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Bala Lake Railway
The Bala Lake Railway ( Welsh: ''Rheilffordd Llyn Tegid'') is a narrow-gauge railway along the southern shore of Bala Lake in Gwynedd, North Wales. The line, which is long, is built on a section of the former standard-gauge Ruabon–Barmouth GWR route that closed in 1965. Another section of the former permanent way is used by the Llangollen Railway. The Bala Lake Railway, which runs on -gauge preserved rolling stock, is a member of the Great Little Trains of Wales. The railway now has the largest collection of historic narrow-gauge quarry locomotives built specifically for the Slate industry in Wales, slate industry in North Wales by the Hunslet Engine Company in Leeds. History Standard Gauge The narrow-gauge Bala Lake railway uses the permanent way of the former standard-gauge A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, norm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Alice (locomotive)
''Alice'' is an steam locomotive. It was built in 1902 by the Hunslet Engine Company (works number 780) for the Dinorwic quarry at Llanberis, in North Wales. It was originally called ''No. 4''; there was an earlier locomotive called ''Alice'' which was built in 1889 (works number 492) and later renamed ''King of the Scarlets''. Alice Class There were eleven engines of Dinorwic 'Alice' class supplied between 1886 and 1932, the first of which was Velinheli (Works No. 409 of 1886), but the class was named after the first ''Alice'' (Works No.492 of 1889) to avoid confusion with the separate Port Dinorwic organisation. Over 46 years a number of changes were made to the design, some so substantial as to warrant an unofficial sub-class known as the Port Class. ''Alice'' no. 780 ''Alice'', in common with most of the class, did not have a dome but a steam chamber produced by the firebox outer shell being raised some six inches above the boiler barrel. It was not usual to fit cab ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cambrian Railways
The Cambrian Railways owned of Railway track, track over a large area of mid Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904. The Cambrian connected with two larger railways with connections to the northwest of England via the London and North Western Railway, and the Great Western Railway for connections between London and Wales. The Cambrian Railways amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1922 as a result of the Railways Act 1921. The name is continued today in the route known as the Cambrian Line. History Creation of the Cambrian Railways: 1864 The Cambrian Railways Company was created on 25 July 1864 when the (27 & 28 Vict. c. cclxii) received royal assent. The company was formed by amalgamating most of the railway companies in mid Wales: the Oswestry and Newtown Railway, the Llanidloes and Newtown Railway, the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway and the Oswestry, Ellesmere and Whitchurch Rai ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Llangower Railway Station
Llangower was a minor station opened by the GWR on the Ruabon to Barmouth line in 1929 on the southern shore of Bala Lake serving the hamlet of Llangower. There was no signal box or freight facility, just a short platform and a waiting shelter on the south side of the line. Today, although not in its original location the station has been reopened 350m to the west (on the north side of the line) by the Bala Lake Railway and is the main intermediate point on the line and the only place where trains can pass each other. It is well sited to provide access to the lakeside for walks, picnics and bird watching. The station has a single platform, with the passing loop located to the east of the platform. When two trains are in service, they must use the station in turn, with the second train remaining in the loop until called forward after the first train has departed. The points and signals at the station are operated from a ground frame Mechanical railway signalling installa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glan Llyn Halt Railway Station
Glan Llyn Halt in Gwynedd, Wales, was a railway halt on the Ruabon Barmouth Line, Ruabon to Barmouth line on the south shore of Bala Lake, and is a limited-use station on the Bala Lake Railway which operates over part of the same route. History It was opened as Flag Station Halt in 1868, a private station built for Sir Watkin Williams-Wynn, 6th Baronet but which could be used by the public by his consent. It was officially advertised as Flag Station from 14 September 1931, the name given as Sir Watkin or his Great house, staff would stop the train by raising a flag.Jones, Mark: ''Lost Railways of North Wales'', page 78. Countryside Books, 2008 It gained the 'Halt' suffix from 4 July 1938 and finally became Glan Llyn Halt on 25 September 1950. There was never a signal box, passing place nor freight facilities here. It closed in 1965. The Bala Lake Railway opened in 1972, but did not reach Glan Llyn until the following year.Steam '81 directory, edited by Roger Crombleholme and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pentrepiod Halt (Gwynedd) Railway Station
Pentrepiod ( - 'Magpie Village') railway station is a small unstaffed railway halt on the Bala Lake Railway The Bala Lake Railway ( Welsh: ''Rheilffordd Llyn Tegid'') is a narrow-gauge railway along the southern shore of Bala Lake in Gwynedd, North Wales. The line, which is long, is built on a section of the former standard-gauge Ruabon–Barmouth ... alongside the B4403. Trains will stop here by request only, and the station can only be accessed by means of footpaths around the lake. The station has a short platform (one coach length only) and a station name board and is situated on the east side of a private crossing. There are no station buildings. History The Bala Lake Railway opened in August 1972, with Pentrepiod as the eastern terminus of the line. The station retained this position until the start of the 1973 operating season, by which time the first extension (to Llangower) had been opened. Neighbouring stations External links site of Pentrepiod station ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Llanuwchllyn Railway Station
Llanuwchllyn railway station () in the village of Llanuwchllyn, Gwynedd, Wales, was formerly a station on the Ruabon to Barmouth line. It closed to passengers on Monday 18 January 1965 at the same time as the rest of the line, but subsequently reopened in 1972 as the southern (and main) terminus of the narrow gauge Bala Lake Railway. The station had a signal box and was a passing place on the single line. The station buffet was the original waiting room, and the seating section was once a waiting room at Barmouth Junction. The main building has been extended on the site of the old toilets to provide a booking office and store room. The canopy supports were built for the Cambrian Railways station at Pwllheli, but were taken down in 1907. Following use at Aberdovey until 1979, they were moved to Llanuwchllyn. The cattle dock is now the picnic area, the stone goods shed is a woodworking shop and the waiting room on platform two is an office. The original signal box A si ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
