Red Wharf Bay and Benllech railway station

Red Wharf Bay & Benllech
General information
Location	South of Benllech, Anglesey Wales
Coordinates	53°18′29″N4°13′14″W / 53.3081°N 4.2206°W / 53.3081; -4.2206
Grid reference	SH521813
Platforms	1
Other information
Status	Disused
History
Original company	London and North Western Railway
Pre-grouping	London and North Western Railway
Post-grouping	London Midland and Scottish Railway
Key dates
24 May 1909	Opened [1]
22 September 1930	Closed to regular passenger services [1]
3 April 1950	closed completely
Location

Red Wharf Bay and Benllech railway station was the terminus station of the Red Wharf Bay branch line, which ran between Holland Arms and Benllech, off the Anglesey Central Railway.

History

The original plan had been to build the station 0.1 mile from Red Wharf Bay, but the final plans saw it built half a mile south of nearby Benllech. ^[2] Opened in 1909, the station had a waiting room, ticket office, toilets and the longest platform on the line, at 260 feet (79 m) (although this was later shortened). The goods yard to the east of the platform contained three sidings and a loop. ^[3] The approach to the station, from the south, was the site of the only signal on the line. Soon after the completion of the line a local businessman opened up a limestone quarry with the intention of transporting the produce via the new station.

The station was closed to regular passenger services in 1930 but summer specials ran in 1938 and 1939. Goods trains continued until 1950. The track was taken up in 1953 and most of the buildings were demolished at around that time, although the main station building itself still exists. ^[4] There is now nothing existing on the site other than a few artefacts from the original demolition. The site was used as a storage facility for a number of years, but is now a wood yard.

Preceding station	Historical railways			Following station
Llanbedrgoch		Red Wharf Bay Branch		Terminus

References

1. "Bygone Lines: the Red Wharf Bay Branch". London and North Western Railway Society. Archived from the original on 26 March 2017. Retrieved 25 March 2017.
2. Jones, Geraint: Anglesey Railways, p. 76. Carreg Gwalch, 2005
3. Jones, Geraint: Anglesey Railways, p. 86. Carreg Gwalch, 2005
4. Jones, Geraint: Anglesey Railways, page 106. Carreg Gwalch, 2005

Further reading

• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2011). Bangor to Holyhead. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 117-120. ISBN   9781908174017. OCLC   795179106.