The Talyllyn Railway is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for 7 1⁄4 miles (12 km) from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865 to carry slate from the quarries at Bryn Eglwys to Tywyn, and was the first narrow gauge railway in Britain authorised by Act of Parliament to carry passengers using steam haulage. Despite severe under-investment, the line remained open, and in 1951 it became the first railway in the world to be preserved as a heritage railway by volunteers.
Aberllefenni quarry is the collective name of three slate quarries, Foel Grochan, Hen Gloddfa and Ceunant Ddu, located in Cwm Hengae, just to the west of Aberllefenni, Gwynedd, North Wales. It was the longest continually operated slate mine in the world until its closure in 2003. Foel Grochan is the quarry on the north side of the valley, facing Ceunant Ddu and Hen Gloddfa on the south; all three were worked as a single concern throughout their history. Rock was mainly extracted underground, though all three quarries had open pits as well.
Sir Henry Haydn Jones was a Welsh Liberal Party politician.
Abergynolwyn is a village in southern Gwynedd, Wales, located at the confluence of the Nant Gwernol and the Afon Dysynni. The population of the community which is named after the village of Llanfihangel-y-Pennant was 339 at the 2011 census.
Bryn Eglwys quarry was a slate quarry and mine located near Abergynolwyn in Gwynedd, Wales. More than 300 men worked at the site, making it the principal employer in the area. Two veins of slate, known as the Broad Vein and the Narrow Vein, were worked. The geology continues eastwards towards Corris and Dinas Mawddwy, and westwards towards Tywyn. It was one of many quarries in Mid Wales that worked these veins.
Llanllyfni is a small village and a community in Gwynedd, Wales. It is in the historic county of Caernarfonshire. The community consists of the villages of Drws-y-coed, Nantlle, Nasareth, Nebo, Penygroes, Talysarn and the village of Llanllyfni itself. Penygroes, Llanllyfni and Talysarn are almost conjoined. As a community the 2011 census recorded a population of 1256. It is a largely Welsh-speaking village as 85% of the villagers speak Welsh as their first language. The community covers 43 square kilometres.
Rhydyronen railway station is a request stop on the Talyllyn Railway, near Tywyn, Gwynedd in mid-Wales. It was built in 1867 to serve local farms, and the village of Bryn-crug.
Dolgoch railway station is a station on the Talyllyn Railway between Tywyn and Abergynolwyn, Gwynedd in mid-Wales. It is 4 miles 72 chains (7.89 km) from Tywyn Wharf. Unlike most places on the line, the station was built for tourist traffic, for visitors to the local Dolgoch Falls.
Abergynolwyn railway station is a station on the Talyllyn Railway near Abergynolwyn, Gwynedd, in Mid-Wales. It is 6.55 miles (10.54 km) from Tywyn Wharf. The name 'Abergynolwyn' means 'Mouth-of-the-River-with-a-Whirlpool'.
Nant Gwernol railway station is the eastern terminus of the Talyllyn Railway near Abergynolwyn, Gwynedd in mid-Wales. It is 7 miles, 28 chains (11.83 km) from Tywyn Wharf. Nant Gwernol station was opened in 1976; before 1976 this upper part of the line had only been used for goods services.
William McConnel was a British industrialist and mill-owner from Lancashire, England. He founded the Aberdovey Slate Company that ran the Bryn Eglwys slate quarry from 1863 onwards and oversaw the construction of the associated Talyllyn Railway.
Tarren y Gesail is a mountain in Snowdonia, North Wales. It is one of the Marilyns of the Cadair Idris group.
Tarrenhendre is a mountain in Snowdonia, North Wales. It is one of the Marilyns in the Cadair Idris group.
Sir Haydn is a narrow gauge steam locomotive, built by Hughes's Locomotive & Tramway Engine Works of the Falcon Works, Loughborough in 1878. It operated on the Corris Railway in Wales, until closure in 1948, and since 1951 has operated on the nearby Talyllyn Railway. It has carried the operating number 3 under four successive owners.
Edward Thomas is a narrow gauge steam locomotive. Built by Kerr Stuart & Co. Ltd. at the California Works, Stoke-on-Trent in 1921, it was delivered new to the Corris Railway where it ran until 1948. After that railway closed, the locomotive was brought to the Talyllyn Railway in 1951, then restored, and remains in working order at the heritage railway. It has carried the operating number 4 under four successive owners.
Tal-y-llyn, or Talyllyn, is a small hamlet and former parish in Gwynedd, Wales, situated at the end of Tal-y-llyn Lake close to the village of Abergynolwyn. The parish covered an area of 36,000 acres (15,000 ha). The River Dysynni flows out of the lake at this point, flowing down to enter Cardigan Bay north of Tywyn.
The Broad Vein Mudstone Formation is an Ordovician lithostratigraphic group in Mid Wales. The rock of the formation is silty mudstone, intensely bioturbated in places. It varies in colour from a pale to a medium blue. 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.
The Narrow Vein Mudstone Formation is an Ordovician lithostratigraphic group in Mid Wales. The rock of the formation is silty, homogenous 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.
Dolgoch slate quarry was a slate quarry in Mid Wales, approximately halfway between Bryn-crug and Abergynolwyn. The quarry was named after a nearby stream, the Nant Dolgoch. 'Dol-gôch' is Welsh for 'Red-meadow'.
