Tan-y-Manod railway station

Tan-y-Manod railway station was a railway station in North Wales. It opened as part of the narrow gauge Festiniog and Blaenau Railway on 29 May 1868. On 1 September 1882 the standard gauge Bala Ffestiniog Line reached Llan Ffestiniog from the south. The following year the narrow gauge line was converted, with the station site redeveloped as a slate transfer wharf. Narrow gauge trains continued to operate during the conversion, using a third rail. The standard gauge was officially opened on 10 September 1883. [Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire - Volume 1 (ISBN 0-8536-1365-6)]

The restricted site (on a curved embankment) housed sidings (originally including a passing loop) in connection with a series of inclines linking the line with the Manod and Craig Ddu slate quarries. The slate, travelling in Ffestiniog Railway owned wagons, was hauled by the Festiniog and Blaenau Railway from Tan-y-Manod to Blaenau Ffestiniog for onward transport by the FR to Porthmadog.

During conversion to standard gauge, the GWR removed the passing loop, built an engine shed and installed a locomotive turntable together with transfer docks permitting RailGauge|23.5 gauge slate wagons to be propelled on to standard gauge transporters, four slate wagons (two side by side) to each transporter wagon. These were then hauled to Blaenau Ffestiniog for transfer back to the narrow gauge and the FR or else unloaded sorted and transshipped into GWR standard gauge wagons.

The GWR, like the LNWR and before them the FR, provided the quarry owners with free use of narrow gauge wagons in an attempt to promote the use of their own route. Slate traffic using the transporter wagons continued until Craig Ddu quarry closed in 1945.

There was no standard gauge passenger service to Tan-y-Manod. Freight services ceased on 27 January 1961.

References

rail line|previous=Blaenau Ffestiniog
next=Manod
route=Festiniog and Blaenau Railway|col=FFFF00
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