Llanberis Lake Railway
| Llanberis-Penllyn | |
|---|---|
 Locomotive DOLBADARN with train in Llanberis station
| |
 | |
| Route length: | 4 km |
| Gauge : | 597 mm ( narrow gauge ) |
The Llanberis Lake Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Llyn Padarn ) is a narrow-gauge museum railway that runs on a route of 4 km on the north bank of the Llyn Padarn in Snowdonia National Park in Wales ( United Kingdom ). Their track width is 597 mm. The starting point is Llanberis at the eastern end of the lake ( Lage ), the western end point is Penllyn in Padarn Country Park ( Lage ). The journey there and back takes around 45 minutes.
history
Early suggestions
The Llanberis Lake Railway runs on part of the route of the disused Padarn Railway , a narrow-gauge railway with a gauge of 1219 mm that connected the Dinorwic quarry with Y Felinheli (Port Dinorwic) on the Menai road . The Padarn Railway was closed in October 1961 and dismantled between May 16, 1962 and February 1963. After that there were various plans to use the route for a tourist train with a gauge of 610 mm. The first serious attempt was made by G. Ward, a local resident, who planned a railway around Llyn Padarn using the routes of the former British Rail to Llanberis branch and the Padarn Railway. This plan would have used track material and locomotives from the Dinorwic quarry, but the company did not pursue the proposal.
Closure of the quarry and establishment of the railway company
In July 1966, A. Lowry Porter from Southend-on-Sea proposed a shorter line on the Padarn Railway from the quarry company's workshops in Gilfach Ddu near Llanberis to Penllyn. While negotiations with the company were still ongoing, the quarry was closed in July 1969 after a short notice. Gwynedd County Council bought part of the site to set up a country park. The National Slate Museum is now located in the former workshops in Gilfach Ddu .
The quarry's land and facilities were auctioned, and Lowry Porter's nascent rail company purchased three steam locomotives and one diesel locomotive to use on the proposed route. In June 1970, the County Council bought the Padarn Railway route and allowed the new railway company to use it.
The diesel locomotive could soon be used for track construction. At the same time, the first steam locomotive, DOLBADARN , was restored to working order. The new line was built in the 597 mm gauge and not in the rather unusual 578 mm gauge that had been used in the quarry. This made it necessary to re-track all rolling stock including the locomotives. During 1970 track construction made progress using used material from various sources.
New passenger cars were built on the substructure of existing bogie cars. The first attempts proved unsatisfactory - the wagons tended to derail due to their very stiff design. This delayed the opening and required further renovations.
Early years
The railway officially opened on May 28, 1971, but no public trains ran before July 19, 1971 due to the need to rebuild the passenger cars. At the end of the first season, more than 30,000 people had been carried. In the winter of 1971 the tracks were extended to the current end point in Penllyn. At the beginning of the 1972 season, a second steam locomotive, RED DAMSEL , was put back into service under the new name ELIDIR . In the same year MAID MARIAN was added as well as another tank locomotive from Jung from Germany.
Extension to Llanberis
In June 2003 the line was extended to Llanberis, where a new station was built near the valley station of the Snowdon Mountain Railway . The original terminus in Gilfach Ddu is now a through station from which the National Slate Museum is easily accessible. On the return journey from Penllyn, passengers can stop at the Cei Llydan stop to have a picnic and take in the great views of the Snowdonia Mountains.
Locomotives
The railway company owns three steam locomotives ( ELIDIR , THOMAS BACH and DOLBADARN ), all of which come from the Dinorwic quarry and originally ran on a gauge of 578 mm. Another steam locomotive, MAID MARIAN , was delivered to the Bala Lake Railway in 1975 . There are also four diesel locomotives that are used for work trains and as a replacement for passenger trains if there are not enough steam locomotives available.
ELIDIR
THOMAS BACH
DOLBADARN
Individual evidence
- ^ A b c James IC Boyd: Narrow Gauge Railways in North Caernarvonshire, Volume Three: The Dinorwic Quarry and Railways, The Great Orme Tramway and Other Rail Systems . The Oakwood Press, 1986.
- ^ A b c d e f g D. C. Carrington and TF Rushworth: Slates to Velinheli: The Railways and Tramways of Dinorwic Slate Quarries, Llanberis and the Llanberis Lake Railway . Maid Marian Locomotive Fund, 1972.
literature
- Cliff Thomas: The Narrow Gauge in Britain & Ireland . Atlantic Publishers, 2002, ISBN 1-902827-05-8 .
Map with all coordinates: