Bill Winter

In the course of researching a scenario for my garden railway I accumulated information on a number of the North Wales narrow gauge lines.  The information is offered here in case it is of interest or assistance to those who may not have the time to investigate for themselves.

The data was entered into a spreadsheet as I found it, the sheet having been compiled from a number of sources, not all of which concurred on some of the dates and events, so 100% accuracy is not claimed.  Links to the spreadsheet and other sites that may be of interest are given towrds the end of the page.

The spelling of Welsh place names is also something of an inexact science.  Welsh being primarily a spoken language and place names being descriptive of their location when written there were variations of spelling.  (North and South Wales speak two different versions of Welsh!)  Over time the spelling became corrupted or condensed. The English had difficulty with spelling and pronunciation, still do, and so changed some of the spelling to suit them selves. Tan Yr Allt became condensed to Tanyrallt for example and Caernarvon Caernarfon, the county Caernarvonshire suffering the same fate!  In recent years there have been moves to reinstate the Welsh, not always correctly.

I have tended to use the spelling used in the source document for the spreadsheet but for my railway I have adopted that which was used around the period of the railway, 1900, as far as I have been able to establish what that would have been.

There were some thirteen significant lines and dozens of smaller internal ones in North Wales.  The Festiniog, Padarn and Penrhyn in increasing order of size served the three most important slate producing areas the remainder were very small-scale affairs with permanently precarious financial situations.  It should be noted that whilst many of the quarry lines are termed 2ft gauge they were in fact anything from 1’ 10” to 1’ 11 ¾”.  This resulted from the original measurement being taken from the centre of the rail and the rail section increasing over time. 

I concentrated my efforts on the six below for no better reason than I had some information in my possession at the outset.

Penrhyn Railway

Opened in 1801, just over six miles long connecting the slate quarries at Bethesda with the sea at Port Penrhyn on the Menai Straits above Bangor.  The original horse drawn railway enabled higher tonnages to be handled with far less men and horses than had been required for road haulage and enabled the selling price of slates to be reduced.  The line was laid to match the quarry tracks at 1’ 10” gauge with double flanged wheels loose on the axles to accommodate variations in the track.  Originally in a number of sections with the majority of the 550ft foot drop from quarry to sea taken up by three self acting inclines.  The original railway was replaced in 1876 by a new line taking a totally different alignment on easier and more consistent gradients allowing the use of steam locomotives along the whole length.  The line never offered a public passenger service though transport for the quarry men was afford by open coaches. The line remained a private railway for its entire life finally closing in 1963 when transport went over to road vehicles.

Padarn Railway

Similar in origins and concept and originally practically a copy of the Penrhyn using a similar gauge with double flanged wheels it opened in 1824.  The railway linked the quarries on the opposite shore of Lake Padarn to Llanberis with the Menai Strait at Y Felinheli (Velinheli), later to be renamed Port Dinorwic, a distance of seven miles.   It was also rebuilt on a new alignment in 1848.  At this earlier date there were doubts about the ability of 2ft gauge locomotives to handle the traffic and so a gauge of 4ft was adopted and ran along the lakeshore and down to the head of an incline above the port.  The 2ft was retained at each end, slate wagons being loaded, four at a time, onto transporter wagons to travel the 4ft gauge section.  Closed coaches were provided along the 4ft line for the quarry workers.  No public services were ever offered though train trips to the quarry were often a part of a visit to Vaynol for invited guests, and included rides on the inclines in purpose built wagons.  The line closed in 1965 having remained in private ownership throughout.   The 2ft gauge Llanberis Lake Railway now occupies the route of the 4ft gauge track bed along the lake and the quarry workshops house the National Slate Museum.

Nantlle Railway

The Nantlle had a rather chequered and confusing history.  A private company built the railway under an Act of Parliament in 1828.  Running from the Pen yr orsedd quarry in the eastern end of the Vale to Carnarvon via Pen y groes, a distance of just over nine miles.  Its primary role was to carry slate from the North Nantlle Vale quarries, with a later branch from the South side, but it also carried copper ore as well as provisions and by the mid 1850’s passengers.  The line used double flanged wheels but on a gauge of 3’ 6”.   The Nantlle was later rebuilt and modernised but in a rather peculiar way as a result of some devious and underhand dealing in an attempt to make a quick profit.  In 1856 the line was leased to Edward Preston and whilst improving the section from Pen y groes to Carnarvon in order to introduce steam locomotives it was re-laid at 4’ 8 ½” which just happened to match the tracks being laid from Afon Wen in the South toward Carnarvon by the Carnarvonshire Railway.  The standard gauge section was eventually purchased by the Carnarvonshire and incorporated into its line.  This left the quarries with a nominal 2ft gauge in the quarries, a section of horse drawn 3’ 6” gauge to Pen y groes before piggy backing on the 4’ 8 ½” to just outside Carnarvon where the 3’ 6” tracks still ran onto the quay.  Costs and breakages were significant and the quarries were at the mercy of the Carnarvonshire for traffic on their section.  Eventually the Carnarvonshire was absorbed by the LNWR who, in 1872, built a standard gauge branch from Pen y groes to Nantlle but the 3’ 6” horse drawn line with its double flanged wheels still served quarries to the East of Nantlle.  The remains of the Nantlle railway continued under British Rail, designated as a siding, until 1963 when the Beeching axe closed the Afon/Wen Carnarvon line leaving it with no connection. 

