Understanding urban character 7 below manod road and high street. Local memories another tourist killed in north wales 1885 lucy margaret marzials died age 15 lancaster gazette saturday 29 august 1885. Ffestiniog and welsh highland railways, harbour station, porthmadog, gwynedd, ll49 9nf the ffestiniog railway is a narrowgauge heritage railway, located in north west wales. In its heyday it was the largest town in merioneth. The town of blaenau ffestiniog was created to support workers in the local slate mines. Are there direct trains from conwy to blaenau ffestiniog. In the 21st century, the ffestiniog railway joined with the welsh highland railway to. In the 1760s men from the long established cilgwyn quarry near nantlle started quarrying in ceunant y diphwys to the north east of the present town. The standard gauge station was just to the southeast of and some thirty feet above the narrow gauge terminus, close enough to form one station concourse. Along the way, the railway found its old entrepreneurial magic, building new steam locomotives and carriages, and rebuilding the welsh highland railway, to become a leading 21st century tourist attraction. The line is single track throughout with four intermediate passing places. The ffestiniog railway is a narrowgauge steam railway in wales.
The station is a joint station with the narrow gauge ffestiniog railway, which operates primarily tourist passenger services to. From blaenau ffestiniog, a freightonly branch line continued for about 5 miles to serve trawsfynydd nuclear power station. In 1883 the line was extended by converting the existing festiniog and blaenau railway between llan ffestiniog and blaenau ffestiniog from 1 ft 11 1. The line at blaenau ffestiniog opens earlier than planned as it was expected to remain shut until friday. Blaenau ffestiniog s first passenger station was opened in 1865 by the festiniog railway fr. Blaenau ffestiniog railway station serves the slate mining town of blaenau ffestiniog, wales, and is the passenger terminus of the conwy valley line from llandudno junction. In 1891, john elias jones was plying his trade in blaenau ffestiniog and was recorded as living at 53 high street. For such a small town, blaenau ffestiniog has had quite a number of different stations. Traintime llandudno to blaenau ffestiniog train times. It has a population of 4,875 according to the 2011 census, including the attached village of llan ffestiniog, which makes it the third largest town in gwynedd unitary authority, behind bangor and caernarfon. Blaenau ffestiniog is a small town located in the snowdonia mountains in wales understand. All problems were eventually overcome and a 2 mile deviation saw services restored to blaenau ffestiniog in 1982. Merionethshire, blaenau ffestiniog, war memorial in the early 1920s i believe it has now been moved fom this location image. Blaenau ffestiniog railway station, church st, blaenau ffestiniog, ll41 3h.
Transport for wales operate through services to llandudno junction and llandudno. Our ability to turn this aspect of local history into something that draws. The blaenau ffestiniog and trawsfynydd railway society is aiming to restore a 7 mile section of mothballed railway in north wales. In this section of our website you will find out more about the following. Find all the transport options for your trip from blaenau ffestiniog to harlech castle right here. The railway originally connected bala with llan ffestiniog. The first mile of the line out of porthmadog runs atop an embankment called the cob, which is the dyke of the. It was incorporated on 28 july 1873 and opened on 1 november 1882. For full details on the railway including timetables, route, fares, history and more see the main railway website. Blaenau ffestiniog station train tickets, departures and. Pdf an illustrated history of the festiniog railway. Prices can also vary depending the time of day, route and class you book. The ffestiniog and welsh highland railways stretch for 40 miles through the glorious snowdonia national park, allowing you to experience the magnificent scenery in comfort whilst savouring the romance of gleaming steam engines and carriages.
Meanwhile, it had been generally agreed that blaenau ffestiniog would benefit from a joint british rail ffestiniog railway station near the town centre. The first railway to arrive in blaenau in 1836 was the festiniog railway main line to portmadoc which ran from the foot. In 1970 an alternative route to the west of the tanygrisiau reservoir was agreed and the dduallt spiral, required to raise the line was completed in 1971. Blaenau ffestiniog to harlech castle 2 ways to travel. Services were resumed between porthmadog and blaenau ffestiniog in 1982. The railway also has a very impressive collection of modern and historic motive power and rolling stock. The alignment of the dinas branch, and slate company lines at glanypwll blaenau ffestiniog has changed a number of times over the past 170 years, and therefore it is prudent to split it into 4 distinct pages. Festiniog railway 18362014 describes the history of the worlds first steamoperated narrow gauge railway to carry passengers. The railway was originally used to transport slate but is now a tourist railway. The population of the community of ffestiniog was 4,875 according to the 2011 census, including the nearby village of llan ffestiniog, which makes it the fourth most populous community in gwynedd, after bangor, caernarfon. If you want to get off a train at one of our request stops please tell the guard before you get on the train, to ensure you are seated in the right carriage if you want to get on a train at one of our request stops please give a clear signal to the engine driver as the train comes into sight hold out your arm, just like catching a bus in the event of heavy snowfall or icy.
Further content on the history of the area will appear here soon. Blaenau ffestiniog and trawsfynydd railway society a. From a wealth of original quarry terms to a host of poets, writers and musicians, blaenaus creativity produced a priceless cultural heritage. Dinas branch 1899 for a look at the line below dinas station from 1899. Around 1882, the family moved to rhiwlas before relocating to blaenau ffestiniog some two years later, where they lived at 3 newmarket square, prior to residing at highstone house, blaenau ffestiniog. After reaching 12,000 at the peak of the slate industry, the population fell due to a decrease in the demand for. In 2019 we invite you to begin your journey from our brand new. Dinas branch 1836 for a look at the line below dinas station up to 1899. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the snowdonia national park. Rheilffordd ffestiniog railway travellers guide by the fr company circa 2002, supplemented by later information as it becomes available. In 1882 the standard gauge bala and festiniog railway reached llan ffestiniog from the south.
