Pont Croesor railway station

Last updated

Pont Croesor
Station on heritage railway
Pont Croesor railway station, Gwynedd (geograph 3604152).jpg
The station looking north towards Nantmor and Caernarfon in 2013
General information
Location Porthmadog, Gwynedd
Wales
Coordinates 52°57′02″N4°05′49″W / 52.95058°N 4.09684°W / 52.95058; -4.09684 Coordinates: 52°57′02″N4°05′49″W / 52.95058°N 4.09684°W / 52.95058; -4.09684
Grid reference SH592413
Owned by Festiniog Railway Company
Managed by Welsh Highland Railway
Platforms2
History
Original company Croesor Tramway
Key dates
1923first station opened
1936first station closed
22 May 2010First passenger trains at present station
26 May 2010Official opening
30 October 2010First crossing of passengers trains
8 January 2011Start of timetabled services south of Pont Croesor [1]

Pont Croesor is a railway halt in Wales, on the Welsh Highland Railway, which runs through the Snowdonia National Park from Caernarfon to Porthmadog. It is located on the section between the stations of Hafod y Llyn and Pen-y-Mount Junction.

Contents

Originally, as part of the Croesor Tramway, there was a siding at this location but no station. When the WHR was initially built in 1923 a small halt was provided; however, this closed with the railway in 1936 and all trace of this was removed when the line was lifted.

The line from Pont Croesor to Porthmadog Harbour has been connected since early 2009, being available for stock transfer purposes. The station was officially opened on 26 May 2010 and was the WHR's temporary terminus, having previously opened to passengers on 22 May 2010. The previous terminus at Hafod y Llyn is now closed. [2]

It opened to timetabled passenger services on 8 January 2011. [1]

When the station opened there was a full-length platform on the west side of the loop only, but with the commencement of through services in both directions during 2011 a second platform was provided. The station site is adjacent to Pont Croesor bridge, which crosses the River Glaslyn, and is a hybrid road/rail bridge, as each uses the same piers. [3] The bridge was extensively modified in appearance recently to feature standard safety barriers. The new loop was finally completed, for operational purposes, on 13 March 2010.

During the 2010 and 2011 seasons the station has featured a manned booking office and gift shop; however with all trains terminating at Porthmadog for the 2012 season Pont Croesor is no longer a terminus, and has therefore been downgraded to an unstaffed halt. The station building has been removed to Blaenau Ffestiniog but the waiting room remains.

Preceding station HR icon.svg   Heritage railways Following station
Nantmor [4]   Welsh Highland Railway
Porthmadog - Caernarfon		  Pen-y-Mount Jcn (special events only)
Porthmadog Harbour
  Historical railways  
Ynysfor Halt   Welsh Highland Railway   Portmadoc New (1923) station
Portmadoc New (1933) station

Ospreys

The station is adjacent to the viewing site of the Glaslyn Osprey Project, [5] from where the public can see the nesting place of a pair of ospreys. [6] Chicks have been successfully raised every year since 2005. The majority of the WHR's construction in this area has been carried out whilst the birds are abroad in the winter months, in order to keep disturbance to a minimum. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ffestiniog Railway</span> Heritage railway in Wales

The Ffestiniog Railway is a heritage railway based on 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in narrow-gauge, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welsh Highland Railway</span> Heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd

The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) or Rheilffordd Eryri is a 25-mile (40.2 km) long, restored 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in narrow gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations including Beddgelert and the Aberglaslyn Pass. At Porthmadog it connects with the Ffestiniog Railway and to the short Welsh Highland Heritage Railway. In Porthmadog it uses the United Kingdom's only mixed gauge flat rail crossing.

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

The River Dwyryd is a river in Gwynedd, Wales which flows principally westwards; draining to the sea into Tremadog Bay, south of Porthmadog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Croesor Tramway</span>

The Croesor Tramway was a Welsh, 2 ft narrow gauge railway line built to carry slate from the Croesor slate mines to Porthmadog. It was built in 1864 without an Act of Parliament and was operated using horse power.

