Glynllifon Street railway station
Glynllifon Street | |
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Location | |
Place | Blaenau Ffestiniog |
Area | Gwynedd |
Coordinates | 52°59′36″N 3°56′02″W / 52.9934°N 3.9338°WCoordinates: 52°59′36″N 3°56′02″W / 52.9934°N 3.9338°W |
Grid reference | SH 702 457 |
Operations | |
Original company | Festiniog and Blaenau Railway |
Platforms | 0 |
History | |
Spring 1883 | Opened |
5 September 1883 | Last passenger train called[1] |
10 September 1883 | Replacement standard gauge Blaenau Festiniog station opened[2] |
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom | |
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z | |
UK Railways portal |
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Glynllifon Street railway station was a temporary northern terminus station of the Festiniog and Blaenau Railway (F&BR), sited next to the street of the same name in Blaenau Ffestiniog in what was then Merionethshire, now Gwynedd, Wales.
Context
The complex and confusing evolution of Blaenau's passenger stations is expanded here.
History
From April to September 1883 the 1 ft 11 3⁄4 in (603 mm)[2] narrow gauge F&BR was rebuilt as a standard gauge line. Narrow gauge services continued throughout the rebuilding by laying a third rail on the sleepers. At the line's northern end, however, the scale and complexity of replacing the line's Duffws (F&BR) terminus and goods yard made it impossible to continue to meet passengers' needs, so a temporary terminus was provided at Glynllifon Street, approximately 10 chains (200 m) short of Duffws.
Glynllifon Street station is only mentioned in one published source, which refers to a published postcard showing a train at the station.[3] No hint of its existence is given in the standard work on the F&BR.[4]
It is likely that the station had no platforms, in common with all other F&BR stations. Carriages were very low to the ground, so passengers boarded from and alighted to the trackside.
Closure
Narrow gauge trains ceased running on 5 September 1883 with standard gauge services beginning on 10 September 1883. Glynllifon Street station was closed permanently when the narrow gauge ended, being replaced by a permanent terminus initially known as "Blaenau Festiniog" on the site of the former Duffws (F&BR) terminus. The terminus was renamed Blaenau Ffestiniog Central in 1951, closed to passenger traffic in January 1960 and closed completely in January 1961.
The line reopened
The line through the site of Glynllifon Street station closed in 1961 but it was mothballed pending building the long-discussed cross-town link to enable trains to run along the Conwy Valley Line, through Blaenau and on to Trawsfynydd nuclear power station which was then being built. The line through the site reopened on 24 April 1964, but none of the station's facilities were brought back to life. The line closed again in 1998 as the nuclear plant was being decommissioned. Once more the route was mothballed in case a future use is found.
The station site in the 21st Century
By 2011 no hint of the station remained. In Spring 2016 the mothballed single track line still ran past the site to the former nuclear flask loading point.
The future
Between 2000 and 2011 there were at least two attempts to put the mothballed line through the site to use. In 2011 there were proposals to use the rails as a recreational velorail track. Neither this nor the earlier idea came to anything. The possibility remains that the surviving line could see future preservation or reuse by the nuclear industry.[5]
To considerable local surprise fresh moves to reopen the line from Blaenau as far south as Trawsfynydd began in September 2016, with the formation of The Trawsfynydd & Blaenau Ffestiniog Community Railway Company. On 21 September at least one regional newspaper reported that "Volunteers are set to start work this weekend on clearing vegetation from the trackbed between Blaenau Ffestiniog and Trawsfynydd." The company was quoted as saying "We have been given a licence by Network Rail to clear and survey the line."[6]
Preceding station | Disused railways | Following station | ||
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Terminus | Festiniog and Blaenau Railway Narrow gauge |
Tan-y-Manod Line and station closed |
References
- ↑ Boyd 1988, p. 68.
- 1 2 Boyd 1988, p. 47.
- ↑ Glynllifon Street temporary terminus, via Festipedia
- ↑ Boyd 1988.
- ↑ Pagnamenta 2016, p. 38.
- ↑ Crump 2016, p. 15.
Sources
- Boyd, James I.C. (1988) [1972]. Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire - Volume 1. Headington, Oxford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-365-7. OCLC 20417464.
- Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0508-1. OCLC 60251199.
- Crump, Eryl (21 September 2016). "Back on Track. Dream of reopening railway moves step closer". Daily Post. Wales.
- Pagnamenta, Robin (23 May 2016). "Rivals line up to build small nuclear plants in Snowdonia". The Times. London.
- Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway and Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
Further material
- Boyd, James I.C. (October 1959). Mansell, K.G., ed. "Bala & Festiniog Section - W.R.". Railway World. London: Railway World Limited. 20 (233).
- Christiansen, Rex (1976). Forgotten Railways: North and Mid Wales. Newton Abbot, Devon: David and Charles. ISBN 0 7153 7059 6.
- Coleford, I. C. (October 2010). Smith, Martin, ed. "By GWR to Blaenau Ffestiniog (Part One)". Railway Bylines. Radstock: Irwell Press Limited. 15 (11).
- Coleford, I. C. (November 2010). Smith, Martin, ed. "By GWR to Blaenau Ffestiniog (Part Two)". Railway Bylines. Radstock: Irwell Press Limited. 15 (12).
- Ferris, Tom (2004) [1961]. British Railways Volume 4 - Bewdley To Blaenau (DVD). demanddvd. DEMDVD084.
- Green, C.C. (1996) [1983]. North Wales Branch Line Album. Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 0 7110 1252 0.
- Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Bala to Llandudno: Featuring Blaenau Ffestiniog. Midhurst, West Sussex: Middleton Press (MD). ISBN 978 1 906008 87 1.
- Morton Lloyd, M.E. (April 1961). Cooke, B.W.C., ed. "Farewell to Bala-Blaenau Branch". The Railway Magazine. London: Tothill Press Limited. 107 (720).
- Richards, Alun John (2001). The Slate Railways of Wales. Llanrwst: Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN 0-86381-689-4.
- Southern, D. W. (1995). Bala Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog (Scenes from the Past, Railways of North Wales, No. 25). Stockport: Foxline Publishing. ISBN 1 8701 19 34 7.
- Turner, Alun (2003). Gwynedd's Lost Railways. Catrine, Ayrshire: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 9781840332599.
External links
- The station site on a navigable OS Map, via National Library of Scotland
- The station and line, via Rail Map Online
- The line LJT2 with mileages, via Railway Codes
- Reminiscences by a local railwayman, via Forgotten Relics
- Festiniog and Blaenau Railway, via Festipedia
- Driver's view through the station to Blaenau, via YouTube
- Several photos of the line, via Penmorfa
- Several photos of the line, via Penmorfa
- The line in 2009, via The Railway Muddler
- A special along the line, via 2D53
- Details of Summer 1989 excursions through the station, via Six Bells Junction
- Details and photos of 22 Jan 1961 railtour, via Six Bells Junction
- Photos of 22 Jan 1961 railtour, via Robert Darlaston
- The 22 Jan 1961 last train special, via YouTube
- An inspection saloon ride on the line, Part 1, via YouTube
- An inspection saloon ride on the line, Part 2, via YouTube
- Signal box diagram, via Signalling Record Society