Penrhyn Railway
The railway's locomotive sheds at Port Penrhyn
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| Locale | Wales |
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| Dates of operation | 1798–1962 |
| Successor | Penrhyn Rail Ltd |
| Track gauge | 1 ft 10 3⁄4 in (578 mm) |
| Previous gauge | 2 ft 1⁄2 in (622 mm) (until 1879) |
| Headquarters | Felin Fawr, Bethesda |
The Penrhyn Quarry Railway first opened in 1798 as the Llandegai Tramway; it became the Penrhyn Railway in 1801 although on a different route. Constructed to transport slate from Lord Penrhyn's slate quarries at Bethesda to Port Penrhyn at Bangor, Wales, the railway was around six miles (9.7 km) long and used a gauge of 1 ft 10 3⁄4 in (578 mm). The line was one of the earliest narrow gauge railways in the world. It closed on 24 July 1962, being lifted in 1965 when the track was sold to the Ffestiniog Railway.
In 2012, a section of the railway southwards from Coed y Parc was restored by Penrhyn Quarries Ltd. and further sections are planned. Events were held each year on the restored section on the line, by Felin Fawr Cyf and PQR Engineering Ltd.
At the end of 2016 a new company was formed to operate the railway and Penrhyn Rail Ltd operated regular services beginning in February 2017. In July 2017, the railway closed just ahead of the fifth anniversary of operations at Felin Fawr.
The earliest predecessor to the Penrhyn Quarry Railway was the one mile (1.6 km) long 2 ft 1⁄2 in (622 mm) gauge Llandegai Tramway which was built in 1798. The tramway was connected to a local flint mill that ground clay and chert into flints. These were transported to Porth Penrhyn on the coast by the tramway, which was one of the earliest overground railways in Britain. It included two balanced gravity inclines one from the floor of the Cegin valley near Llandegai to the hills above Bangor, the other dropping from there to the mill. Both inclines used vertically mounted winding drums.
The success of the Llandegai Tramway encouraged the owners of the Penrhyn quarry to consider a similar tramway from their slate quarry to Porth Penrhyn. The plan subsumed the existing tramway into a longer railroad that connected Bethesda to the sea.
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