Aberangell railway station

Last updated

Aberangell
General information
Location Aberangell, Gwynedd
Wales
Platforms1
Other information
StatusDisused
History
Original company Mawddwy Railway
Pre-grouping Cambrian Railways
Post-grouping Great Western Railway
Key dates
1867Station opens
1874 Hendre Ddu Tramway opens
17 April 1901Station closes to passengers
31 July 1911Station reopens
1 January 1931 [1] Station closes to passengers
1939Hendre Ddu Tramway closes
1952Station closes to all traffic

Aberangell railway station was an intermediate railway station on the Mawddwy Railway which ran from Cemmaes Road to Dinas Mawddy in the Welsh county of Merionethshire. The station was opened by the Mawddwy Railway in 1867 and closed to all goods traffic in 1908. The railway re-opened in 1911 with all services run by the Cambrian Railways. It was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway in 1923 as part of the grouping of British railways, and remained open to passenger and freight traffic until 1931 and 1952, respectively. The station was the transshipment point between the branch and the Hendre Ddu Tramway.

Contents

History

The Mawddwy Railway was first opened in 1867, however it was closed to passenger traffic in 1901, and closed to all goods traffic in 1908. It reopened on 31 July 1911 as a light railway system, as a result of the support of several local councils. [2] The railway was incorporated, as part of the Cambrian Railways, into the Great Western Railway during the Grouping of 1923. The railway closed its passenger services in 1931, although the line continued to remain open for freight traffic until 1952. [2]

The station served local passenger needs. There was also a thriving goods service, with parcels and farm machinery delivered by the Mawddwy Railway and livestock being sent away from the station. The Hendre Ddu Tramway connected a number of local slate quarries to the station, where a wharf was provided to unload slate onto Mawddwy Railway wagons. During the First World War a great deal of timber was felled in the forests west of Aberangell. This was sawn into pit props and sent down the Hendre Ddu Tramway to be shipped out on the standard gauge railway. This timber traffic continued into the early 1920s. Some logs were shipped to Dinas Mawddwy where a sawmill processed them into timber. The Hendre Ddu Tramway closed in 1938. During the Second World War ammunition was stored in the Hendreddu Quarry, arriving by Great Western Railway trains and being taken by lorry along the tramway trackbed to the quarry. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways</span> Defunct railway company in Wales (1877-1916)

The North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways (NWNGR) was a railway company that planned to build a number of inter-connected 1 ft 11+12 in narrow-gauge railways across North Wales. The first two of these lines – jointly known as the "Moel Tryfan Undertaking" – were authorised by act of Parliament, the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways Act 1872 and were built and opened in the 1870s. The original main line ran from Dinas Junction to Bryngwyn and opened in 1877. The second line was a branch from Tryfan Junction to South Snowdon, though shortly after opening, the company designated the Tryfan Junction to Bryngwyn section as the branch, and the Dinas Junction to South Snowdon section as the main line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cambrian Railways</span> British railway company (1864–1922)

The Cambrian Railways owned 230 miles (370 km) of track over a large area of mid Wales. The system was an amalgamation of a number of railways that were incorporated in 1864, 1865 and 1904. The Cambrian connected with two larger railways with connections to the northwest of England via the London and North Western Railway, and the Great Western Railway for connections between London and Wales. The Cambrian Railways amalgamated with the Great Western Railway on 1 January 1922 as a result of the Railways Act 1921. The name is continued today in the route known as the Cambrian Line.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberangell</span> Human settlement in Wales

Aberangell is a village in Gwynedd, Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mallwyd</span> Village in Gwynedd, Wales

Mallwyd is a small village at the most southern end of Gwynedd, Wales, in the Mawddwy community, in the valley of the River Dyfi. It lies on the A470 approximately halfway between Dolgellau and Machynlleth, and forms the junction of the A458 towards Welshpool. The nearest villages are Dinas Mawddwy, two miles to the north, and Aberangell a similar distance to the south. The River Dugoed flows into the River Dyfi near the village. The Cambrian Way long-distance walk passes through the village.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dinas Mawddwy</span> Town in Wales

Dinas Mawddwy is a town in the community of Mawddwy in south-east Gwynedd, north Wales. It lies within the Snowdonia National Park, but just to the east of the main A470, and consequently many visitors pass the town by. Its population is roughly 600. The town marks the junction of the unclassified road to Llanuwchllyn which climbs up through the mountains to cross Bwlch y Groes at its highest point, the second highest road pass in Wales. This minor road also provides the closest access to the mountain Aran Fawddwy and is the nearest settlement to Craig Cywarch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hendre-Ddu Tramway</span> Defunct narrow gauge railway in Wales

The Hendre-Ddu Tramway was a 1 ft 11 in narrow gauge industrial railway built in 1874 in Mid-Wales to connect the Hendre-Ddu slate quarry to Aberangell station on the Mawddwy Railway. It consisted of a main line 3+12 miles (5.6 km) long and several branch lines and spurs serving other quarries, local farms and the timber industry.

