Minffordd railway station
Minffordd 
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The upper (Ffestiniog Railway) level of Minffordd station
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| Location | |
| Place | Minffordd |
| Local authority | Gwynedd |
| Coordinates | 52°55′34″N 4°05′02″W / 52.926°N 4.084°WCoordinates: 52°55′34″N 4°05′02″W / 52.926°N 4.084°W |
| Grid reference | SH599385 |
| Operations | |
| Station code | MFF |
| Managed by |
Ffestiniog Railway (upper level) Arriva Trains Wales (lower level) |
| Number of platforms | 2 (narrow gauge) 1 (standard gauge) |
| DfT category | F2 |
| Live arrivals/departures, station information and onward connections from National Rail Enquiries |
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| Annual rail passenger usage* | |
| 2011/12 |
 12,120 |
| 2012/13 |
 14,252 |
| 2013/14 |
14,524 |
| 2014/15 |
11,476 |
| 2015/16 |
18,322 |
| History | |
| Original company |
Ffestiniog Railway (upper) Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway (lower) |
| Pre-grouping | Cambrian Railways (lower) |
| March 1871 | Festiniog station opened |
| 1 August 1872 | Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway platform opened |
| 1887 | Present station buildings constructed |
| 19 May 1956 | Festiniog Railway services resume |
| 1964 | Mainline station became unstaffed |
| National Rail – UK railway stations | |
| * Annual estimated passenger usage based on sales of tickets in stated financial year(s) which end or originate at Minffordd from Office of Rail and Road statistics. Methodology may vary year on year. | |
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Minffordd railway station (translation Roadside, literally Lip of the Road) station, is actually two adjacent stations operated entirely independently of each other. The mainline station (called Minffordd Junction by the Victorians) opened on 1 August 1872 at the point where the then newly built Aberystwyth and Welsh Coast Railway line from Dovey Junction to Pwllheli (latterly to become part of the Cambrian Railways) passes under the existing narrow gauge Festiniog Railway built in 1836 to carry dressed slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog for export by sea, which had carried passengers from 1865 onwards.
A short walk, advertised near the station, leads to Portmeirion.
The standard gauge station consists of a single platform with a simple shelter linked to the narrow gauge station by way of an underbridge and a pedestrian ramp. Access to the Cambrian Line is thus by way of the Ffestiniog Railway "Up" platform. Passenger service on the Ffestiniog Railway was withdrawn on 15 September 1939, and reopened to Minffordd 19 May 1956, but easy pedestrian access to the Cambrian Line was maintained throughout the closed period. Mr Parry, GWR and BR stationmaster at Minffordd for 40 years, retired in 1964 and the BR station then became an unstaffed halt. At some point the facilities were replaced by the standard small halt "bus stop" shelter.
The present substantial stone built Ffestiniog Railway station buildings, at a height of 85 metres (279 ft) above sea level and a distance of just over 2 miles (3.2 km) from Porthmadog Harbour, are on the "Up" platform and date from 1887, but there is as yet little evidence of earlier buildings. There was a small wooden building on the "Down" platform and this building (possibly dating from the 1870s) was in a derelict condition when it was demolished in 1956. A replica was completed in spring 2002 and was later shortlisted in the National Railway Heritage Awards (2002).
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Wikipedia