Welshpool and Llanfair Light Railway

The odd one out in my selection as it had nothing to do with serving any mines or quarries its traffic was purely local and agricultural.  (This offered me some alternatives to quarry stock)  Had early attempts to build a railway out of Welshpool up the valley been successful it would have been second only to the Festiniog.  However they were not, largely due to the lack of finance, and the railway was in fact the last to be built In Wales.  Even then it had to be supported with a government grant and absorption into the Cambria Railway even before building was completed.  Opened in 1903 its nine miles of track laid to a gauge of 2’ 6” and with no tunnels, over bridges or valley sides to negotiate had a larger loading gauge than many of its predecessors.   The ruling grade of 1 in 29 out of Welshpool up the Gofa bank limited traffic to around 28 tons per train.  Passenger services ceased in 1931 but freight struggled on until 1956.

Talyllyn Railway

Was designed from the outset as a passenger carrying railway in addition to serving the Bryneglwys Quarry and was a rather grand affair in concept and construction at that time.  Opened in 1865 with a gauge of 2’ 3”, it was substantially built with easy curves and gradients over its 7¼ miles from the interchange with the Cambrian Coast Line at Towyn to the incline that served the quarry.  Before allowing passenger services the railways Inspector required that bars be fitted to the windows and doors fixed on one side due to l the limited clearances.  Passenger services terminated at Abergynolwyn where there was a gravity incline for the delivery of goods and provisions down to the village. The quarry traffic travelling a further ¾ of a mile to the foot of an incline, the quarry been served by two miles of horse drawn tramway and two more inclines.  Despite its lavish construction the line never really prospered and when the quarry closed in 1948 following a collapse it was only the determination of the then owner Sir Henry Haden Jones that kept it running.  By the time of his death it was said that the rails were only held in place by the grass and derailments were a frequent occurrence.  The line never actually closed, despite the efforts of the Ordnance Survey who marked it disused on some maps, and was taken over in 1950 by the Preservation Society.

Festiniog Railway

The Festiniog Railway Company was incorporated by Act of Parliament in 1832 and opened its 13½ miles of railway four years later.  It was a public railway carrying traffic for all comers and was carrying passengers by 1850.  Initially it used two rope worked inclines to get over a spur of hill at its upper end but by 1850 a tunnel had been constructed under the hillside.  This allowed the intended gravity working to operate the full length of the line.  Trains left Porth Madog with empty wagons and local supplies drawn by horse to return loaded with slate, the horse riding in a special wagon at the rear. (Hence the term cart before the horse?)  To enable gravity running the double flanged wheels were replaced with the now conventional single flange, though the quarries retained the double flange pattern for internal working.  Steam traction was introduced 1863 and proved successful despite the profits of doom and the view that 2ft gauge and the tight curves were unsuitable.  The railway was the forerunner in steam traction on the 2ft gauge and became a showpiece for the technology.  Reducing slate traffic, competition from the standard gauge at Blaenau, a war and some poor financial management, including leasing of the Welsh Highland Railway, resulted in closure in 1946.  (The tunnel was blocked by a power station lake between closure and preservation requiring a deviation)

Other events

Many national and international events had an influence on the development and prosperity of small narrow gauge enterprises.  Locomotive development, two World Wars effected manpower and traffic during and afterwards, the American Civil War stopped the supply of raw materials to the cotton mills and so on.  I added these details as I came across them.

To make the spreadsheet available I have converted it in sections to ‘Word’ documents, the Microsoft Works Spreadsheet is also included at the end for those who can open it. 

Nantlle & Dinorwic

Penrhyn & Festiniog

Talyllyn & Welshpool

Other events

The spreadsheet is large Microsoft Works document and will not display on one screen or print out on A4.  chronology

Some of the lines have websites on their history and/or preservation links are given below.

Nantlle                      Penygroes to Caernarvon section now a cycle track. 

                                        Dinas to Caernarvon part of the new WHR

Dinorwic                   Port dinorwic now a marina

Penrhyn                   Reinstating

Festiniog                  Current in preservation     Heritage Group

Talyllyn                     Current in preservation

Welshpool                Current in preservation

The remaining significant lines worth investigating, in no particular order, were;

North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway      Now part of the WHR

Welsh Highland Railway                       Current preservation   Reinstating  Heritage

Croesor Railway (Tramway?)                WHR uses part of trackbed

Festiniog & Blaenau Railway

Corris Railway                                    Current preservation

Plynlimon & Hafan Tramway

Vale of Rheidol Railway             Current comercial operation no company website

Glyn Valley Tramway                           Proposed reinstating

Bill Winter  Feb 09