Duffws (FR) railway station
| Duffws (FR) | |
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Duffws (FR) station, believed to be around 1900
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| Location | |
| Place | Blaenau Ffestiniog |
| Area | Gwynedd |
| Coordinates | 52°59′42″N 3°56′05″W / 52.9949°N 3.9348°WCoordinates: 52°59′42″N 3°56′05″W / 52.9949°N 3.9348°W |
| Grid reference | SH 702 459 |
| Operations | |
| Original company | Festiniog Railway |
| Platforms | 1 |
| History | |
| January 1866 | Opened |
| 1 January 1923 | Closed |
| 1 January 1925 | Reopened |
| 1 June 1931 | 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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Duffws was the Festiniog Railway's (FR) second passenger station in Blaenau Ffestiniog, then in Merionethshire, now in Gwynedd, Wales. This station is not to be confused with the Festiniog and Blaenau Railway's (F&BR) Duffws (F&BR) station which stood some distance away on the opposite side of Church Street. During that station's life from 1868 to 1883 passengers travelling from (say) Festiniog on the F&BR to Tan-y-Bwlch on the Festiniog would walk between the two stations much as passengers walk between the standard gauge and narrow gauge in modern-day Blaenau Ffestiniog.
The evolution of Blaenau's passenger stations was complex with five different railway companies providing services to the area.
Several sources comment on the name "Duffws", which is not a Welsh word but a corruption. What it is a corruption of is unclear, with some sources saying it is mangled "Diffwys" others saying it is related to "Diphwys" and most making no comment. The station first appeared in Bradshaw on opening in January 1866 as "Diffwys", being changed to "Duffws" from 1867. Tickets largely used "Duffws", though an example bearing "Diphwys" is recorded.
The station opened in January 1866 for passengers to Portmadoc and points between. It joined the first steam-hauled passenger service in Britain to use tracks of less than Standard Gauge, with the line carrying a quarter of a million people in its first year of operation.
The previous year the FR had opened Dinas (FR) station further from the centre of the town. Trains from Portmadoc alternated between the two stations, but Duffws was better sited for passenger traffic, so Dinas closed to passengers in 1870.
The site and its buildings changed over the years. The initial station was built almost at a right angle to the running lines, with its tracks forming a very short branch adjacent to the north side of Church Street. In 1877 a new station building was erected northeast of the original, aligned with the running lines. Changes were made to tracks in later years, but the station building remains today.
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Wikipedia