The 1′ 11¾” (603mm) gauge Vale of Rheidol Light Railway Company line opened in December 1902 as an independent concern to carry timber and lead ore, but 10 years later was taken over by the Cambrian Railways. On the grouping of Britains’s railways in 1923 the line became part of the Great Western Railway. Immediately on taking over the GWR Board decided to invest heavily in the line. Two new steam locomotives (Nos. 7 & 8) were ordered from Swindon and one of the existing locos (GWR No.1213) was sent there for rebuilding – however The Works fooled the Board by delivering a completely new engine in 1924 with the same number (No.1213, later BR No.9). Several new open passenger carriages were also built at Swindon in 1923, to be followed in 1938 by a fleet of new closed carriages.
On nationalisation in 1948 the line passed to British Railways. In 1955/56 BR named the three remaining locos (Nos. 7, 8 & 9) as “Owain Glyndŵr“, “Llywelyn” and “Prince of Wales” respectively. It remained a unique part of BR’s operations until privatised in 1989. Unique or not, as the photos show, during the 1960s the rolling stock did not escape receiving BR’s corporate livery. More details are available on the Vale of Rheidol Railway website.
The 2′ 3″ (686mm) gauge Talyllyn Railway was opened in 1865 to carry slate from the hills for onward sea transport from Tywyn. A year later it began carrying passengers, continuing in operation for both passengers and freight until October 1950. In May 1951 it became the world’s first operational preserved railway.
A full history and extensive details about the Talyllyn Railway can be found on their website.
This line began life in 1895 as a 2′ 0″ (610mm) gauge horse-drawn tramway used by contractors to construct the village of Fairbourne. In 1916 it was converted to a 15″ (381mm) gauge steam railway which operated successfully until forced to close in 1940. After WW2 a consortium of West Midlands businessmen got together in 1946 to rescue the railway and operations began again in summer the following year. It was during their ownership that the photos below were taken.
The railway was sold in 1984 and re-gauged two years later to 12¼” (311mm), only to be put up for sale again in 1990. Eventually, new owners were found in 1995 who have since transferred their ownership to a charitable trust to ensure the railway’s future. Full details are on the Fairbourne Railway website.
These 1′ 11½” (597mm) gauge railways are under the same ownership and share a common terminus at Porthmadog Harbour station. Their history is a long and complex tale. The Festiniog (sic) Railway Company (FR) was established by an Act of Parliament dated 23 May 1832, when William IV was on the throne, making it the oldest surviving railway company in the world. (Although it is not the oldest surviving working railway – that distinction goes to the Middleton Railway in Leeds founded in 1758.) Following difficult times during the 1930s and WW2, the FR ceased running trains after 1946 and lay derelict until bought by Alan Pegler in 1954. By April 1968 the railway had re-opened as far a Ddaullt, eventually reaching Blaenau Ffestiniog on 25 May 1982 – almost exactly 150 years after its founding Act of Parliament.
The origins of the Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) can be traced to a number of narrow gauge tramway/railway developments from as far back as 1828. Significance subsequent milestones were the building of the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways line which opened in 1877 and the formation from earlier enterprises of the Portmadoc, Beddgelert & South Snowdon Railway in 1902. The Welsh Highland Railway itself was created in 1922 under a Light Railway Order to operate and complete these former company’s lines and works; the WHR being mainly funded by loans from the Ministry of Transport and local authorities. The WHR struggled on until 1937, latterly being leased to the FR. Efforts at revival started in the early 1960s eventually leading to reopening of the entire route in 2011.
(When the above photos were taken WHR trains had to reverse on The Cob to reach Porthmadog Harbour station, hence the diesel loco used to draw the coaches into the station and the coupling up of the steam engine for the return working. Comprehensive histories of the Ffestiniog Railway and the Welsh Highland Railway are available through these links and more infomation on both railways today can be found on the “Festrail” website.)
This 3′ 6″ (1,067mm) gauge cable tramway operates as a two-section funicular, with pairs of cars on each section permanently attached to the cable and counter-balancing each other. The lower section opened in July 1902, the upper section opening a year later. Cables for both sections are driven from an engine house at the “Halfway Station”, where passengers must change cars – this means that the upper section is worked on the ‘tail-cable‘ principle. On opening power was provided by stationary steam engines, but these were replaced by electric motors in 1957. The four original 1902 passenger cars (Nos.4-7) are still in use, although the three freight cars (Nos.1-3) initially provided were withdrawn in 1911 when the freight, parcels and coffin carrying services ceased. Lots more information is on the dedicated Tramway and Great Orme websites.
(The trolley poles were for connections to an overhead wire telegraph system and DO NOT power the vehicles. The telegraph wire system has was replaced by transponders in 2001.)
Construction of this 2′ 6″ gauge line to connect Llanfair Caereinion to the Cambrian Railways‘ station at Welshpool began in 1901. The line opened in April 1903 and was worked by the Cambrian from the start; being absorbed by the GWR at the 1923 railway grouping. To reach the main line station all trains had to run (very slowly!) through the streets of Welshpool. The GWR ceased passenger operations in 1931 (having already begun its own competing bus services) and BR withdrew the remaining freight services in November 1956.
Four years later a preservation company was formed and in 1962 this was able to lease the line, which was still in situ, from BR. By the following April a limited passenge service between Llanfair Caereinion and Castle Caereinion had started. The preservation company managed to purchase the line outright from BR in March 1974 with the intention of restoring services throughout. Sadly, because access to Welshpool main line station had been lost to local council sponsored road works, when services were reinstated in July 1981 these terminated at Welshpool Raven Square on the other side of the town. More details are on the WLLR website.
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