Pont Croesor is a

railway halt A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing suc ...

in Wales, on the

Welsh Highland Railway The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR) or Rheilffordd Eryri is a long, restored narrow gauge heritage railway in the Welsh county of Gwynedd, operating from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, and passing through a number of popular tourist destinations in ...

, which runs through the

Snowdonia National Park Snowdonia or Eryri (), is a mountainous region in northwestern Wales and a national park of in area. It was the first to be designated of the three national parks in Wales, in 1951. Name and extent It was a commonly held belief that the nam ...

from

Caernarfon Caernarfon (; ) is a royal town, community and port in Gwynedd, Wales, with a population of 9,852 (with Caeathro). It lies along the A487 road, on the eastern shore of the Menai Strait, opposite the Isle of Anglesey. The city of Bangor is ...

Porthmadog Porthmadog (; ), originally Portmadoc until 1974 and locally as "Port", is a Welsh coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd and the historic county of Caernarfonshire. It lies east of Criccieth, south-west of Blaenau Ffest ...

. It is located on the section between the stations of and . Originally, as part of the Croesor Tramway, there was a siding at this location but no station. When the WHR was initially built in 1923 a small halt was provided; however, this closed with the railway in 1936 and all trace of this was removed when the line was lifted. The line from Pont Croesor to has been connected since early 2009, being available for stock transfer purposes. The station was officially opened on 26 May 2010 and was the WHR's temporary terminus, having previously opened to passengers on 22 May 2010. The previous terminus at is now closed. It opened to timetabled passenger services on 8 January 2011. When the station opened there was a full-length platform on the west side of the loop only, but with the commencement of through services in both directions during 2011 a second platform was provided. The station site is adjacent to Pont Croesor bridge, which crosses the

River Glaslyn The Afon Glaslyn (English, ''River Glaslyn'') is a river in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. While not of great significance in terms of its length (about ), it is one of Gwynedd's primary rivers, and has greatly influenced the landscape in which it ...

, and is a hybrid road/rail bridge, as each uses the same piers. The bridge was extensively modified in appearance recently to feature standard safety barriers. The new loop was finally completed, for operational purposes, on 13 March 2010. During the 2010 and 2011 seasons the station has featured a staffed booking office and gift shop; however with all trains terminating at Porthmadog for the 2012 season Pont Croesor is no longer a terminus, and has therefore been downgraded to an unstaffed halt. The station building has been removed to Blaenau Ffestiniog but the waiting room remains.

Ospreys

The station is adjacent to the viewing site of the Glaslyn Osprey Project, from where the public can see the nesting place of a pair of

osprey The osprey (''Pandion haliaetus''), , also called sea hawk, river hawk, and fish hawk, is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey with a cosmopolitan range. It is a large raptor reaching more than in length and across the wings. It is brown o ...

s.RSPB: Glaslyn osprey project
Chicks have been successfully raised every year since 2005. The majority of the WHR's construction in this area has been carried out whilst the birds are abroad in the winter months, in order to keep disturbance to a minimum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pont Croesor Railway Station Heritage railway stations in Gwynedd Welsh Highland Railway Dolbenmaen Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1923 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1936 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2010 Railway stations built for UK heritage railways

Ospreys

See also

References