Welsh Highland Heritage Railway

In a nutshell

Gauge:         1' 11½"

Length:       ½ mile

Opened:     WHR - 1863 - extended 1923 - closed 1937 - re-opened in phases from 1997 to 2011
                    WHHR - 1980

Location:

View Narrow Gauge Railways in a larger map  

Web:   http://www.whr.co.uk/

Email. info@whr.co.uk 

 

Date of visit: 6 May 2013

 

Key Facts

• The original Welsh Highland Railway opened in 1923 following a unification of three pre-existing railways - The North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway (NWNGR), The Croesor Tramway, The Portmadoc, Beddgelert, & South Snowdon Railway (PBSSR)
• The North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway (NWNGR) was opened in 1881 and ran from its station beside the LNWR mainline at Dinas (Just south of Caernarfon) to Rhyd Ddu on the lower slopes of Snowdon. It also had a branch to the Bryngwyn the slate quarries on Moel Tryfan.
• The horse-drawn Croesor Tramway was built in 1864 to transport slate from the Croesor Valley to Portmadoc. 
• The Portmadoc, Beddgelert, & South Snowdon Railway (PBSSR) was formed by Act of Parliament in 1901 with the intention of linking the Croesor Tramway with the NWNGR. Work commenced in 1906 and by 1908 it had completed the tunnels and trackbed through the Aberglaslyn Pass and built the bridge over the road to the South of Beddgelert and abutments for another two bridges before running out of money. The bridge and abutments are still visible when approaching Beddgelert from the Aberglaslyn Pass. The line was to be electric powered with hydro-electric power from the power station which is still in existence at Nant Gwynant.
• The WHR changed the route to the South of Beddgelert to ease the gradient from 1:27 to 1:40.
• The WHR was never financially successful and went into receivership in 1927. It was then leased to the Ffestiniog Railway which soldiered on with the railway until 1936, when the WHR was closed, the track lifted and the stock sold off.
• One of the railway's original locomotives, Russell, is owned by the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway and is currently being rebuilt by Alan Keef Ltd.
• In the 1980s there was some controversy between the WHHR and the Ffestiniog Railway over the restoration of the WHR - the FR eventually gained approval to reconstruct the railway though the WHHR does have running rights over the railway - albeit with several caveats.
• In 1961 a group of railway enthusiasts created Welsh Highland Railway Society in 1961 with the aim of preserving and rebuilding the original WHR.
• The society acquired the site of the original WHR station (Beddgelert Sidings) alongside the Cambrian Coast line from British Railways in the 1970s
• The railway has accumulated a range of industrial rolling stock and has reconstructed or replicated some of the original WHR and NWNGR stock
• A trip on the railway takes about an hour and includes a tour of the railway's stock sheds and workshops at Fferm Gelert.
• There is a very well stocked railway bookshop with a range narrow gauge model railway equipment and souvenirs at the station in Porthmadog. There is also a café which serves snacks and light meals.

Route

View Welsh Highland Heritage Railway in a larger map

 

My Impressions

I have visited the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway on several occasions previously; it has one of my favourite railway bookshops; but until this visit I had not properly documented my visits.

This particular trip coincided with the Ffestiniog Railway's 150th anniversary celebrations and so I decided to take some time out on this long weekend to properly document the WHHR.

On my arrival, I bought my ticket, which gives a full day's unlimited travel on the railway, and made my way to the platform where I just caught the departure of a goods train hauled by two of the line's  Simplex Motor Rail locomotives.

The railway was also holding a gala event and had laid on some additional trains for enthusiasts such as myself.

After my obligatory browse around their well stocked bookshop .......

....... I once more headed for the platform where I witnessed the arrival of the line's stalwart 0-4-2T Bagnall steam loco, Gelert, and watched as she ran around her train.

The line possesses six steam locomotives including the original WHR locomotive Russell which is currently undergoing major restoration at Alan Keef Ltd.

I boarded the train and, before we departed, one of the line's former Romanian diesel locomotives (Lyd2) arrived with a train. This massive powerful beast looks more than capable of hauling a loaded train up the 1:40 gradients of the WHR line to Caernarfon (though it is not yet clear when this right will be granted by the FR to the WHHR - apparently, negotiations are ongoing).

We set off up the line and before long reached Fferm Gelert (Gelert's Farm) station where we were invited to detrain to tour the sidings and stock sheds.

