terminate at Pont Croesor

Llanberis Lake Railway

Address: Rheilffordd, Llyn Padam, Gilfach Ddu, Llanberis, Caenarfon, Gwynedd LL55 4TY
Telephone: 01286 870549  Email: info@lake-railway.co.uk
Line Length: 2½ miles  Gauge: 1ft 11½ inches 
Route: Penilyn to Llanberis  Journey Time: 1 hour (round trip)
Service: February 12 - 19, 21, 22, 28, 29 / March - Tuesdays & Wednesdays, 25, 29 / April - every day except 14, 21, 28 /May - every day except 12, 19, 26 / June - August every day / September every day except Saturdays / October - every day except Fridays, Saturdays / November - Tuesdays & Wednesdays, 1 - 3 / December 2, 4, 5, 8, 9, 15, 16 •
Tickets: Adult £7.50, Child £4.50, Family saver example £19.80 (2 adults and 2 children) return tickets
Parking: Gilfach Ddu Station LL55 4TY
Website: www.lake-railway.co.uk    YouTubevideo     location map

Gilfach Ddu Station: Refreshments, souvenirs, gifts, slate museum

Three steam locomotives are used by the railway they are No.1 'Elidir' built 1899; No.2 'Thomas Bach' built 1904 and No.3 'Dolbarn' built 1922. All of them worked in the local area hauling slate.

Further photographs of the Llanberis Lake Railway can be found in the Photo Gallery

Llanberis Station: Refreshments, Gifts, Souvenirs

There has only been one fatality on the SMR, this occurred on the first day of operation. A fault with the rack and pinion mechanism caused the train to run to run backwards, the driver jumped from the locomotive resulting in his death. A year later the problem had been corrected and to the present day there have been no similar setbacks.

Gradients are up to 1:5 so ordinary traction by rail would be impossible. Instead the locomotive has cog wheels that engage with teeth set within the track, this rack-and-pinion system was developed in Switzerland. The gauge used is 2ft 7½ inches, which is 800mm a popular size used by many mountain railways.. 

There are totally independent brakes on the carriage which is not  not coupled to the engine for safety reasons. Should the train ever start going too fast the brakes would be automatically applied.

The SMR has seven steam engines which were manufactured in Switzerland which date from 1895, 1896, 1922, at present four are operational they are: No.2 'Enid'; No.3 'Wyddfa'; No.4 'Snowdon' and No.6 'Padam'. Four diesel locomotives built in Britain are also used.

Ffestiniog Railway

The Festiniog Railway Company was formed in 1832 to transport slate from nearby mines to Port Madoc. At this time the English spelling was used for Festiniog and Port Madoc.

Wagons loaded with slate came down the line by force of gravity with a brakesman on one of the wagons to keep everything under control. Horses would pull the empty wagons back up the incline to the mines.

Two steam engines replaced the horses in 1863, a year later the Ffestiniog Railway (FR) became the first narrow gauge railway with permission to carry passengers. In 1869 with large quantities of slate being transported plans were made to make the railway double track. This was abandoned  because of the cost, instead more powerful locomotives were employed.

By the 1920s slate was not in such demand, so the FR was relying on passenger traffic, which was mainly tourists. Although the line continued with a passenger service when World War II commenced this stopped and all they had was a minimal amount of freight business. When 1946 came the line was closed. 

The track was slowly restored to a usable condition and by 1958 they had reached Tan-y-Bwlych. Unfortunately in the meantime the Electricity Board had gained permission to flood the valley which provided access to the terminus at Ffestiniog. This meant that the last three miles of rail would be under water with no possibility of reaching the town that the railway took its name from.Not to be overcome the enthusiasts came up with a new route to Ffestiniog. The organisation was helped with its finances by compensation from the Electricity Board plus a grant from the Common Market. In May 1982 the first train for 36 years made the complete journey from Porthmadog to Blaenau Ffestiniog.

A unique type of steam locomotive is resident at the FR, it was designed by Robert Fairlie to provide the extra power required to haul longer slate trains. The Fairlie engines have two boilers with a cab in between, a very unusual looking locomotive which produces over twice the driving force of an ordinary engine. Three Fairlie 0-4-4-0 locomotives are in use they are 'David Lloyd George'; 'Earl of Merioneth' and 'Meradin Emrys' other operational engines include 'Blanche' 0-4-0; 'Palmerston' 0-4-0; 'Prince' 0-4-0 and 'Taliesin' 0-4-0.

The railway runs through Snowdon National Park with delightful views all along the line, even the reservoir that caused so many problems has its appeal.