- Croesor Tramway
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Coordinates: 52°58′55″N 4°2′25″W / 52.98194°N 4.04028°W
Croesor Tramway
The trackbed of the Croesor Tramway in Cwm Croesor, 2007Locale Wales Dates of operation 1864–1922 Successor Welsh Highland Railway Track gauge 2 ft (610 mm) Length 6½ miles Headquarters Porthmadog The Croesor Tramway was a Welsh narrow gauge railway line built to carry slate from the Croesor slate mines to Porthmadog. It was built in 1864 without an Act of Parliament and was operated using horse power.
The tramway was absorbed into the Croesor and Port Madoc Railway in 1865 and later became the Portmadoc, Croesor and Beddgelert Tram Railway in 1879. Part of its route, from Croesor Junction to Porthmadog, was taken over by the Welsh Highland Railway in 1922, and upgraded to allow the operation of steam locomotives. The remainder of the line continued as a horse drawn tramway, and operated as such until the mid-1940s.
Contents
History
Slate quarrying in the remote Cwm Croesor (Croesor valley) dates back to at least 1846 when the Croesor quarry opened. Quarrying expanded in the early 1860s and transportation to the shipping wharfs at Porthmadog became a limiting factor. In 1862 discussion began to construct a tramway to connect the valley with the sea. An initial company, the Croesor Valley Railroad was proposed under the ownership of Hugh Beaver Roberts and two other quarry proprietors.
In the meantime, slate from the Croesor Quarry was being hauled by pack mule over to the adjacent Cwm Orthin and down to the Ffestiniog Railway at Tanygrisiau, a long and dangerous journey.
In 1863 Beaver Roberts commenced construction of the tramway, by now known as the Croesor Tramway. It opened to goods and mineral traffic on or before August 1. 1864. The Rhosydd Quarry at the head of the valley was connected that year.
The Rhosydd quarry failed in 1873, but a new company was formed to reopen it as the New Rhosydd quarry in 1874.
In 1879 the railway company was renamed the Portmadoc, Croesor and Beddgelert Tram Railway Company and authorised to build a branch, although this was never constructed. The company went into receivership in 1882 and was sold in 1902 to the Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway, one of the precursors of the Welsh Highland Railway.
Route
Post closure
After the demise of the original Welsh Highland Railway, the stub of the tramway from Parc north to Croesor continued in use to carry agricultural products for local farms, until the late 1950s.
The section from Croesor Junction to the slate quarries will probably never re-open as the quarries have long since closed. However the part of the Croesor tramway that ran from Croesor Junction to Porthmadog has been rebuilt as part of the resurrection of the Welsh Highland Railway from Caernarfon to Porthmadog. The section between Croesor Junction and Pont Croesor opened in May 2010. The section from Pont Croesor to Porthmadog reopened on 8 January 2011,[1] whereby it linked up with the Ffestiniog Railway to allow through trains to Blaenau Ffestiniog railway station via the Porthmadog cross town link.
See also
References
Notes
Sources
- Awdry, Christopher (1990). Encyclopaedia of British Railway Companies. Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 1-8526-0049-7. OCLC 19514063.
- Boyd, James I.C. (1988). Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire - Volume 1. Headington, Oxford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 0-8536-1365-6. OCLC 20417464.
External links
- AditNow "Photographic database of mines in north Wales". http://www.aditnow.co.uk/ AditNow.
- "Interactive Map at Live.com". http://www.bing.com/maps/?v=2&cid=230D1A79E4437B66!339.
Festiniog and associated railways Current operators Ffestiniog Railway • Welsh Highland Railway • Welsh Highland Heritage Railway
Rolling stock Stations and halts Ffestiniog Railway • Welsh Highland Railway
Support groups Ffestiniog Railway Society • Festiniog Railway Heritage Group • Welsh Highland Railway Society • Welsh Highland Railway Heritage Group
Other articles Festiniog Railway Letter Service • Welsh Highland Railway restoration
Welsh Highland Railway Main articles Forerunners North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways • Portmadoc, Beddgelert and South Snowdon Railway • Croesor Tramway
Locations Preservation Welsh Highland Railway Limited • Festiniog Railway Company
Rolling stock Categories:- Welsh Highland Railway
- Industrial railways in Wales
- Railway lines opened in 1864
- Railway lines closed in 1948
- Railway lines opened in 2010
- 2ft gauge railways
- Slate industry in Wales
- Horse-drawn railways
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