The Conway and Llanrwst Railway was a

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, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...

railway Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

built to connect the Welsh coastal town of Conway, nowadays addressed by its Welsh name of

Conwy Conwy (, ), previously known in English as Conway, is a walled market town, community and the administrative centre of Conwy County Borough in North Wales. The walled town and castle stand on the west bank of the River Conwy, facing Deganwy ...

, with the inland towns of

Llanrwst ; ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. It is on the east bank of the River Conwy and the A470 road, and lies within the historic counties of Wales, historic county boundaries of Denbighshire (histori ...

and

Betws y Coed Betws-y-Coed () is a village and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales. The village is located near the confluence of the River Conwy and the River Llugwy and is on the eastern edge of Snowdonia. The population of the community as of the 2 ...

. It opened in 1863 and was eventually absorbed into the lines operated by the

London and North Western Railway The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the LNWR was the largest joint stock company in the world. Dubbed the "Premier Line", the LNWR's main line connec ...

. In 2008 it continues to operate as part of the Conwy Valley Line.

History

Proposals

As early as 1846, the

Chester and Holyhead Railway The Chester and Holyhead Railway was an early railway company conceived to improve transmission of government dispatches between London and Ireland, as well as ordinary railway objectives. Its construction was hugely expensive, chiefly due to ...

(CHR) planned a branch from its mainline at Conway along the

Conwy valley The River Conwy (; ) is a river in north Wales. From its source to its discharge in Conwy Bay it is long and drains an area of 678 square km. "Conwy" was formerly anglicised as "Conway." The name 'Conwy' derives from the old Welsh words ''c ...

to Llanrwst. Although this plan did not result in a railway, in 1853 a proposal for the Conway and Llanrwst Railway was laid before

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. This first bill was withdrawn following a proposal for an alternative route from the CHR. A third attempt for a railway along the valley came from the engineer

Edmund Sharpe Edmund Sharpe (31 October 1809 – 8 May 1877) was an English architect, architectural historian, railway engineer and sanitary reformer. Born in Knutsford, Cheshire, he was educated first by his parents and then at schools locally and in ...

who worked for the CHR. He proposed a

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

line of gauge along the west side of the valley. This proposal was rejected by the CHR in 1858. Sharpe then joined the promoters of the original Conway and Llanrwst Railway who at a second attempt gained official approval for their railway in July 1860 in the ( 23 & 24 Vict. c. cxlix).

Construction

Construction of the railway began in August 1860. By this time the CHR had become part of the

(LNWR), and the board of the LNWR decided to purchase the Conway and Llanrwst Railway Company and run the railway as a branch of their main line to Holyhead. By 1863 the railway was a part of the LNWR.

Opening

The line opened on 16 June 1863. In July 1865, the LNWR gained a further act of Parliament, the London and North Western Railway (Additional Powers, Wales) Act 1865 ( 28 & 29 Vict. c. cccxxxiv) enabling an extension of the line to

, which was then becoming a favoured tourist attraction. This extension was opened in 1868.Baughan 1980, page 118

The route today

The Conway and Llanrwst Railway continues to operate in 2008, as part of the Conwy Valley Line.

References

Sources

* Railway companies established in 1860 Railway lines opened in 1863 Railway companies disestablished in 1863 Standard gauge railways in Wales Transport in Conwy County Borough {{UK-rail-transport-stub