Ffestiniog railway station

Festiniog railway station was a railway station in Llan Ffestiniog, North Wales. It opened as the terminus of the narrow gauge Festiniog and Blaenau Railway on 29 May 1868. On 1 September 1882 the standard gauge Bala Ffestiniog Line reached Llan Ffestiniog from the south. The standard gauge station was just to the north-east and some thirty feet above the narrow gauge terminus. Standard gauge station facilities included a loading shed for slate brought by road from Drum and other local quarries, loading facilities had previously been provided at the narrow gauge station, the slate travelling in FR wagons. The following year the narrow gauge line was converted to standard gauge but narrow gauge trains continued to run until 5 September 1883 using a third rail. Standard gauge trains first ran from Bala to Blaenau Ffestiniog on 10 September 1883. ^[1]

The station closed to passenger services on 2 January 1960 and freight services a year later on 27 January 1961. The line was quickly reopened in 1964 for freight to Trawsfynydd nuclear power station and was also used during the 1980s for freight traffic to a siding serving the explosives factory in Penrhyndeudraeth.

Station site today

As of 2011, The whole station site has been completely demolished, although the line (now currently mothballed) still exists and through the site to as far as Trawsfynydd,

Recently, there were at least two attempts to preserve what remains of the line, though neither succeeded. However, it is still hoped that one day the surviving line could see future preservation once investigations are carried out to test the whole section towards Trawsfynydd for future tourism use.

References

1. ↑ Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire - Volume 1 (ISBN 0-85361-365-6)

External links

• Ffestiniog station on navigable 1953 O. S. map

Coordinates: 52°57′33″N 3°55′49″W / 52.9591°N 3.9304°W / 52.9591; -3.9304