Duffws (F&BR) railway station
| Duffws (F&BR) | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Place | Blaenau Ffestiniog |
| Area | Gwynedd |
| Coordinates | 52°59′41″N 3°56′14″W / 52.9946°N 3.9373°WCoordinates: 52°59′41″N 3°56′14″W / 52.9946°N 3.9373°W |
| Grid reference | SH 700 458 |
| Operations | |
| Original company | Festiniog and Blaenau Railway |
| Platforms | 0 |
| History | |
| 29 or 30 May 1868 | Opened |
| Spring 1883 | Last passenger train called |
| 10 September 1883 | Standard gauge replacement opened |
| 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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Duffws (F&BR) railway station was on the same site as the later GWR station in the heart of Blaenau Ffestiniog in what was then Merionethshire, now Gwynedd, Wales.
The evolution of Blaenau's passenger stations was complex with five different railway companies providing services to the area.
Duffws was the northern passenger terminus of the 1 ft 11 3⁄4 in (603 mm)narrow gauge Festiniog and Blaenau Railway (F&BR); it opened with the line on 29 May 1868, though two standard sources give 30 May 1868. The F&BR ran the three and a half route miles northwards from its southern terminus at Llan Ffestiniog to a junction with the Ffestiniog Railway (FR) at Dolgarregddu Junction about 10 chains (200 m) north west of Duffws (F&BR) station, which was itself at the summit of the line. Freight trains passed between the FR and F&BR at Dolgarregddu Junction, but not passenger trains.
The station was a passenger station, whose main but not sole traffic was quarrymen travelling to and from work. There was a coal siding, a private siding and a run-round loop, but the warehouse and extensive interchange sidings came later with the station's standard gauge replacement.
In common with all other F&BR stations there were no platforms, as carriages were very low to the ground passengers boarded from and alighted to the trackside. Only one photograph of the station has been published. The location is indisputable, with the Queens Hotel in the background. The station building in view looks like 21st Century PVC weatherboarding, which could explain the corrugated appearance of the other F&BR stations, no published photo of which was taken close-up. The only description of the station building in print reads "Duffws was a stone building, suitably semi-pretentious enough to house the Company's offices! That was about all, there being no platform, only a run round loop and, beyond the station, a single siding for coal. A lane ran up beside the station towards the Queens Hotel to reach the main street; across and over on the other side was (for the first year or two anyway) the even more primitive station of the Festiniog Railway." It is possible that the stone building was later than the photo, or off-shot, but it is not visible in the published photograph.
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Wikipedia