Capel Celyn Halt railway station
| Capel Celyn Halt | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Capel Celyn, near Bala |
| Area | Gwynedd |
| Coordinates | 52°56′44″N 3°42′11″W / 52.9456°N 3.7031°WCoordinates: 52°56′44″N 3°42′11″W / 52.9456°N 3.7031°W |
| Grid reference | SH 856 400 |
| Operations | |
| Original company | Great Western Railway |
| Platforms | 1 |
| History | |
| 1 November 1882 | Line opened |
| 1 December 1930 | Halt opened for passengers only |
| 4 January 1960 | Halt closed |
| 28 January 1961 | Line closed |
| Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom | |
| Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z |
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Capel Celyn Halt was a solely passenger railway station which served the rural area of Capel Celyn west of Bala. It was on the Great Western Railway's (GWR's) Bala Ffestiniog Line in Gwynedd, Wales.
In 1882 the Bala and Ffestiniog Railway opened the line from Bala Junction to a temporary terminus at Festiniog, Trawsfynydd was one of the stations opened with the line; the future Capel Celyn Halt would be on this line, east of Trawsfynydd. At Festiniog passengers had to transfer to narrow gauge trains if they wished to continue northwards. To do this people travelling from Bala to Blaenau or beyond walked the few yards from the standard gauge train to the narrow gauge train much as they do today between the Conwy Valley Line and the Ffestiniog Railway at Blaenau Ffestiniog.
The following year the narrow gauge line was converted to standard gauge, but narrow gauge trains continued to run until 5 September 1883 using a third rail. Standard gauge trains first ran through from Bala to Blaenau Ffestiniog on 10 September 1883. The line was taken over by the Great Western Railway in 1910.
Capel Celyn Halt was one of the 198 opened by the Great Western Railway (GWR) between 1927 and 1939, spurred by rising competition with buses and, to a lesser degree, cars. The halt stood in a very thinly populated rural area with no obvious source of traffic; conversely, the people who did live, work and increasingly take leisure activities in the area had no other obvious means of transport.
The unstaffed halt was situated on the north side of the line on a horseshoe bend and next to an overbridge. The single curved platform edge was made of sleepers, the platform itself being infilled with ash and cinders. It was a mere 70 feet (21 m) long, so drivers had instructions to stop ensuring that the guard's compartment was alongside. The amenities provided were a platform shelter and two oil lamps, tended by Arenig station staff. The halt could be accessed via a footpath starting from the chapel in Capel Celyn, over a kilometre to the northwest.
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