Llangollen | |
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Station on heritage railway | |
General information | |
Location | Llangollen, Denbighshire Wales |
Coordinates | 52°58′17″N3°10′17″W / 52.9713°N 3.1714°W |
Grid reference | SJ214421 |
Managed by | Llangollen Railway |
Platforms | 2 |
History | |
Original company | Vale of Llangollen Railway |
Pre-grouping | Great Western Railway |
Post-grouping | Great Western Railway |
Key dates | |
2 June 1862 | Temporary first station opened [1] |
1 May 1865 | Second station opened |
18 January 1965 | Closed for passenger service [1] |
April 1968 | Closed for goods traffic |
13 September 1975 | The Llangollen Railway is formed and begins reconstruction westwards |
1981 | Llangollen Station re-opens officially |
Listed Building – Grade II | |
Feature | Railway Station (Main Building & Footbridge) |
Designated | 22 December 1989 |
Reference no. | 2083 [2] |
Llangollen railway station in the town of Llangollen, Denbighshire, Wales, is a preserved railway station on the former Ruabon to Barmouth Line, and now the eastern terminus of the preserved Llangollen Railway.
Llangollen was already a popular place for Victorian era tourists by the 1840s. Travel up to this point had been by horse-drawn carriage, but by the 1840s the Shrewsbury to Chester line had been completed, allowing passengers to alight at Llangollen Road, and then take a coach towards Holyhead. [3]
However, the commercial development of the local mining industry meant that the development of a railway became essential to the region's economic development. A number of schemes were proposed, including one by the LNWR, but it was not until 1 August 1859 that a scheme engineered by Henry Robertson received Royal Assent. The 5.25 miles (8.45 km) Vale of Llangollen Railway left the Shrewsbury to Chester main line .5 miles (0.80 km) south of Ruabon, and built as a single track line on a double track route proceeded via Acrefair to the new station at Llangollen. The line opened to freight on 1 December 1861, and to passengers on 2 June 1862 at a temporary terminus on the town's eastern outskirts. [4]
The extension to Corwen was undertaken by the associated but separate Llangollen and Corwen Railway company, and involved constructing a long tunnel under the local Berwyn Mountains. It, together with the new centrally positioned and larger station in Llangollen, opened for service on 1 May 1865. [4]
The already accommodated double-tracking of the line from Ruabon was completed in September 1900 to Llangollen Goods Junction, located 0.5 miles (0.80 km) west of the current station. Between then and World War I, Acrefair, Trevor and Llangollen stations were all in part remodelled to cope with additional traffic. There were signal boxes at Llangollen and Llangollen Goods Jnc., with the latter controlling access to the goods yard, which today is a depot for the preserved railway. [4]
According to the Official Handbook of Stations the following classes of traffic were being handled at this station in 1956: G, P, F, L, H, C and there was a 3-ton crane. There was also a private siding at Pentrefelin (now a carriage depot) that was used by the White Sand & Silica Company. [5] Between the two world wars, a direct service connection time of less than 6hrs was possible on a daily basis between London Paddington and Barmouth.
Designated for closure under the Beeching cuts, the station closed to passengers on Monday 18 January 1965 [1] but the section between Ruabon and Llangollen Goods Yard remained opened for freight traffic until April 1968. Immediately afterwards the track was removed from the whole line between Ruabon and Barmouth Jn.
The Flint and Deeside Railway Preservation Society was founded in 1972, with the aim of preserving one of the region's "axed" railways. Originally the society was interested in preserving the Dyserth to Prestatyn line; however that line was deemed unsuitable because a small amount of freight traffic was still using it. [6] The society refocused its attention on the Llangollen to Corwen section of the Ruabon to Barmouth line. The local council granted a lease on the Llangollen railway station building, as well as 3 miles (4.8 km) of trackbed, with the hope that the railway would improve the local economy and bring more tourists to Llangollen. The station reopened on 13 September 1975, with just 60 feet (18.3 m) of track. [7]
The station was fully reopened in 1981 by the preserved Llangollen Railway as its eastern terminus. The refurbished station now encloses the Robertson Suite, which is available for hire as a venue for licensed weddings, functions or training.
Preceding station | Historical railways | Following station | ||
---|---|---|---|---|
Terminus | Great Western Railway Vale of Llangollen Railway | Sun Bank Halt | ||
Berwyn | Great Western Railway Llangollen and Corwen Railway | Terminus | ||
Heritage railways | ||||
Berwyn | Llangollen Railway | Terminus |
The Llangollen Railway is a volunteer-run heritage railway in Denbighshire, North Wales, which operates between Llangollen and Corwen. The standard gauge line, which is 10 miles (16 km) long, runs on part of the former Ruabon – Barmouth GWR route that closed in 1965. It operates daily services in the summer as well as weekends throughout the winter months, using a variety of mainly ex-GWR steam locomotives as well as several diesel engines and diesel multiple units. A 2+1⁄2 miles (4 km) extension of the railway has been built to complete the line to Corwen.
Pwllheli railway station serves the small coastal town of Pwllheli, on the Llŷn Peninsula in Gwynedd, Wales. It is the northern terminus of the Cambrian Coast Railway.