 As this was a gala weekend, there was a lot to see. Many of the line's collection of industrial diesel locos were on display and several were quietly chugging on tick-over or trundling up and down the yard taking people on footplate rides.

I must admit to having a fascination for these machines which even up until the 1960s and 70s were often to be found hauling skips of excavated soil on road building projects and busily pottering around factory yards and mine workings. The Simplex rail motor locomotives such as this one first went into production before the First World War and gave sterling service on the supply lines behind the trenches before finding their niche on industrial railways across the world.

For more information about Simplex Motor Rail locomotives see the Moseley Railway Trust website whose collection is housed on the Apedale Valley Light Railway in Stoke on Trent.

On this occasion, the stock shed was hosting a model railway exhibition with exhibits across of range of scales and gauges.

After spending some time studying the models and full size exhibits, I made my way back to the station platform just as the Romanian diesel, Lyd2 was arriving with its train from Porthmadog station.

 I boarded the train and was transported to the line's other terminus beside the restored WHR. Here, Gelert was waiting on the loop with her train, ready for the return to Porthmadog Station

 As we departed, I was able to look back from my seat in the open carriage at the rear of the train towards the station to see Lyd2 running round her train for the return journey.

On arrival at the line's main terminus ....

..... which for some time in the WHR's history was principal terminus in Porthmadog when the Cambrian Railway refused to give permission for the WHR trains to cross their tracks to make their way across town to the Harbour Station, the terminus for the Ffestioniog Railway. Fortunately, that is no longer the case and WHR trains now regularly cross the mainline. I watched again as Gelert ran round her train before enjoying a rather tasty lamb pasty in the railway's café.

At this time of year, the Cambrian Coast Railway was not running its steam-hauled tourist trains but on a previous occasion in 2010, I was fortunate to be at the WHHR station when a Black 5 class locomotive steamed past. My apologies about the quality of the photo - particularly the white post in the middle of it. See video below.

Video

Welsh Highland Railway

In a nutshell

Gauge:         1' 11½"

Length:       25 miles

Opened:      1863 - extended 1923 - closed 1937 - re-opened in phases from 1997 to 2011

Location:

    
View Narrow Gauge Railways in a larger map
View Narrow Gauge Railways in a larger map

Web:      http://www.festrail.co.uk

Email:    enquiries@festrail.co.uk

 

Date of visit: 6 May 2013

 

Key Facts

• The first part of what is now the Welsh Highland Railway was opened in 1863. This was the horse-drawn Croesor Tramway which ran from Porthmadog to the Croesor Valley. This has now been incorporated into southern part of the railway.
• In 1877, the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railway opened a line from Dinas Junction on the LNWR mainline to the south of Caernarfon, initially to Snowdon Ranger and then in 1881 to Rhyd Ddu.
• In 1923, the Welsh Highland Railway was completed with the link from Rhyd Ddu, through Beddgelert and the Aberglaslyn Pass to link up with the Croesor Tramway.
• The Depression years of the 1920s was not the most lucrative time to open a new railway and from its inception the WHR struggled financially.
• The railway limped on until it was put into receivership in 1927 and closing in 1933 when it was leased to the Festiniog Railway Company. The FR tried to make the railway successful through development of the tourist trade but was eventually forced to abandon the railway in 1937 when the it was closed and the stock and track sold off.
• The restoration of the railway was mired in controversy with both the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway and the Festiniog Railway initially seeking to purchase the trackbed and gain funding to reopen the line. Eventually, the Ffestiniog Railway was successful and through National Lottery funding was able to rebuild and reopen the railway in stages from 1997 to 2011.
• Restoration began with the completion of the railway from Caernarfon to Dinas along the trackbed of the former standard gauge railway.
• The final phase of construction was the completion of the link from the WHR, through the town of Portmadog to the Ffestiniog Railway station which entailed the re-installation of the crossing over the standard gauge railway near to the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway station.
• The original WHR inherited two locomotives from its constituent companies; a single Fairlie locomotive, Moel Tryfan, which survived until 1954 when it was scrapped by the FR; and a 2-6-2T Hunslet locomotive, Russell, which is owned by the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway and is currently undergoing restoration by Alan Keef Ltd. The line also bought an ex War Dept Baldwin locomotive which did not prove to be successful or popular with crews on the railway.
• The railway now uses a fleet of Beyer-Peacock Garratt articulated locomotives to tackle the tortuous, steeply inclined route. Most of the locos are from South Africa, but the line also possesses a former Tasmanian Railways K class locomotive which was the world's first Garratt articulated loco and
• The line also has a fleet of diesel locomotives
• From time to time Ffestiniog Railway locomotives haul trains along the line as they did when the line was first opened
• The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway also has opportunities to run special trains on the railway, as part of an agreement between the two railways when restoration began. 