The Ruabon–Barmouth line was a standard-gauge line owned by the Great Western Railway across the north of Wales which connected Ruabon, in the east, with Barmouth on the west coast.

The Mawddwy Railway was a rural line in the Dyfi Valley in mid-Wales that connected Dinas Mawddwy with a junction at Cemmaes Road railway station on the Newtown and Machynlleth Railway section of the Cambrian Railways.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abermule railway station</span> Disused railway station in Abermule, Powys

Abermule railway station served the village of Abermule in Wales. Served by the Oswestry and Newtown railway, it was situated on the English border. Until 1956 it was the junction for the short branch to Kerry, which had a passenger service until 1931 but was largely built for the local timber traffic.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ashby de la Zouch railway station</span> Former railway station in Leicestershire, England

Ashby de la Zouch railway station is a former railway station at Ashby de la Zouch in Leicestershire on the Leicester to Burton upon Trent Line. The Midland Railway opened it in 1849 and British Railways closed it in 1964.

Sir Edmund Buckley, 1st Baronet was a British landowner and Conservative politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1865 to 1878.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dyfi hills</span>

The Dyfi hills are a range situated in the southernmost area of Snowdonia, bounded by the River Dyfi on the east and south sides, by the Afon Dulas on the west and the Afon Cerist to the north. They lie to the west of the Aran Fawddwy range, north-east of the Tarren y Gesail range and are a subgroup of the Cadair Idris group.

Cemmaes railway station was an intermediate railway station on the Mawddwy Railway which ran from Cemmaes Road to Dinas Mawddy in the Welsh county of Merionethshire. The station was opened by the Mawddwy Railway in 1867 and closed to all goods traffic in 1908. The railway re-opened in 1911 with all services run by the Cambrian Railways. It was amalgamated into the Great Western Railway in 1923 as part of the grouping of British railways, and remained open to passenger traffic until 1931.

The Meirion Mill Railway was a narrow gauge railway that operated at Meirion Mill in Dinas Mawddwy, Wales. It only operated for three years from 1975 to 1977.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mynydd Gartheiniog</span> Mountain in southern Snowdonia, Wales

Mynydd Gartheiniog is a mountain in southern Snowdonia, Wales. It is a long ridge running south from the cliff of Craig Portas above Dinas Mawddwy and parallel to Mynydd Dolgoed which lies to the west.

Gartheiniog quarry was a slate quarry served by the Hendre Ddu Tramway. It is located about a mile west of Aberangell in Merioneth, North Wales near the confluence of the Nant Maesygamfa and the Afon Angell. It worked the Narrow Vein, the highest-quality slate vein in the Abercorris Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Narrow Vein Mudstone Formation</span>

The Narrow Vein Mudstone Formation is an Ordovician lithostratigraphic group in Mid Wales. The rock of the formation is silty, homogeneous or finely-laminated mudstone. It generally a medium blue colour. This formation has been commercially quarried as slate in several locations along its length. The formation is between 400 metres (1,300 ft) and 560 metres (1,840 ft) thick and runs from Dinas Mawddwy south-west to Cardigan Bay at Tywyn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cwm Ebol quarry</span> Former slate quarry near Pennal, in Merionethshire, Wales, UK

The Cwm Ebol quarry was a slate quarry about 1 mile (1.6 km) north west of the village of Pennal in Mid Wales. It operated from about 1860 to about 1906. It was the last Welsh slate quarry connected only to a trans-shipment point instead of directly to a railway.

Dennis Bradwell, was a British businessman who was mayor of Congleton in the 1870s. He owned silk mills in Cheshire and Staffordshire and a slate quarry in Mid Wales.

Edward Hurst Davies (1855-1927) was a Welsh quarry manager and owner.

References

  1. Quick, M E (2002). Railway passenger stations in England, Scotland and Wales – a chronology. Richmond: Railway and Canal Historical Society. p. 40. OCLC   931112387.
  2. 1 2 "Disused Station: Aberangell". Disused Railway Stations. Retrieved 10 April 2016.
  3. Quine, Dan (December 2022). The Hendre Ddu Tramway: Blue Stones and Green Trees. Lightmoor Press. ISBN   9781915069153.

Bibliography

Preceding station Disused railways Following station
Cemmaes
Line and station closed
  Cambrian Railways
Mawddwy Railway
  Mallwyd
Line and station closed

52°40′29″N3°42′30″W / 52.67466°N 3.70821°W / 52.67466; -3.70821