Welsh Highland Heritage Railway

Not to be confused with Welsh Highland Railway.

Welsh Highland Heritage Railway Rheilffordd Ucheldir Cymru (Welsh)
Bagnall 3050 Gelert at Porthmadog alongside a Cambrian line train
Locale	Wales
Terminus	Porthmadog and Pen y Mount
Commercial operations
Name	Welsh Highland Railway Ltd
Built by	Welsh Highland Railway Ltd
Original gauge	1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm)
Preserved operations
Owned by	Welsh Highland Railway Ltd
Operated by	Welsh Highland Heritage Railway
Stations	3
Length	1 mile (1.6 km)
Preserved gauge	1 ft 11+1⁄2 in (597 mm)
Commercial history
Opened	1980
Preservation history
1961	Welsh Highland Railway Society formed
1964	WHR Society reformed as Welsh Highland Light Railway (1964) Limited
1980	WHR Ltd opened for passenger service
1987	Original locomotive Russell restored
2003	Original locomotive Russell taken out of service for expensive major overhaul.
2005	Celebrates 25 years of passenger train service
2007	Extended to Traeth Mawr
2008	Last train to Traeth Mawr
2009	Operational name changed to Welsh Highland Heritage Railway. Terminus reverts to Pen y Mount.
2014	Original locomotive Russell back in service.

The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway is a short reconstructed heritage railway in Gwynedd, Wales. Its main station is in Porthmadog.

History

The origins of the WHHR lie in a small group of railway enthusiasts, including some disgruntled volunteers from the Festiniog Railway, forming the Welsh Highland Railway Society in 1961, to preserve and rebuild the original Welsh Highland Railway which had operated from 1922 to 1936.

Land running alongside the Cambrian Coast line at Beddgelert Siding was acquired from British Railways in December 1972. Work started on construction of the railway in 1973. A substantial works and engineering facility was constructed on the site of the former farm that was situated in the triangle of land between the Beddgelert Siding, the Cambrian Coast Railway and the original Welsh Highland Railway trackbed. The works have been expanded with newly constructed sheds and the re-use of some of the original agricultural buildings, which include one of the oldest buildings in Porthmadog. A museum of narrow gauge railways is part to the works tour and from 2009, with the construction of a new building, this has more than doubled in size.

The original Welsh Highland Railway has been reconstructed by the Festiniog Railway Company and the Welsh Highland Railway Limited.

Present

The railway offers a short train ride in heritage carriages to Pen-y-Mount Junction (where there is a physical connection to the current Welsh Highland Railway), just under a mile away from Porthmadog. On the return journey the train stops at Gelerts Farm Halt, the location of the workshops and museum, where visitors can also ride on the Miniature Railway before returning to Porthmadog (WHHR).

The railway is mostly run by volunteers, who operate the trains and maintain the railway and its infrastructure.

In 2014, Russell, the only steam locomotive to survive from the original WHR, returned to service after a major overhaul costing about £250,000. Russell had been out of service since 2003.

Operations

Original WHR locomotive Russell

The railway currently operates trains from March to November from their main station, which is located opposite the Network Rail station in Porthmadog on Tremadog Road. Trains run for 1-mile (1.6 km) to Pen-y-Mount Junction, where the railway connects with the WHR mainline. On the return journey, the train stops at Gelert's Farm halt, allowing passengers to visit the museum and a 7+1⁄4 in (184 mm) gauge miniature railway.

In 2007 and 2008, an additional short section of line was in use between Pen-y-Mount Junction and Traeth Mawr Loop. This line was built as part of an agreement signed in 1998 with the Ffestiniog Railway and allowed WHR Ltd. to run on the original Welsh Highland Railway trackbed for the first time. As part of the agreement, the section closed and became a construction site when the Ffestiniog Railway-constructed WHR mainline from Caernarvon was connected in 2008.

Stations

Welsh Highland Heritage Railway
Welsh Highland Railway to Caernarfon Traeth Mawr Loop Former connection (closed 2008) Welsh Highland Railway to Porthmadog Harbour Pen-y-Mount Junction Gelerts Farm Halt Porthmadog Porthmadog Cambrian Line to Pwllheli & Shrewsbury

• Porthmadog (WHHR)
• Gelerts Farm Works Halt
• Pen-y-Mount Junction railway station
• Traeth Mawr Loop (no passenger access - Temporary 2007–2008)

Rolling stock

Main article: List of Welsh Highland Railway Ltd rolling stock

See also

• British narrow-gauge railways
• South African Class NG 15 2-8-2

Further reading

• Various (1961–2008). The Journal. Welsh Highland Railway Ltd.
• Boyd, James I.C. (1988) [1972]. Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire – Volume 1. Headington: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-365-7. OCLC 20417464.
• Boyd, James I.C. (1989) [1972]. Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire - Volume 2: The Welsh Highland Railway. Headington: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-383-1. OCLC 145018679.
• Hopkins, John C. (2003). Rheilffordd Eryri/The Welsh Highland Railway: 1991 to 2003, 4th edition 388pp. The author.
• Johnson, Peter (1999). Portrait of The Welsh Highland Railway. Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7110-2658-2. OCLC 41018741.

• Johnson, Peter (2003). An Illustrated History of the Welsh Highland Railway. Oxford Publishing Company. ISBN 0-86093-565-5.
• Turner, Alun (2003). The Welsh Highland Railway: a History, 4th edition. Stenlak Publishing. ISBN 1-84033-263-8.

Videos

• Train going through Cynfal Crossing
• Opening of Traeth Mawr Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
• Pen-y-Mount

External links

• Official website
• More technical and historical information
• Welsh Highland Railway - official site
• The Welsh Highland Railway Project - official construction site
• Welsh Highland Railway - unofficial construction site
• The Pont Croesor Extension
• Welsh Highland Railway History
• Live.com map of route