Porthmadog Harbour railway station

Porthmadog Harbour
General information
Location	Gwynedd
Owned by	Festiniog Railway Company
Managed by	Ffestiniog Railway
Platforms	1
Key dates
6 January 1865	Station opened
1923	Welsh Highland Railway services commence
1936	Welsh Highland Railway services cease
15 September 1939	Closed for passengers
23 July 1955	Reopened for passengers
19 February 2011	Reopened to Welsh Highland Railway services

Porthmadog Harbour station in North Wales is the southern passenger terminus of two narrow gauge railways: the Ffestiniog Railway, which was built in 1836 to carry dressed slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog for export by sea, and the Welsh Highland Railway, built in 1923, which runs to Caernarfon.

History

The station is built at the western end of the Cob, the great embankment across the Traeth Mawr, on a peninsula from Ynys Madoc constructed in 1842 to form a slate wharf and a harbour wall. It was opened for passenger service on 6 January 1865. Welsh Highland Railway trains served the station from 1923, but these ceased running in 1936. The station was closed to passengers on 15 September 1939, although the slate trains continued operating through the Second World War until 1946. The buildings continued in use as the principal offices of the Festiniog Railway Company and the home of the Manager (Mr Robert Evans) including throughout the years of almost total closure from 1 August 1946 to 24 September 1954. The station reopened for passengers on 23 July 1955. Welsh Highland Railway services were restored in 2011.

Buildings

The front face of the station

The present stone buildings, replacing earlier wooden buildings dismantled and reused elsewhere on the railway, date from 1878/79 and the goods shed was added in 1880. They were linked to the former goods shed by way of a major extension in 1975. Passenger facilities include a booking and enquiry office, a large tourist and hobby shop and a large cafeteria with licensed bar. The erection of the platform awning was completed in 1988.

The harbour station is the operational headquarters of both the Ffestiniog and the Welsh Highland Railways.

Operations

A Ffestiniog Railway train at Porthmadog Harbour railway station

With the resumption of services in 1955, all traffic on the line has been controlled from an office in Harbour station, known simply as "Control". With the exception of some early morning and late night movements by works trains, this office is manned constantly when passenger-carrying services are in operation. Its remit was expanded in 1997 with the commencement of public services on the Welsh Highland Railway between Caernarfon and Dinas and its subsequent expansion south towards Porthmadog. Additionally, for 2007 and 2008, when a connection was in use with the WHR(P), there was a requirement to coordinate with its operations on the new main line.

Welsh Highland Railway

Construction of the cross-town link outside the station

Main article: Porthmadog cross town link

The station is also the terminus of the Welsh Highland Railway, which is owned by the Festiniog Railway Company. This line runs trains, via the cross town link through Porthmadog, to Beddgelert, Rhyd Ddu, Waunfawr, Dinas and Caernarfon. It was closed to passenger traffic in 1936, but has been entirely rebuilt, with regular passenger services resuming in 2011.

See also

• Porthmadog Network Rail station
• Porthmadog WHHR station

References

• Boyd, James I.C. (1975) [1959]. The Festiniog Railway 1800 - 1974; Vol. 1 - History and Route. The British Narrow Gauge Railway. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-167-7. OCLC 2074549. B1A.
• Boyd, James I.C. (1975) [1959]. The Festiniog Railway 1800 - 1974; Vol. 2 - Locomotives and Rolling Stock; Quarries and Branches: Rebirth 1954-74. The British Narrow Gauge Railway. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-168-4. OCLC 874117875. B1B.

External links

• The Festiniog Railway Company (Ffestiniog and Welsh Highland Railways) website
• Interactive Route Map on Live.com
• Ffestiniog Railway Timetables
• Welsh Highland Railway Timetables
• Multimap Map of Porthmadog Harbour station

Preceding station	Heritage railways			Following station
Terminus		Ffestiniog Railway		Boston Lodge Halt
Pont Croesor		Welsh Highland Railway (via Cross Town Rail Link)		Terminus