Padarn Railway

The Padarn Railway was a narrow gauge railway line in Wales, built to the unusual gauge of RailGauge|48 cite book |last=Boyd |first=James I.C. |title=Narrow Gauge Railways in North Caernarvonshire, Volume Three: The Dinorwic Quarry and Railways, The Great Orme Tramway and Other Rail Systems |publisher=The Oakwood Press |year=1986] . It was built to carry slate from the Dinorwic Quarry to Port Dinorwic. It opened in 1842, replacing the previous Dinorwic Railway. The Padarn Railway closed in 1961 .

An unusual feature of the railway were the transporter waggons. These RailGauge|48 gauge vehicles were flat wagons with two parallel RailGauge|22.75 gauge tracks on them. Loaded slate wagons of RailGauge|22.75 gauge - the gauge used on the extensive internal system at the quarry - were wheeled onto the transporter wagons and carried four at a time down to their destination at Port Dinorwic where they were unloaded via a two foot gauge incline which led to the quayside.

Since closure, part of its route has been reopened as the RailGauge|23.5 gauge Llanberis Lake Railway.

Locomotives

ee also

*British narrow gauge railways

References