Today its trains, mostly steam hauled, carry tourists. Blaenau ffestiniog railway station, church st, blaenau ffestiniog, ll41 3h. Blaenau ffestiniog north only ever had one platform, situated to the south of the tracks. Blaenau has it all, a rich culture, traditions and heritage rund through the vains of its residents today as it ran through the vains of the quarries. The railway also has a very impressive collection of modern and historic motive power and rolling stock. Transport for wales operate through services to llandudno junction and llandudno.
A narrow gauge railway constructed to transport slate from the quarries of blaenau ffestiniog to porthmadog for export. 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. Read and share your memories of blaenau ffestiniog itself or of a particular photo of blaenau ffestiniog. Pdf the festiniog railway download full pdf book download. Rome2rio makes travelling from blaenau ffestiniog to harlech castle easy. Further content on the history of the area will appear here soon. 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. For such a small town, blaenau ffestiniog has had quite a number of different stations. 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. In the text below spellings are as used at the time. Find all the transport options for your trip from blaenau ffestiniog to harlech castle right here. 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. Llandudno railway station blaenau ffestiniog railway station. 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.
Old photos of blaenau ffestiniog in merionethshire, north. 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 ffestiniog railway company operates the two foot 597mm gauge ffestiniog and welsh highland railways, which carry up to 400,000 passengers a year. These are interesting photographs,of how the town used to look,in the good old days,in the slate town of. 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. The track was built between 1833 and 1836 with a final section and the moelwyn tunnel near tanygrisiau being completed in 1842.
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. Blaenau ffestiniog, timeline, history, historic, historical, events, figures, famous, sites, reformation, civil war, world war, boer war, genealogy, ancestors, plague. This line had originally been the gwr branchline from bala to blaenau ffestiniog central. The first railway to arrive in blaenau in 1836 was the festiniog railway main line to portmadoc which ran from the foot. Rome2rio makes travelling from wirral peninsula to blaenau ffestiniog easy. 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. Blaenau ffestiniog is a historic mining town in gwynedd, wales. The ffestiniog railway is a narrowgauge steam railway in wales. Blaenau ffestiniog and trawsfynydd railway society a.
The new joint station with british rail at blaenau ffestiniog was officially opened on 30 april 1983. They named it dinas which derives from mediaeval welsh meaning citadel in. 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. By autumn 1977, gwynedd county council adopted a scheme to allow the ffestiniog railway access to the centre. Merionethshire, blaenau ffestiniog, war memorial in the early 1920s i believe it has now been moved fom this location image. Blaenau ffestiniog is a small town located in the snowdonia mountains in wales understand. Blaenau ffestiniog station train tickets, departures and. 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. In 2019 we invite you to begin your journey from our brand new.
The principal source of information for this table is the. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the snowdonia national park. Wirral peninsula to blaenau ffestiniog 3 ways to travel. 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. Local memories another tourist killed in north wales 1885 lucy margaret marzials died age 15 lancaster gazette saturday 29 august 1885. Blaenau ffestiniog has a dynamic history and an unique cultural identity, owing to the towns dramatic industrial development in the most striking countryside in rural meirionnydd. The festiniog railway runs through some of the most beautiful countryside in north wales, with spectacular views of mountains and lakes. As part of this study, historical research and mapping. 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. From blaenau ffestiniog, a freightonly branch line continued for about 5 miles to serve trawsfynydd nuclear power station. Trawsfynydd branch i main line railways of north wales. Ffestiniog and welsh highland railways, harbour station, porthmadog, gwynedd, ll49 9nf the ffestiniog railway is a narrowgauge heritage railway, located in north west wales.
Dinas branch 1899 for a look at the line below dinas station from 1899. The railway was originally used to transport slate but is now a tourist railway. Rheilffordd ffestiniog railway travellers guide by the fr company circa 2002, supplemented by later information as it becomes available. From a wealth of original quarry terms to a host of poets, writers and musicians, blaenaus creativity produced a priceless cultural heritage. Understanding urban character 7 below manod road and high street. In the 21st century, the ffestiniog railway joined with the welsh highland railway to. 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. After reaching 12,000 at the peak of the slate industry, the population fell due to a decrease in the demand for. There are 7 memories of blaenau ffestiniog to read. Our ability to turn this aspect of local history into something that draws. Blaenau ffestiniog s first passenger station was opened in 1865 by the festiniog railway fr. Posts about blaenau ffestiniog written by ian jones. Services were resumed between porthmadog and blaenau ffestiniog in 1982. Are there direct trains from conwy to blaenau ffestiniog.
For full details on the railway including timetables, route, fares, history and more see the main railway website. Dinas branch 1836 for a look at the line below dinas station up to 1899. Blaenau ffestiniog north railway station wikipedia. 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. Meanwhile, it had been generally agreed that blaenau ffestiniog would benefit from a joint british rail ffestiniog railway station near the town centre. Pdf an illustrated history of the festiniog railway. Rome2rio is a doortodoor travel information and booking engine, helping you get to and from any location in the world. The railway originally connected bala with llan ffestiniog. 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. 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. The town of blaenau ffestiniog was created to support workers in the local slate mines. Old photos of blaenau ffestiniog in merionethshire sir feirionydd in north wales, united kingdom of great britain. 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. 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.
Festiniog railway 18362014 describes the history of the worlds first steamoperated narrow gauge railway to carry passengers. Traintime llandudno to blaenau ffestiniog train times. It covers the history of the, isbn 9781473827288 buy the festiniog railway. The blaenau ffestiniog and trawsfynydd railway society is aiming to restore a 7 mile section of mothballed railway in north wales. These are the existing vehicles that are owned by or are permanently housed on the ffestiniog railway. The first mile of the line out of porthmadog runs atop an embankment called the cob, which is the dyke of the.
In this section of our website you will find out more about the following. Visit blaenau ffestiniog snowdonia wales things to do. Ffestiniog railway society the development strategy by. Blaenau ffestiniog is a historic mining town in wales, in the historic county of merionethshire, although now part of the unitary authority of gwynedd. The line is single track throughout with four intermediate passing places. In 1882 the standard gauge bala and festiniog railway reached llan ffestiniog from the south.
It was incorporated on 28 july 1873 and opened on 1 november 1882. 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. Blaenau ffestiniog to harlech castle 2 ways to travel. Rheilffordd ffestiniog is a narrow gauge heritage railway, located in gwynedd, wales. In 1891, john elias jones was plying his trade in blaenau ffestiniog and was recorded as living at 53 high street.
In its heyday it was the largest town in merioneth. 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. The line at blaenau ffestiniog opens earlier than planned as it was expected to remain shut until friday. 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. All problems were eventually overcome and a 2 mile deviation saw services restored to blaenau ffestiniog in 1982. The line has been left dormant since the last train ran in 1998 on decomissining work, for the nuclear power plant in trawfynydd. The station is a joint station with the narrow gauge ffestiniog railway, which operates primarily tourist passenger services to. 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. The present conifer plantation dates from the 1960s. Prices can also vary depending the time of day, route and class you book. Sections 11 to 14 show how the fr and standard gauge swapped sides at the start of blaenau s railway revival.