Fairbourne Railway
|
Rheilffordd y Friog |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Official badge of the railway | |
| Locale |
 Wales
|
| Terminus | Fairbourne and Barmouth Ferry |
| Coordinates | 52°41′42″N 4°03′03″W / 52.69512°N 4.05085°WCoordinates: 52°41′42″N 4°03′03″W / 52.69512°N 4.05085°W |
| Commercial operations | |
| Name | Fairbourne Miniature Railway |
| Built by | Narrow Gauge Railways Ltd |
| Original gauge |
1895-1916: 2 ft (610 mm) 1916-1940: 15 in (381 mm) |
| Preserved operations | |
| Owned by | North Wales Coast Light Railway |
| Operated by | Fairbourne Railway Limited, supported by Fairbourne Railway Preservation Society |
| Stations | 2 and 4 halts |
| Length | 2 miles (3.2 km) |
| Preserved gauge |
1947 - 1986: 15 in (381 mm) 1986 – present: 12 1⁄4 in (311 mm) |
| Commercial history | |
| Opened | 1895 |
| 1916 | converted to 15 in (381 mm) |
| Closed | 1940 |
| Preservation history | |
| 1925 | Arrival of Bassett-Lowke locomotive Count Louis |
| 1927 | Brief period of dual gauge operation (18 in or 457 mm and 15 in or 381 mm) |
| 1935 | First Internal Combustion locomotive Whippit Quick arrives. |
| 1947 | Purchased and re-opened by John Wilkins |
| 1959 | Fairbourne Station expanded |
| 1976 | Line extended to its present length |
| 1984 | Purchased by John Ellerton |
| 1986 | regauged to 12 1⁄4 in (311 mm) |
| 1995 | Purchased by Professor Tony Atkinson and Dr Roger Melton |
| 2006 | Fairbourne Railway Supporter's Association becomes Fairbourne Railway Preservation Society |
The Fairbourne Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd y Friog) is a 12 1⁄4 in (311 mm) gauge railway running for 2 miles (3.2 km) from the village of Fairbourne on the Mid-Wales coast, alongside the beach to the end of a peninsula at Barmouth Ferry railway station, where there is a connection with the Barmouth Ferry across the Mawddach estuary to the seaside resort of Barmouth (Welsh: Abermaw).
The line has provided a service between Fairbourne village and Penrhyn Point since its opening in 1895 as a 2 ft (610 mm) narrow gauge horse-drawn construction tramway. It was converted in 1916 to 15 in (381 mm) gauge, and again to its present gauge in 1986. Originally built to carry building materials, the railway has carried holidaymakers for over a hundred years. At its peak in the 1970s it was carrying in excess of 70,000 passengers a year.
Following the construction of the Cambrian Coast Line in 1865 and the completion of the Barmouth Bridge in 1867 there were lavish schemes to develop the area for tourism, the area being easily accessible to day-trippers and weekend visitors from the Midlands.
There were several horse-drawn construction tramways in the area serving the Henddol Quarry above the neighbouring village of Friog. The tramway that was used to construct the Fairbourne village soon introduced passenger cars to transport people to the ferry station.
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Wikipedia