Waunfawr 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 1877 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
London and North Western Railway. Passenger services ceased on 26 September 1936 and the station was reopened on 7 August 2000 following the reconstruction of the railway from
Dinas to
Waunfawr
Waunfawr (''gwaun'' + ''mawr'', en, large moorland/meadow) is a village and community, SE of Caernarfon, near the Snowdonia National Park, Gwynedd, in Wales.
Description
Waunfawr is in the Gwyrfai valley, on the A4085 road from Caernarfon t ...
. 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.
"Waunfawr" is Welsh for "Big Heath".
In 2000, in order to remodel the layout of the station, the old building was carefully taken down. Although carefully dismantled by the WH Heritage Group, the numbered and stored stone was inadvertently used as fill for the embankments, or to build a stone wall, by the contractor.
Following reconstruction, the section from Waunfawr to
Rhyd Ddu
Rhyd-ddu ( Welsh for 'black ford') is a small village in Snowdonia, North Wales which is a starting point for walks up Snowdon (via the Rhyd Ddu Path), Moel Hebog, Yr Aran and the Nantlle Ridge.
It lies on the A4085 between Beddgelert and ...
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 from Waunfawr to Rhyd Ddu by special train.
The station flower and shrub beds were laid out and are maintained by the local community enterprise charity,
Antur Waunfawr.
The Snowdonia Park Hotel adjoins the station and was built originally as the station master's house.
Entrance to and exit from the station platform is by way of the hotel car park. The station footbridge links with a car park and a caravan park. Snowdonia Sherpa Bus services call at the station.
In 2018–19, after a substantial donation, the station building was rebuilt in the style of the original NWNG building of 1877, but to modern building standards.
File:Waunfawr-P5260145.JPG, Down train arriving at Waunfawr from Rhyd Ddu, powered by diesel locomotive "Castell Caernarfon" on 26 May 2004
File:WHR NG143 Waunfawr water tower.jpg, NG143 at Waunfawr water tower
File:WHR NG143 Waunfawr.jpg, Train with NG143 heading for Caernarfon
File:WHR Prince Waunfawr.jpg, Prince at Waunfawr
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 WaunfawrFestipedia
{{Gwynedd railway stations
Heritage railway stations in Gwynedd
Welsh Highland Railway
Betws Garmon
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 1877
Railway stations in Great Britain closed in 1936
Railway stations in Great Britain opened in 2000