Snowdon Ranger is a station on the

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

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 ...

, which was built in 1878 as the

North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways The North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways (NWNGR) was a railway company that planned to build a number of inter-connected narrow-gauge railways across North Wales. The first two of these lines - jointly known as the "Moel Tryfan Undertaking" - were ...

Moel Tryfan Undertaking, to carry dressed slate to Dinas Junction on the

LNWR The London and North Western Railway (LNWR, L&NWR) was a British railway company between 1846 and 1922. In the late 19th century, the L&NWR was the largest joint stock company in the United Kingdom. In 1923, it became a constituent of the L ...

. The station was originally known as Quellyn Lake but was renamed after the path to the Summit of Snowdon popularised by, and named after, the local mountain guide, "The Snowdon Ranger", who went by that name for many years. Certainly the name "Snowdon Ranger" was in common use on company timetables from as early as 1879, and that of the adjacent Snowdon Ranger Hotel from at least 1869. Passenger services ceased on 26 September 1936 and the station was reopened in 2003 following the complete reconstruction of the railway from Waunfawr to Rhyd Ddu. The train services are operated by the

Festiniog Railway The Ffestiniog Railway ( cy, Rheilffordd Ffestiniog) is a heritage railway based on narrow-gauge, located in Gwynedd, Wales. It is a major tourist attraction located mainly within the Snowdonia National Park. The railway is roughly long an ...

Company's

subsidiary. Snowdon Ranger is currently operated as an unmanned halt and trains call only by request. Following reconstruction, the Section from Waunfawr to Rhyd Ddu was formally reopened by the

Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

on 30 July 2003. Prince Charles travelled by special train from to Snowdon Ranger station where, having donned overalls, he alighted from the carriage and travelled on the footplate to . Public passenger services re-commenced on 18 August 2003. The former station building is now in private ownership, and as such is one of the six original remaining NWNGR buildings, the others being the ruins of the former station building at Bettws Garmon, the ruined quarry sidings office at nearby Glanrafon Sidings, the restored station buildings at Tryfan Junction and Dinas; and the goods shed at Dinas.

Notes

References

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External links

The Welsh Highland Railway Project - official reconstruction siteWelsh Highland Railway (Caernarfon)Rebuilding The Welsh Highland Railway - an independent siteMultimap Map of Snowdon RangerVideo footage of Snowdon Ranger station
{{Gwynedd railway stations Heritage railway stations in Gwynedd Welsh Highland Railway Betws Garmon Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1878 Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1936 Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2003