British Rail
British Railways (BR), which from 1965 traded as British Rail, was a state-owned company that operated most rail transport in Great Britain from 1948 to 1997. Originally a trading brand of the Railway Executive of the British Transport Commission, it became an independent statutory corporation in January 1963, when it was formally renamed the British Railways Board. British Railways was formed on 1 January 1948 as a result of the Transport Act 1947, which nationalised the Big Four British railway companies along with some other (but not all) smaller railways. Profitability of the railways became a pressing concern during the 1950s, leading to multiple efforts to bolster performance, including some line closures. The 1955 Modernisation Plan formally directed a process of dieselisation and electrification to take place; accordingly, steam locomotives had been entirely replaced by diesel and electric traction (except for the narrow-gauge Vale of Rheidol Railway tourist lin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Welsh Language
Welsh ( or ) is a Celtic languages, Celtic language of the Brittonic languages, Brittonic subgroup that is native to the Welsh people. Welsh is spoken natively in Wales by about 18% of the population, by some in England, and in (the Welsh colony in Chubut Province, Argentina). It is spoken by smaller numbers of people in Canada and the United States descended from Welsh immigrants, within their households (especially in Nova Scotia). Historically, it has also been known in English as "British", "Cambrian", "Cambric" and "Cymric". The Welsh Language (Wales) Measure 2011 gave the Welsh language official status in Wales. Welsh and English are ''de jure'' official languages of the Senedd (the Welsh parliament), with Welsh being the only ''de jure'' official language in any part of the United Kingdom, with English being merely ''de facto'' official. According to the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census, the Welsh-speaking population of Wales aged three or older was 538,300 ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Merioneth County Council
Merionethshire, or Merioneth ( or '), was one of the thirteen counties of Wales that existed from 1536 until their abolishment in 1974. It was located in the north-west of Wales. Name 'Merioneth' is an anglicisation of the Welsh placename ''Meirionnydd'' (for the geographical area) or ''Sir Feirionnydd'' (for the county), with a 'double' , but the variant with a single is sometimes found in older works The name is derived from that of the earlier ''cantref'' of Meirionnydd. This supposedly took its name from Meirion, a grandson of Cunedda Wledig, who was granted the lordship of the area.Morris. A. (1913) ''Cambridge County Geographies: Merionethshire'', Cambridge University Press, p.3 Geography Merionethshire was a maritime county, bounded to the north by Caernarfonshire, to the east by Denbighshire, to the south by Montgomeryshire and Cardiganshire, and to the west by Cardigan Bay. With a total area of 1,731 km2 (668 sq miles), it was one of the more sparsely populated c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Pontcysyllte
The Pontcysyllte Aqueduct (; ) is a navigable aqueduct that carries the Llangollen Canal across the River Dee in the Vale of Llangollen in northeast Wales. The 18-arched stone and cast iron structure is for use by narrowboats and was completed in 1805 having taken ten years to design and build. It is wide and is the longest aqueduct in Great Britain as well as the highest canal aqueduct in the world. A towpath runs alongside the watercourse on one side. The aqueduct was to have been a key part of the central section of the proposed Ellesmere Canal, an industrial waterway that would have created a commercial link between the River Severn at Shrewsbury and the Port of Liverpool on the River Mersey. Although a less expensive construction course was surveyed further to the east, the westerly high-ground route across the Vale of Llangollen was preferred because it would have taken the canal through the mineral-rich coalfields of North East Wales. Only parts of the canal route were ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cambrian Line
The Cambrian Line (), sometimes split into the Cambrian Main Line () and Cambrian Coast Line () for its branches, is a railway line that runs from Shrewsbury in England, westwards to Aberystwyth and Pwllheli in Wales. Passenger train services are operated by Transport for Wales Rail, Transport for Wales between the western terminals of Pwllheli railway station, Pwllheli, in Gwynedd, and Aberystwyth railway station, Aberystwyth, in Ceredigion, and the eastern terminal at Shrewsbury railway station, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, as part of the Wales & Borders franchise. The railway line is widely regarded as scenic, as it passes through the Cambrian Mountains in central Wales and along the coast of Cardigan Bay in Snowdonia National Park. The line includes long sections of rural single track and is designated as a community rail partnership. Route From Shrewsbury, the line heads west through northern Powys, serving the towns of Welshpool railway station, Welshpool and Newtown railway ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Railtour
A railtour is a special train which is run in order to allow people to experience rail travel which is not normally available using timetabled passenger services. The 'unusual' aspect may be the route of the train, the destination, the occasion, specific sections of railway track (for example, freight-only lines), the locomotive hauling the train, the rolling stock (passenger carriages), or any combination of these. Organisers may own or hire locomotives or rolling stock, or tours may be organised by railway management or other bodies outside the railway fraternity. Perhaps the most famous railtour in England was the '' Fifteen Guinea Special'', the last steam-hauled main line train run by British Rail. Railtours are often identifiable through the use of a train headboard, often identifying the name of the specific tour or the tour operator. On TOPS, railtours are usually given a 1Zxx headcode. Exceptions to this rule include regularly scheduled railtours such as the Belmond B ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