Route

Source: http://www.railway-technology.com/projects/welshhighlandrailway/

My Impressions

This was not the first time I had travelled along or visited the Welsh Highland Railway. I was fortunate enough to travel on the first public train through the Aberglaslyn Pass in May 2009, though for some reason I took only one photo to commemorate this auspicious event!

My visit on this occasion was as part of a visit to the Ffestiniog Railway's 150th anniversay celebrations when I took the opportunity to take a ride on the WHR as a respite from the events on the FR.

Prior to my trip on the railway, I took some lineside shots in the Aberglaslyn Pass. Mainly, I wanted to see the two ex-Penrhyn Hunslet locomotives, Blanche and Linda, hauling a special FR/WHR train non-stop from Blaenau to Caernarfon.

The following day, I travelled the line from Porthmadog to Rhyd Ddu, which I consider to be the most spectacular part of the railway. Mind you, the section from Rhyd Ddu to Waunfawr also has its attractions but it was more convenient for me to change trains at Rhyd Ddu.

Before boarding the train, I was able to watch our loco running round and taking on water at Harbour Station.

 Because the tracks at Harbour Station are not yet aligned for the WHR, trains have to be hauled out from the platform by a pilot loco before the WHR loco is then attached to take the train across the bridge and through the town.

WHR Beyer Peacock loco 138 negotiates the road bridge at Porthmadog

The station platforms at Harbour Station are presently being remodelled and so from Spring 2014, this interesting reverse manoeuvre will no longer be necessary.

The first part of the railway is unspectacular as the line crosses the farmland which was reclaimed from the salt flats when the Cob across the estuary was built in 1811 by William Maddocks who gave his name to the town of Porthmadog (Maddock's Port).

Before long, however, the train starts its ascent towards Beddgelert. Shortly after leaving Nantmor, the train plunges into a 280m long tunnel ......

 ...... before emerging into the Aberglaslyn Pass, where the railway clings to the hillside on a ledge above the river and passes through a further two short tunnels.

After crossing the river on a girder bridge the railway begins a steep climb through woodland towards Beddgelert Station which is located above a short way above the town.

 After taking on water, the train started the next and most tortuous stage of the railway's climb up gradients of up to 1:40 and taking in a series of S-bends to enable it to gain height.

Adapted from: http://web.bethere.co.uk/steven.harris/twa/std/images/map07.gif

Towards the end of the climb, the railway emerges from the woodland to cross some heathland and begin its descent towards Rhyd Ddu on the lower slopes of Snowdon. On this particular occasion, this marked the end of my journey and I waited on the platform for the arrival of the train from Caernarfon.

On the journey back, there was an opportunity to wait at Beddgelert for the arrival of a special train from Porthmadog, hauled by one of the Ffestiniog Railway's stalwart 0-4-0 England locomotive, Palmerston.

We passed once more through the woodland below Beddgelert .........

........ and through the Aberglaslyn Pass.

Before entering the town of Porthmadog once more, we passed the link with the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway. ........

 ...... before crossing the standard gauge Cambrian Coast Railway ......

...... and then winding our way across the back of the town. We then negotiated the road crossing over Britannia Bridge and was pulled back into Harbour Station by one of the FR's ex Penrhyn Railway locomotives, Linda.

The Welsh Highland Railway is certainly one of the most spectacular of the preserved narrow gauge railways in the UK. As it is now connected to the Ffestiniog Railway the two now boast around 40 miles of continuous railway from Caernarfon to Blaenau Ffestiniog. It is possible on gala days such as this to travel the entire length of the railway non-stop (apart from when the locomotives have to take on water). Personally, I prefer to do the trip in stages as it provides opportunities for me to take lineside pictures. However, if you have not yet had the opportunity to travel on and/or view the railway as it passes through the Aberglaslyn Pass, then it must surely rank as one of the must-see stretches of narrow gauge railway in the country.

I will return! It's about time I traversed the northern end of the railway and gathered a few more lineside shots. Hopefully I'll do that sometime in the summer and can then complete the video of the journeys.

Video

[In preparation]