Morfa Mawddach railway station is an unstaffed station located on the outskirts of the village of Arthog in Gwynedd, Wales, on the Cambrian Coast line between Machynlleth and Pwllheli. Built by the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway in 1865, it was formerly the junction station for the Ruabon to Barmouth Line. Since the closure of the Ruabon to Barmouth line in 1965, it remains open, as a minor station on the Cambrian Line.
Ruabon railway station is a combined rail and bus interchange serving Ruabon, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. It is the second busiest station in Wrexham County Borough in terms of passenger journeys, after the mainline station, Wrexham General. It is on the Shrewsbury to Chester Line, which is part of the former Great Western Railway mainline route from London Paddington to Birkenhead Woodside which lasted until 1967.
Chirk railway station serves the town of Chirk, Wrexham County Borough, Wales. The station is on the Shrewsbury to Chester Line 21 miles (34 km) north of Shrewsbury, which is part of the former Great Western Railway mainline route from London Paddington to Birkenhead Woodside. The original 19th-century Chirk / Y Waun station building was demolished in 1987, without consultation, by the local council.
The Vale of Llangollen Railway was built as a spur from the Shrewsbury and Chester Railway south of Ruabon to the town of Llangollen. The line was built along the northern side of the Dee Valley and authorized by an Act of Parliament on 1 August 1859. It was initially opened for goods only on 1 December 1861 and to passenger traffic on 2 June 1862, and was worked from the outset by the Great Western Railway.
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.
Arthog railway station in Gwynedd, Wales, was a station on the Dolgelly [sic] branch of the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway. It closed to passengers on 18 January 1965.
Penmaenpool railway station at Penmaenpool in Gwynedd, North Wales, was formerly a station on the Dolgelly [sic] branch of the Aberystwith and Welsh Coast Railway, part of the Ruabon to Barmouth Line. It closed to passengers on Monday 18 January 1965.
Bala Junction railway station was on the Ruabon to Barmouth line in southern Gwynedd, Wales. It closed to passengers on Monday 18 January 1965. Bala Junction was unusual in that it was inaccessible by road and merely served as an interchange station; it was located about ¾ mile to the south-east of the town of Bala.
Acrefair railway station was a former station on the Ruabon–Barmouth line in North East Wales. It closed to passengers on 18 January 1965 as part of the Beeching Axe.
Berwyn railway station in Denbighshire, Wales, is a railway station on the former cross-country line between Ruabon and Barmouth. The station, which opened in May 1865, was a stop on the Great Western Railway (GWR) line between Llangollen and Corwen. It remained open for almost a hundred years, and it was due to be closed to passengers on Monday 18 January 1965. However, it was closed prematurely due to flood damage on 14 December 1964.
Glyndyfrdwy railway station is a former station on the Ruabon to Barmouth line near the village of Glyndyfrdwy in Denbighshire, Wales. It is now a preserved railway station on the Llangollen Railway, being reopened by the heritage railway in 1993.
Carrog railway station in Denbighshire, Wales, was formerly a station on the Ruabon to Barmouth line. A camping coach was positioned here by the Western Region from 1956 to 1962. It was to have closed to passengers on Monday 18 January 1965 but closed prematurely on 14 December 1964 due to flood damage. According to the Official Handbook of Stations the following classes of traffic were being handled at this station in 1956: G, P, F, L, H, C but there was no crane.
Corwen railway station refers to two stations, on different sites, which have existed in the town of Corwen in Denbighshire, Wales.
Bala (Penybont) is the current terminus of the heritage Bala Lake Railway, in Gwynedd, Wales, since 1976. The site was formerly the location of the Bala Lake Halt railway station, a former station on the Ruabon to Barmouth line.
Bonwm Halt in Denbighshire, Wales, was a minor station on the Ruabon to Barmouth line.
The Dyserth branch line was a short standard-gauge mineral railway between the northern end of the Clwydian Range at Dyserth and the North Wales Coast Line at Prestatyn. The line was constructed by the London and North Western Railway in 1869; it was built to carry quarried stone and coal. The rise of tourism led to the introduction of a passenger service in 1905. There were stations at Dyserth and Meliden, and basic halts were built at other stopping places. Competition from road transport led to the passenger service being withdrawn in 1930. With the eventual demise of all the mineral industries around Dyserth the entire line was closed in September 1973.
Meliden railway station served the mining village of Meliden, Flintshire, Wales, on the Dyserth branch line. It was used as a way of shipping minerals from the nearby quarries at Dyserth to Prestatyn. The branch line to Dyserth was opened by the LNWR in 1869, initially for mineral traffic only. A passenger service was instituted in 1905 but lasted only until 1930, when it was withdrawn by the LMS. The line remained open to serve a quarry at Dyserth until complete closure in 1973. Since closure the Prestatyn to Dyserth railway has become a nature walk. All that remains is the loading gauge and goods shed.
Dyserth railway station served the village of Dyserth, Flintshire, Wales. It was the southern terminus of the 2 miles 70 chains (4.6 km) Dyserth branch, most of which is now a public footpath. At its peak Dyserth had passengers in the thousands. In 1930 the line and station closed for passengers in the face of road competition. At one point fourteen trains a day had shuttled along the line. Although the station has long been demolished, a crane from the station has been installed at the end of the walk as a feature of historical interest, as have two pieces of track at Chapel Street.