Industrial History Online
Welsh Highland Railway
Key Words :- railway
Address :- Harbour Station, Porthmadog, Gwynedd, LL49 9NF
Grid Ref :- SH 57206 38407
Co-ordinates :- Lat 52.924036 , Long -4.125538
Local Authority :- Gwynedd Council
Pre 1974 County :- Caernarfonshire
Site Status :- Site extant - No Protection
Description and History of Site:-
Narrow-gauge heritage railway (1ft 11½in gauge) from Caernarfon to Porthmadog (25 miles).
The route from Caernarfon to Dinas uses the abandoned standard gauge trackbed (which had closed in 1971) and was officially opened on 13 October 1997.
The remainder of the route from Dinas to Porthmadog Harbour largely uses the original North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways line and was finally completed in 2011.
At Porthmadog it connects with the Ffestiniog Railway (qv) and to the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway (qv).
Gwyn and Williams: 'The Welsh Highland Railway finally managed to achieve a long-awaited dream, of connecting the abortive North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway, and the Caernarfon district, with Porthmadog and the Ffestiniog Railway, in 1922, but it was not long before the straggling and badly-managed route was bankrupt. A short section at Porthmadog opened to passengers in 1980, operating, among others, the WHR's only surviving locomotive, the Hunslet 2-6-2 Russell. Full restoration of the route from a new terminus at Caernarfon to connect with the currently operational section is now being carried out in stages. A bewildering variety of incomplete formations near Beddgelert is witness to an early intention to work the line with electric locomotives.'
Timeline:
1828 Nantlle Tramway built from Caernarfon to slate quarries in the Nantlle Valley.
1877 North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways (NWNGR) built from Dinas, south of Caernarfon, to Llyn Cwellyn and later extended to Rhyd Ddu in 1881.
1905-6 Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway (PBSSR) begins railway construction for an electrically powered railway in the Aberglasyn Pass but works are abandoned partially built.
1923 Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) completed and begins operating between Porthmadog and Dinas.
1937 WHR ceases operation and is placed in administration.
1940s WHR winding up order issued and the track and most rolling stock is sold for scrap.
1961-1997 Various groups were involved in several efforts to revive and rebuild the railway. Eventually permission is granted to the Festiniog Railway Company to rebuild the railway.
1997-2011 WHR rebuilt through Snowdonia in five stages between Caernarfon and Porthmadog. By beginning in Caernarfon, instead of Dinas, an almost 150-year-old dream of a coast-to-coast railway through Snowdonia is achieved.
2014 Porthmadog Station rebuilt to serve as WHR southern terminus and to enable Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways trains to use the station at the same time.
2019 New Caernarfon Station built to serve as WHR northern terminus.
Further Reading and References:-
Gwyn, David and Williams, Merfyn. 'A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of North West Wales'. Association for Industrial Archaeology, 1996
Burton, Anthony. 'Guide to Britain's Working Past'. W W Norton & Co, 2002
https://www.festrail.co.uk/welsh-highland-railway-history/
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Grid Ref :- SH 57206 38407
Co-ordinates :- Lat 52.924036 , Long -4.125538
Local Authority :- Gwynedd Council
Pre 1974 County :- Caernarfonshire
Site Status :- Site extant - No Protection
Narrow-gauge heritage railway (1ft 11½in gauge) from Caernarfon to Porthmadog (25 miles).
The route from Caernarfon to Dinas uses the abandoned standard gauge trackbed (which had closed in 1971) and was officially opened on 13 October 1997.
The remainder of the route from Dinas to Porthmadog Harbour largely uses the original North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways line and was finally completed in 2011.
At Porthmadog it connects with the Ffestiniog Railway (qv) and to the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway (qv).
Gwyn and Williams: 'The Welsh Highland Railway finally managed to achieve a long-awaited dream, of connecting the abortive North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway, and the Caernarfon district, with Porthmadog and the Ffestiniog Railway, in 1922, but it was not long before the straggling and badly-managed route was bankrupt. A short section at Porthmadog opened to passengers in 1980, operating, among others, the WHR's only surviving locomotive, the Hunslet 2-6-2 Russell. Full restoration of the route from a new terminus at Caernarfon to connect with the currently operational section is now being carried out in stages. A bewildering variety of incomplete formations near Beddgelert is witness to an early intention to work the line with electric locomotives.'
Timeline:
1828 Nantlle Tramway built from Caernarfon to slate quarries in the Nantlle Valley.
1877 North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways (NWNGR) built from Dinas, south of Caernarfon, to Llyn Cwellyn and later extended to Rhyd Ddu in 1881.
1905-6 Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway (PBSSR) begins railway construction for an electrically powered railway in the Aberglasyn Pass but works are abandoned partially built.
1923 Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) completed and begins operating between Porthmadog and Dinas.
1937 WHR ceases operation and is placed in administration.
1940s WHR winding up order issued and the track and most rolling stock is sold for scrap.
1961-1997 Various groups were involved in several efforts to revive and rebuild the railway. Eventually permission is granted to the Festiniog Railway Company to rebuild the railway.
1997-2011 WHR rebuilt through Snowdonia in five stages between Caernarfon and Porthmadog. By beginning in Caernarfon, instead of Dinas, an almost 150-year-old dream of a coast-to-coast railway through Snowdonia is achieved.
2014 Porthmadog Station rebuilt to serve as WHR southern terminus and to enable Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways trains to use the station at the same time.
2019 New Caernarfon Station built to serve as WHR northern terminus.
Gwyn, David and Williams, Merfyn. 'A Guide to the Industrial Archaeology of North West Wales'. Association for Industrial Archaeology, 1996
Burton, Anthony. 'Guide to Britain's Working Past'. W W Norton & Co, 2002
https://www.festrail.co.uk/welsh-highland-railway-history/
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Contributor :- Robert Mason - 13 August 2023
Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Robert Mason
Copyright :- cc-by-nc-sa 4.0 © Robert Mason