Gwili Railway
|
Rheilffordd Gwili |
|
|---|---|
 The official logo of the Gwili Railway  ex-GWR No.4566 visiting in October 2008 |
|
| Locale |
 Wales |
| Terminus | Bronwydd Arms |
| Coordinates | 51°53′30″N 4°18′03″W / 51.89155°N 4.30077°WCoordinates: 51°53′30″N 4°18′03″W / 51.89155°N 4.30077°W |
| Commercial operations | |
| Name | Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway |
| Original gauge | 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) Brunel gauge |
| Preserved operations | |
| Operated by | Gwili Railway Co. Ltd |
| Stations | 5 |
| Length | 2.50 miles (4.02 km) |
| Preserved gauge | 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| Commercial history | |
| Opened | 1860 |
| 1872 |
Converted to 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge |
| 1881 | Absorbed by Great Western Railway |
| 1973 | Closed |
| Preservation history | |
| 1978 | Taken over by the preservation society |
| 1987 | Llwyfan Cerrig reached |
| 1988 | Llwyfan Cerrig station officially opened |
| 2001 | Opening of extension to Danycoed |
| 2002 | Work starts on extension to Carmarthen North |
| 2008 | Gwili Railway marks 30 years to the day of Re-opening |
| 2009 | Gwili Railway purchases Llanpumpsaint train station site (completely). |
| 2011 | Gwili is Awarded for fully restored GWR-Style crossing gates at Bronwydd Arms itself. |
| 2015-2016 | Opening of extension to new station at Abergwili Junction. |
| Headquarters | Bronwydd Arms |
The Gwili Railway (Welsh: Rheilffordd Ager y Gwili) is a Welsh heritage railway that operates a standard gauge preserved railway line from the site of Abergwili Junction (near Carmarthen) in southwest Wales along a short section of the former Carmarthen to Aberystwyth. The original railway closed in 1965, with the track being lifted in 1975.
The broad-gauge railway was opened in 1860 from Carmarthen to Conwil by the ill-fated Carmarthen and Cardigan Railway Company (CCR), which fell in and out of insolvency until it was eventually absorbed by the Great Western Railway. Despite hostility from GWR, the line never reached Cardigan any further than Newcastle Emlyn.
The Manchester and Milford Railway made a junction with the CCR at Pencader, making a through route to Lampeter which, in turn, later extended to Aberystwyth. In 1872, the line became the last in Wales to be converted from Brunel's 7 ft 1⁄4 in (2,140 mm) gauge to 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge.
In its early days, the line thrived by serving the local farming and wool industries though, in the years following the First World War, this traffic gradually declined. The Second World War brought another lease of life as a relief route carrying heavy ammunition trains between South and North Wales.
Between the wars, the GWR sought to encourage traffic, opened several new halts along the route and provided camping coaches at several stations.
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Wikipedia