It was first powered by horses and waterwheels, and later by steam. Blaenau ffestiniog is a former slatemining village and consists of one main road with all the others leading off it a narrowgauge railway, the ffestiniog railway, was built from blaenau ffestiniog to take the slate down to the sea at porthmadog. Introduction the ffestiniog railway society the society exists to support the oldest independent statutory railway company in the world, the festiniog railway fr having been created by an act. The principal source of information for this table is the. Llandudno railway station blaenau ffestiniog railway station. As part of this study, historical research and mapping. There are 7 memories of blaenau ffestiniog to read. Ffestiniog railway society the development strategy by.
The track was built between 1833 and 1836 with a final section and the moelwyn tunnel near tanygrisiau being completed in 1842. Rome2rio makes travelling from blaenau ffestiniog to harlech castle easy. By autumn 1977, gwynedd county council adopted a scheme to allow the ffestiniog railway access to the centre. They named it dinas which derives from mediaeval welsh meaning citadel in. Rheilffordd ffestiniog is a narrow gauge heritage railway, located in gwynedd, wales. Ffestiniog railway bristol group are holding a sale of second hand, mainly railway, books that have been donated to them on saturday 4th april 2020 from 10am to 1pm at frome cricket club, rodden road, frome, somerset, ba11 2ah. Blaenau ffestiniog 6 april 2011 north wales rover in all the years i lived in liverpool, i must have only visited wales about half a dozen times. Other place names hold clues to this earlier history hafod ruffydd, where hafod implies early agricultural practice. The station site was, however, extensive, because it provided for conventional goods traffic and a wharf for interchange traffic with the ffestiniog railway, notably for slate working, but for other goods besides, particularly incoming coal. The ffestiniog was equally beautiful but in a very different way, being a shorter railway with more trains running, was able to hop on and off and explore each of the stations a lot more and take some photos of each of the trains.
These are the existing vehicles that are owned by or are permanently housed on the ffestiniog railway. In the text below spellings are as used at the time. This line had originally been the gwr branchline from bala to blaenau ffestiniog central. The new joint station with british rail at blaenau ffestiniog was officially opened on 30 april 1983. Trawsfynydd branch i main line railways of north wales.
Rome2rio makes travelling from wirral peninsula to blaenau ffestiniog easy. When the course of this line was flooded by the llyn celyn reservoir, a new link was created at blaenau in 1964 to join the central and north stations and to permit. Blaenau ffestiniog is a historic mining town in wales, in the historic county of merionethshire, although now part of the unitary authority of gwynedd. Old photos of blaenau ffestiniog in merionethshire, north. The first railway to arrive in blaenau in 1836 was the festiniog railway main line to portmadoc which ran from the foot of the oakeley quarry inclines at dinas station in. Visit blaenau ffestiniog snowdonia wales things to do. The line has been left dormant since the last train ran in 1998 on decomissining work, for the nuclear power plant in trawfynydd. The festiniog railway runs through some of the most beautiful countryside in north wales, with spectacular views of mountains and lakes. Today its trains, mostly steam hauled, carry tourists. Read and share your memories of blaenau ffestiniog itself or of a particular photo of blaenau ffestiniog. The timetables for blaenau ffestiniog are displayed below, click on the download timetable link to view the pdf timetable for the route. Some of the footpaths, tracks and roads are also the legacy of an agricultural land use.
Some conifers were also grown for the quarries at blaenau ffestiniog, which were the main source of income to the oakeley family of plas tan y bwlch. Blaenau ffestiniog is a historic mining town in gwynedd, wales. Pdf the festiniog railway download full pdf book download. It covers the history of the, isbn 9781473827288 buy the festiniog railway. Old photos of blaenau ffestiniog in merionethshire sir feirionydd in north wales, united kingdom of great britain. Their interest in the history was such that they decided to produce an annual magazine that would provide all sorts of stories on the areas history. When built, the lines original terminus at blaenau ffestiniog was not in the centre of the town, as it is today, but about half a mile to the north, alongside the lnwr line at the south end of the ffestiniog tunnel, the longest railway tunnel in wales.
Rome2rio is a doortodoor travel information and booking engine, helping you get to and from any location in the world. A narrow gauge railway constructed to transport slate from the quarries of blaenau ffestiniog to porthmadog for export. These are interesting photographs,of how the town used to look,in the good old days,in the slate town of. Wirral peninsula to blaenau ffestiniog 3 ways to travel. Posts about blaenau ffestiniog written by ian jones. The bro ffestiniog history society was formed in 1981 by a number of friends who had a keen interest in the history of the area. The present conifer plantation dates from the 1960s. Blaenau ffestiniog north only ever had one platform, situated to the south of the tracks. Blaenau ffestiniog, timeline, history, historic, historical, events, figures, famous, sites, reformation, civil war, world war, boer war, genealogy, ancestors, plague. Blaenau ffestiniog north railway station wikipedia. Sections 11 to 14 show how the fr and standard gauge swapped sides at the start of blaenau s railway revival.
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