place

Welsh Highland Heritage Railway

1 ft 11½ in gauge railways in WalesHeritage railways in GwyneddNarrow gauge railways in GwyneddPorthmadogSlate industry in Wales
Use British English from March 2017Welsh Highland Railway
Peckett 2024 'Karen', R&H 4wDE 'Glaslyn' & Bagnell 3050 'Gelert' Porthmadog, WHR, N Wales 15.8.1992 (10196767243)
Peckett 2024 'Karen', R&H 4wDE 'Glaslyn' & Bagnell 3050 'Gelert' Porthmadog, WHR, N Wales 15.8.1992 (10196767243)

The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway is a short reconstructed heritage railway in Gwynedd, Wales. Its main station is in Porthmadog.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Welsh Highland Heritage Railway (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Welsh Highland Heritage Railway
Chapel Street,

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Welsh Highland Heritage RailwayContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 52.931656 ° E -4.126984 °
placeShow on map

Address

Gelert's Farm Works

Chapel Street
LL49 9DU , Porthmadog
Wales, United Kingdom
mapOpen on Google Maps

Peckett 2024 'Karen', R&H 4wDE 'Glaslyn' & Bagnell 3050 'Gelert' Porthmadog, WHR, N Wales 15.8.1992 (10196767243)
Peckett 2024 'Karen', R&H 4wDE 'Glaslyn' & Bagnell 3050 'Gelert' Porthmadog, WHR, N Wales 15.8.1992 (10196767243)
Share experience

Nearby Places

Pen-y-Mount Junction railway station
Pen-y-Mount Junction railway station

Pen-y-Mount Junction station is the northern terminus of the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway (WHHR) in Porthmadog, Wales. With the opening of all three platforms, it has the most of any station in the Porthmadog area. Pen-y-Mount Junction is the only narrow gauge junction station in Britain; it is the only junction station between two Heritage Railways in Britain, and also has the largest number of platforms of any narrow gauge station in Britain along with the New Romney Station of the Romney, Hythe, and Dymchurch railway. It opened on 2 August 1980 at which time it consisted of a single platform with a run round loop and was intended to be a temporary terminus. In 1990, a siding was laid into the yard for works trains. After the Festiniog Railway Company gained the authority to rebuild the original Welsh Highland Railway (WHR), it was decided to turn Pen-y-Mount station into a representation of a typical WHR station. In 1996, a replica WHR corrugated iron station building was constructed. Its design was based upon the original Nantmor railway station. Subsequently, genuine WHR fencing, including a kissing gate, was erected along the back of the platform. In 2000, the WHHR began construction of the WHR main line, under the terms of their 1998 agreement with the Festiniog Railway Company. This included clearing, preparing the track bed, tracklaying and ballasting. The northern end of the WHHR line was also re-modelled and, in 2002, the existing headshunt was replaced with a full crossover so it could connect with the FR owned WHR main line. A new headshunt loading spur was also constructed. They also helped construct the mainline between Pen-y-Mount and the Porthmadog Cross Town Link. The WHHR finished construction work in 2007. Under the terms of the 1998 agreement, they were allowed to use the new line and retain all revenue from it until the FR had finished constructing the remainder of the WHR. During 2007 and 2008, WHHR trains terminated at Traeth Mawr Loop rather than Pen-y-Mount. In 2008, the Traeth Mawr loop was removed and WHHR trains used push-pull operation. In 2008, the Welsh Highland Construction Company (an FR Co. subsidiary) connected the two ends of the Welsh Highland Railway and took possession of the line from Traeth Mawr to Pen-y-Mount and, since 2009, WHHR trains have terminated at Pen-y-Mount. It is hoped that in future the WHHR will have running rights over the FR-owned WHR mainline and that the station will become an interchange between the two railways. The two companies, however, are still in discussion over these issues and have yet to reach an agreement. It is intended that Pen-y-Mount Junction will have three fully operational platforms, with lines to Beddgelert and both Porthmadog Termini.

Porthmadog cross town link
Porthmadog cross town link

The Porthmadog cross town link is a section of the 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm) narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway, specifically built to link with the Ffestiniog Railway in Porthmadog, and runs along partly what was called the Junction Railway, previously existing as part of the original Welsh Highland Railway. This had been removed some time after that railway closed in 1936. It has been built using the new powers obtained by the Ffestiniog Railway and runs from Harbour station on the Ffestiniog Railway to Pen-y-Mount Junction close to Pen-y-Mount on the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway. The route is as follows: Junction with the Ffestiniog Railway at Harbour station. Cross Porthmadog High St and the River Glaslyn across the Britannia Bridge with road traffic stopped by lights when trains pass. Around the back of the Wilko supermarket. As such this is a deviation from the original line, that broadly speaking went in front of what is now the supermarket. Across the back streets, in front of the old mill. Across the standard gauge Cambrian Line on the level. This is the only mixed gauge flat rail crossing in the United Kingdom. Along the track bed of the Welsh Highland Railway. Junction just north Pen-y-Mount with Welsh Highland Heritage Railway to Porthmadog (WHHR).For reference, the Junction Railway was empowered to run: Junction with the Ffestiniog Railway at Harbour Station. Cross Porthmadog High St and the River Glaslyn across the Britannia Bridge with street running. a short small curve onto Madoc Street to join to the existing Croesor Tramway line which was taken over by the Welsh Highland Railway.The line reopened on 8 January 2011, linking the Ffestiniog Railway with the Croesor Tramway allowing passenger trains to run between Caernarfon and Blaenau Ffestiniog.