<i>Russell</i> (locomotive)

Russell is a narrow gauge steam locomotive originally built in 1906 for the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways (NWNGR), but most famously associated with the original Welsh Highland Railway (WHR), and now based at the Welsh Highland Heritage Railway in Porthmadog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porthmadog cross town link</span>

The Porthmadog cross town link is a section of the 1 ft 11+1⁄2 in 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Porthmadog Harbour railway station</span>

Porthmadog Harbour railway station in Porthmadog, Gwynedd, North Wales. It is the passenger terminus of two narrow gauge railways: the Ffestiniog Railway, which was opened in 1836 to carry dressed slate from the Quarries around Blaenau Ffestiniog to the sea port of Porthmadog, for export by sea; and the Welsh Highland Railway, incorporated in 1923, which ran to Dinas. After rebuilding in 1997-2011, the other terminus is at Caernarfon, in sight of the Castle.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tan-y-Bwlch railway station</span>

Tan-y-Bwlch railway station is the principal intermediate passenger station on the narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway, which was built in 1836 to carry dressed slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog for export by sea. The station lies off the B4410 former turnpike road from Maentwrog to Llanfrothen and Beddgelert, which the railway crosses on a fine cast-iron skew bridge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meillionen railway station</span>

Meillionen railway station is a halt on the Welsh Highland Railway. It opened to the public when the section of line between Rhyd Ddu and Beddgelert re-opened on 8 April 2009.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Beddgelert railway station</span> Railway station on the narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway in North Wales

Beddgelert railway station is a railway station on the narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway in North Wales.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aberglaslyn Pass</span>

The Aberglaslyn Pass is a narrow gorge of considerable beauty in Snowdonia, Gwynedd, north Wales. The A498 road/A4085 road follows a relatively level route along the Afon Glaslyn through the pass from Beddgelert to Prenteg and then continues at the edge of the Traeth Mawr via Tremadog to Porthmadog.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pen-y-Mount Junction railway station</span> Former railway station in Wales

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.

Traeth Mawr Loop was a run round loop on the Welsh Highland Railway (WHR), located to the north of Porthmadog, Wales.

The restoration of the Welsh Highland Railway has a colourful and complex history. This article provides the modern history.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Welsh Highland Heritage Railway</span> Preserved railway at Porthmadog, Wales, UK

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

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

Nantmor is a railway halt in North Wales serving the nearby hamlet of the same name. It is located between the stations of Beddgelert and Pont Croesor on the recently restored Welsh Highland Railway. It had existed during the first period of the WHR, 1923–1936, and was rebuilt for the current line, opening on 27 May 2010.

The original Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) owed its existence to the narrow gauge railways and tramways built to serve commercial slate traffic from slate quarries and other mineral extraction operations along its route.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hafod y Llyn railway station</span> Railway infrastructure in North Wales

Hafod y Llyn is a halt in North Wales on the Welsh Highland Railway, located between Beddgelert and Pont Croesor. It had been a halt, with a siding for a period on the original WHR, and a temporary terminus during the rebuilding of the line.

The Glaslyn Osprey Project is located in the Glaslyn Valley at Pont Croesor near Porthmadog in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. The project has supported ospreys since 2004 when they came to the Snowdonia National Park to breed after being absent from Wales for decades. The ospreys spend every winter in West Africa and travel thousands of miles to return to Glaslyn every year to breed and raise their chicks.

References

  1. 1 2 "Ffestiniog Railway: Be the first to experience the completed Welsh Highland!" . Retrieved 19 January 2011.
  2. ↑ "2010 Company Timetable" . Retrieved 14 February 2010.
  3. 1 2 "WHR Project Phase 4: Pont Croesor" . Retrieved 17 March 2012.
  4. ↑ Eryl Crump (22 March 2010). "New station on Welsh Highland Railway in memory of university lecturer". Daily Post (North Wales).
  5. ↑ WHR Project Phase 4: Pont Croesor - Traeth Mawr Archived 20 February 2008 at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ RSPB: Glaslyn osprey project Archived 9 June 2007 at the Wayback Machine
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.