Welsh Highland Heritage Railway

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Welsh Highland Heritage Railway
Welsh: Rheilffordd Ucheldir Cymru

Caernarfonshire


Lyd2 No. 60 awaits work in Gelerts Farm Works yard
Gauge: 1 ft 11.5"
No. of stations: 3
Track: 1 mile
Information
Owned by: Welsh Highland Railway Ltd
Operated by: Welsh Highland Heritage Railway

The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway is a short heritage railway in Caernarfonshire, operating on a one-mile track at Porthmadog. It is thus cheek-by-jowl with two somewhat larger heritage railways, the Welsh Highland Railway and the Ffestiniog Railway.

The line is owned by the original Welsh Highland Railway Company, which was created by a private Act of Parliament in the Victorian era, to run the narrow-gauge slate railway between Porthmadog and Carnarvon. The latter line closed however and was long abandoned until its track was bought by the revived Festiniog Railway Company to be revived as the Welsh Highland Railway: this left the old statutory company to be acquired by enthusiasts for their own project.

History

The origins of the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway lie in a small group of railway enthusiasts, including some disgruntled volunteers from the Ffestiniog Railway, forming the Welsh Highland Railway Society in 1961.[1] The society was formed to preserve and rebuild the original Welsh Highland Railway which had operated from 1922 to 1936. Construction of the line started in the 1970s following the acquisition of land from British Railways running alongside the Cambrian Coast line at a location known as Beddgelert Sidings. A substantial works and engineering facility has been constructed on the site of the former farm that was situated in the triangle of land between the Beddgelert Siding and the Cambrian Coast Railway. The works have been expanded with newly constructed shed accommodation in addition to the utilisation of some of the original farm buildings, which include one of the oldest buildings in Porthmadog.

There has been, for some time, a museum part to the works tour and from 2009, with construction of a new building, this will be more than doubled in size and its nature.

The original Welsh Highland Railway has been reconstructed by the Festiniog Railway Company and the Welsh Highland Railway Limited. The Welsh Highland Heritage expect that both companies will have running rights over the Welsh Highland main line from Caernarfon to Porthmadog Harbour and the Welsh Highland Heritage branch from Pen-y-Mount Junction to the existing Welsh Highland Railway station in Porthmadog. The precise terms of these running rights, however, is not yet settled.

Present

The railway is now nearly entirely run by volunteers. There is a group for the young volunteers, known by 'The Young Highlanders'. The group was formed in 1996 by Mark Herbert, (publicity manager), Tim Heeks (volunteer) and the late Gordon Roe (volunteer).

In 2014, 'Russell' returned to service after an expensive major overhaul. The cost was about £250,000. Russell had been out of service since 2003.

Operations

The railway currently operates a frequent service from March to November from their main station, which is located opposite the Network Rail station in Porthmadog on Tremadog Road. Trains run for one mile to Pen-y-Mount Junction, where the railway connects with the Welsh Highland Railway mainline. On the return journey, the train stops at Gelert's Farm Halt, allowing passengers to visit a museum and a 7.25-inch gauge miniature railway.

For 2007 and 2008, an additional short section of line was in use between Pen-y-Mount Junction and Traeth Mawr Loop. This line was built as part of an agreement signed in 1998 with the Ffestiniog Railway and allowed WHR Ltd. to run on the original Welsh Highland Railway trackbed for the first time. As part of the agreement, the section closed and became a construction site when the Ffestiniog Railway constructed WHR mainline from Caernarvon was connected in 2008.

Stations

  • Porthmadog (WHHR)
  • Gelerts Farm Works Halt
  • Pen-y-Mount Junction railway station
  • Traeth Mawr Loop (no passenger access - Temporary 2007-2008)

Outside links

 ("Wikimedia Commons" has material
about Welsh Highland Heritage Railway)

Videos


References

  1. ↑ Hopkins, John (2003) [1999]. The Welsh Highland Railway 1991-2003. John Hopkins for WHR Society.. OCLC 42445841. 
  • Various, (1961–2008). The Journal. Welsh Highland Railway Ltd. 
  • Hopkins, John C. (2003). Rheilffordd Eryri/The Welsh Highland Railway: 1991 to 2003, 4th edition 388pp. The author. 
  • Johnson, Peter (1999). Portrait of the Welsh Highland Railway. Ian Allan Publishing Lts. 
  • Johnson, Peter (2003). An Illustrated History of the Welsh Highland Railway. Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-565-5. 
  • Turner, Alun (2003). The Welsh Highland Railway: a History, 4th edition. Stenlak Publishing. ISBN 1-84033-263-8. 
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