Dolgoch railway station (also known as Dol-goch railway station, Dol-gôch railway station, or Dolgoch Falls railway station) is a station on the
Talyllyn Railway
The Talyllyn Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Talyllyn) is a narrow gauge preserved railway in Wales running for from Tywyn on the Mid-Wales coast to Nant Gwernol near the village of Abergynolwyn. The line was opened in 1865Drummond 2015, page 17 ...
between
Tywyn
Tywyn (Welsh: ; in English often ), formerly spelled Towyn, is a town, community, and seaside resort on the Cardigan Bay coast of southern Gwynedd, Wales. It was previously in the historic county of Merionethshire. It is famous as the loc ...
and
Abergynolwyn
Abergynolwyn ( en, Mouth of the River with a Whirlpool) is a village in southern Gwynedd, Wales, located at the confluence of the Nant Gwernol and the Afon Dysynni.
The population of the community which is named after the village of Llanfihan ...
,
Gwynedd
Gwynedd (; ) is a county and preserved county (latter with differing boundaries; includes the Isle of Anglesey) in the north-west of Wales. It shares borders with Powys, Conwy County Borough, Denbighshire, Anglesey over the Menai Strait, and C ...
in north-
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
. It is from . Unlike most places on the line, the station was built for tourist traffic, for visitors to the local
Dolgoch Falls.
To the west of the station, there is three-span
brick
A brick is a type of block used to build walls, pavements and other elements in masonry construction. Properly, the term ''brick'' denotes a block composed of dried clay, but is now also used informally to denote other chemically cured cons ...
viaduct
A viaduct is a specific type of bridge that consists of a series of arches, piers or columns supporting a long elevated railway or road. Typically a viaduct connects two points of roughly equal elevation, allowing direct overpass across a wide v ...
that carries the railway over the Dolgoch Ravine. This is the largest engineering structure on the railway; it is high.
It is also a
grade II listed structure
In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
. The railway passes through rock cuttings either side of the viaduct.
[
This is an important stopping point, despite the lack of significant passenger facilities, because all steam trains take water here on the "up" (eastwards) journey, from one of the two "up" tanks; it is important on the "down" (westwards) journey because all passengers have their ]tickets
Ticket or tickets may refer to:
Slips of paper
* Lottery ticket
* Parking ticket, a ticket confirming that the parking fee was paid (and the time of the parking start)
* Toll ticket, a slip of paper used to indicate where vehicles entered a tol ...
checked here on the down journey.
There are three water towers in total at the station; two at the east end of the station for up trains, and one at the west end for down trains. The original water tower is the western of the up towers.
The name 'Dol-gôch' means 'Red-meadow'. It was taken from the nearby stream, the Nant Dolgoch (known at the time as the ''Nant Dol-gôch'').
History
Pre-preservation
When the line was built in 1865, a water tower was provided, built of slate blocks from the Bryn-Eglwys Quarry, with a wooden tank.[
The passenger station was open by August 1867 (when it was listed in ]Bradshaw's Guide
''Bradshaw's'' was a series of railway Public transport timetable, timetables and travel guide books published by W.J. Adams and later Henry Blacklock, both of London. They are named after founder George Bradshaw, who produced his first timet ...
),[ ] and a station building and small platform were provided for passengers. Both were built out of slate
Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...
blocks, and the platform had a surface of slate chippings, edged with slate slabs (this slate was from the Bryn-Eglwys Quarry, brought to the site by rail).
The station did not appear in Bradshaw's Guide from November 1867 until July 1872 (the same time as was opened),[ which has misled many sources to quote 1872 as its opening date.
Some slate quarrying was carried out at the nearby ]Dolgoch quarry
Dolgoch slate quarry (also spelt Dol-goch slate quarry or Dol-gôch slate quarry) was a slate quarry in Mid Wales, approximately halfway between Bryn-crug and Abergynolwyn ( away from each of them). The quarry was named after a nearby stream, th ...
during the early years of the railway, and it is believed that a siding was provided here for them. Prospecting for the quarry started in January 1868, however it was not until January 1877 that a quarry opened in the ravine. This quarry appears to have been initially successful, however a major storm in August 1880 brought the quarry into a terminal decline and it closed in April 1884.
Post-Preservation
In 1958, a footbridge was built over the railway immediately west of the station, to provide more direct access to the Dolgoch Falls.
In 1961, the platform was extended in both directions to accommodate longer trains. A new steel water tower was added at the east end of the new platform, and is now the main tower for up trains. The original water tower has since been reconditioned and is used occasionally. The platform extensions are of a similar construction as the original platform; the only difference in their construction is that the slate used on the extensions was not from the Bryneglwys quarry. The platform surface of the entire platform, including the extensions, was changed during the construction of the platform extensions; the platform now has a tarmac Tarmac may refer to:
Engineered surfaces
* Tarmacadam, a mainly historical tar-based material for macadamising road surfaces, patented in 1902
* Asphalt concrete, a macadamising material using asphalt instead of tar which has largely superseded ta ...
surface (the slate slab edging was not changed). In 1987, the platform was widened, and the surface renewed again.[ In the 2000s, a further steel water tower was built at the west end of the platform, which is used by some down trains.
Around 2010, a toilet block was added to the station, just to the west of the station building.
]
In popular culture
In The Railway Series
''The Railway Series'' is a series of British books about a railway known as the North Western Railway, located on the fictional Island of Sodor. There are 42 books in the series, the first published in May 1945 by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry. Twen ...
by Rev. Wilbert Awdry
Wilbert Vere Awdry (15 June 1911 – 21 March 1997) was an English Anglican minister, railway enthusiast, and children's author. He was best known for creating Thomas the Tank Engine. Thomas and several other characters he created appeared i ...
, and in the fourth season of ''Thomas & Friends
''Thomas & Friends'' (originally known as ''Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends'' and later ''Thomas & Friends: Big World! Big Adventures!'') is a British children's television series that aired across 24 series from 1984 to 2021. Based on ''The ...
'', Rheneas station on the Skarloey Railway
The Island of Sodor is a fictional island featured as the setting for ''The Railway Series'' books by the Rev. Wilbert Awdry (and his son Christopher), begun in 1945, and for the popular ''Thomas & Friends'' television series since 1984, alth ...
is based on this station.
Gallery
File:Dolgoch Viaduct - 2008-03-18.jpg, alt=The railway viaduct over Nant Dolgoch, Dolgoch viaduct, 18 March 2008.
File:DolgochStation1894.jpg, alt=The station in 1894, Dolgoch Station in original condition, looking west, in 1894.
File:Dolgoch station Talyllyn Railwaygeograph-3281567-by-Ben-Brooksbank.jpg, alt=The Station in 1951, Dolgoch Station, still in original condition, looking west. 3 August 1951.
File:DolgochStation.JPG, alt=The station in 1999, Dolgoch station, looking east, 13 May 1999.
File:Towyn - Abergynolwyn train at Dolgoch, 1952 (geograph 5209260).jpg, The original water tower at Dolgoch, 4 August 1952.
File:Taking water at Dolgoch station.jpg, The 1961-built water tower at Dolgoch, 1 June 2009.
File:Train approaching, Dolgoch - geograph.org.uk - 1517151.jpg, The western platform extension; the newest water tower is visible, beside the locomotive, in the distance. 26 September 2009.
References
*Talyllyn Railway Guide Book
External links
* /www.talyllyn.co.uk/stations/dolgoch Dolgochon the Talyllyn Railway's website
{{Gwynedd railway stations
Heritage railway stations in Gwynedd
Talyllyn Railway stations
Bryncrug
Dolgoch