Gorseddau Tramway
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| Gorseddau Tramway | |
|---|---|
| Locale | Wales |
| Dates of operation | 1857 – 1872 |
| Successor line | Gorseddau Junction and Portmadoc Railway |
| Track gauge | 3 ft (914 mm) |
| Headquarters | Porthmadog |
The Gorseddau Tramway was a 3 ft (914 mm) gauge railway built in 1856 to link the slate quarries around Gorseddau with the wharves at Porthmadog. It was an early forerunner of the Gorseddau Junction and Portmadoc Railway and subsequently the Welsh Highland Railway
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[edit] Tremadoc Tramway
The Tremadoc tramway (sometimes known as the Llidiartyspytty Railway) was a 3 ft (914 mm) gauge tramway built by William Maddocks sometime before 1842, and possibly as early as the 1830s. It connected the ironstone mine at Llidiart Yspytty to the harbour at Porthmadog. Little is known about the operation of the railway, though it is believed to have been horse worked with similar track and rolling stock to the nearby Nantlle Railway. The ironstone mine was not successful and the tramway was extended to serve a nearby slate quarry owned by the Bangor & Portmadoc Slate & Slab Co. Ltd.
In 1856 the Bangor & Portmadoc Slate & Slab company requested tenders to extend the line 2¼ miles to the Gorseddau Quarry at Glan Bwll [1]. The extended railway, completed in 1857, was known as the Gorseddau Tramway.
[edit] Route and operation
From the wharves at Porthmadog harbor the line curved through the town and ran alongside the Y Cyt canal to Tremadoc. From there a reversing neck marked the beginning of the extension towards Gorseddau. The route headed east through the town of Penmorfa where it passed under the main road in a short tunnel. Along this stretch gradients reached a maximum of 1 in 23. At Henefail the line turned north past Ynys-y-Pandy and on to Gorseddau where a short incline lead into the quarry. The line ran a total distance of just over 8 miles and rose 900 feet in that distance.
The line was horse operated throught its existence using wagons and a passenger carriage supplied by the Boston Lodge works of the Ffestiniog Railway.
[edit] Takeover
In 1863 the Croesor Tramway was built, connecting the slate quarries of the Croesor valley with Porthmadog. This 2 ft (610 mm) gauge tramway crossed the Gorseddau on the level on the edge of Porthmadog and served the same wharves.
In 1871 notice was given by the owners of the Gorseddau Tramway that they intended to replace the tramway with a new railway between Gorseddau and Porthmadog of 2 ft (610 mm) gauge. This would allow common rolling stock to be used between the Croesor and Gorseddau tramways and the Ffestiniog railway, all of which delivered slate to Porthmadog harbor. An Act of Parliament was authorized on 25th. July 1872 and the Gorseddau Junction and Portmadoc Railway was created, replacing the Gorseddau Tramway.
[edit] References
- ^ The North Wales Chronicle 12th. April 1856
- Boyd, James I.C. (1988). Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire, Volume 1, 2nd edition, The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-365-6.
