Welsh Highland Heritage Railway
Welsh Highland Heritage Railway is a trading name of Welsh Highland Railway Limited, the company which owns and operates the railway and the asociated museum on the Beddgelert Siding site at Porthmadog. The Cymraeg (Welsh) equivalent trading name is Rheilffordd Ucheldir Cymru.
This company has its origins in the first Welsh Highland Railway Society formed in 1961, and was registered as a Company Limited by Guarantee in 1964. It acquired its present site in 1978 and began operating there on 2nd August 1980, trading as the Welsh Highland Railway. In 1998, by agreement, it became known as the Welsh Highland Railway (Porthmadog), to avoid confusion with the main line of the Welsh Highland, then in the process of being restored between Caernarfon and Porthmadog by the Festiniog Railway Company. In February 2009, it adopted WHHR as its current trading name, with the formal company remaining WHR Ltd.
Over a period, references on this wiki of WHR(P) have changed to either WHR Ltd or to WHHR, as appropriate.
| Welsh Highland Heritage Railway (Rheilffordd Ucheldir Cymru) | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Lyd2 No. 60 awaits work in Gelerts Farm Works yard | |
| Location | |
| Place | North Wales |
| Terminus | Porthmadog and Pen-y-mount |
| Commercial Operations | |
| Name | Welsh Highland Heritage Railway |
| Built by | Welsh Highland Railway Ltd |
| Gauge | 1ft 11.25 ins (nominal 600 mm) |
| Preserved Operations | |
| Operated by | Welsh Highland Heritage Railway |
| Stations | 3 |
| Length | <1 mile |
| Gauge | 1ft 11 1/4 in |
| 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 |
| 2005 | WHR Ltd celebrates 25 years of passenger train service |
| 2007-8 | WHR Ltd extended to Traeth Mawr |
| 2009 | Operation name changed to Welsh Highland Heritage Railway |
Contents |
[edit] History
The origins of the WHRL lie within disagreements within the Festiniog Railway[1] and a small group of railway enthusiasts forming the Welsh Highland Railway Society in 1961 to preserve and rebuild the original WHR which operated from 1922 to 1936. Construction of the line started in the 1970s following the acquisition of land from British Railways running alongside the Cambrian Coast line at a location known as Beddgelert Sidings. A substantial works and engineering facility has been constructed on the site of the former farm that was situated in the triangle of land between the Beddgelert Siding and the Cambrian Coast Railway. The works have been expanded with newly constructed shed accommodation in addition to the utilisation of some of the original farm buildings, which include one of the oldest buildings in Porthmadog. There has been, for some time, a museum part to the works tour, and from 2009, with construction of a new building, this has more than doubled in size, and its nature.
The original Welsh Highland Railway is currently (as of 2010) being reconstructed by the Festiniog Railway Company.
[edit] Operations
The railway currently operates a frequent service from March to November from the main station opposite the Network Rail station in Porthmadog, to Pen-y-mount. For 2007 and 2008, there was an additional short section of the new line which was in use.
[edit] Stations
[edit] Rolling Stock
- WHRL/WHR(P)/WHHR Locomotives
- Locomotives that have visited the WHRL/WHR(P)/WHHR
- WHR Ltd Carriages
- WHR Ltd Wagon List
[edit] References
- Various, (1961- 2008). The Journal. Welsh Highland Railway Ltd.
- Boyd, James I.C.. Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire, Vol. 1. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN ISBN 0-85361-365-6.
- Boyd, James I.C.. Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire, Vol. 2, The Welsh Highland Railway. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-85361-383-4.
- Hopkins, John (2003). Rheilffordd Eryri/The Welsh Highland Railway: 1991 to 2003. Porthmadog: private print. OCLC 42445841.
- Johnson, Peter (2007). Portrait of the Welsh Highland Railway. Shepperton, England: Ian Allan. ISBN 0-7110-2658-0. OCLC 41018741.
- Johnson, Peter. An Illustrated History of the Welsh Highland Railway. Hersham: Oxford Publishing Co. ISBN 0-860935-65-5. OCLC 59498388.
- Turner, Alan (2003). The Welsh Highland Railway: a History. Catrine: Stenlak Publishing. ISBN 1-84033-263-8. OCLC 59320829.
[edit] Videos
- Train going through Cynfal Crossing
- Opening of Traeth Mawr Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
- Pen-y-Mount
[edit] External links
- Welsh Highland Heritage Railway - official site
- Welsh Highland Railway (Caernarfon) - official site
- Welsh Highland Railway (Caernarfon) - official construction site
- Rebuilding the Welsh Highland Railway - unofficial site - updated almost daily!
- The Pont Croesor Extension
- Live.com map of route
