Welsh Highland Heritage Railway
Welsh Highland Heritage Railway (Rheilffordd Ucheldir Cymru) | |
---|---|
Peckett 2024 'Karen', R&H 4wDE 'Glaslyn' & Bagnall 3050 'Gelert' in 1992 | |
Locale | Wales |
Terminus | Porthmadog and Pen y Mount |
Commercial operations | |
Name | Welsh Highland Railway Ltd |
Built by | Welsh Highland Railway Ltd |
Original gauge | 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) |
Preserved operations | |
Owned by | Welsh Highland Railway Ltd |
Operated by | Welsh Highland Heritage Railway |
Stations | 3 |
Length | 1 mile (1.6 km) |
Preserved gauge | 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) |
Commercial history | |
Opened | 1980 |
Preservation history | |
1961 | Welsh Highland Railway Society formed |
1964 | WHR Society reformed as Welsh Highland Light Railway (1964) Limited |
1980 | WHR Ltd opened for passenger service |
1987 | Original locomotive Russell restored |
2003 | Original locomotive Russell taken out of service for expensive major overhaul. |
2005 | Celebrates 25 years of passenger train service |
2007 | Extended to Traeth Mawr |
2008 | Last train to Traeth Mawr |
2009 | Operational name changed to Welsh Highland Heritage Railway. Terminus reverts to Pen y Mount. |
2014 | Original locomotive Russel back in service. |
The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway is a short reconstructed heritage railway in Gwynedd, Wales. Its main station is in Porthmadog.
History
The origins of the WHHR lie in a small group of railway enthusiasts, including some disgruntled volunteers from the Festiniog Railway, forming the Welsh Highland Railway Society in 1961,[1] to preserve and rebuild the original Welsh Highland Railway which had operated from 1922 to 1936.
Land running alongside the Cambrian Coast line at Beddgelert Siding was acquired from
The original Welsh Highland Railway has been reconstructed by the Festiniog Railway Company and the Welsh Highland Railway Limited.
Present
The railway offers a short train ride in heritage carriages to
The railway is mostly run by volunteers, who operate the trains and maintain the railway and its infrastructure.
In 2014, Russell the only steam loco to survive from the original WHR, returned to service after a major overhaul costing about £250,000[citation needed]. Russell had been out of service since 2003.
Operations
In 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
Welsh Highland Heritage Railway | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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- Porthmadog (WHHR)
- Gelerts Farm Works Halt
- Pen-y-Mount Junction railway station
- Traeth Mawr Loop (no passenger access - Temporary 2007–2008)
Rolling stock
See also
- British narrow-gauge railways
- South African Class NG 15 2-8-2
References
- OCLC 42445841.
- ^ "Welsh Highland Railway (1964) Ltd" (PDF). Narrow Gauge News. No. 80. The Narrow Gauge Railway Society. December 1972.
Further reading
- Various (1961–2008). The Journal. Welsh Highland Railway Ltd.
- OCLC 20417464.
- OCLC 145018679.
- Hopkins, John C. (2003). Rheilffordd Eryri/The Welsh Highland Railway: 1991 to 2003, 4th edition 388pp. The author.
- OCLC 41018741.
- 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.
52°55′54″N 4°07′37″W / 52.931656°N 4.126984°W
Videos
- Train going through Cynfal Crossing
- Opening of Traeth Mawr Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
- Pen-y-Mount