The Porthmadog cross town link is a section of 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 ...

, specifically built to link with the Ffestiniog Railway in

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 Ff ...

, and runs along partly what was called the Junction Railway, previously existing as part of the original Welsh Highland Railway. This had been removed some time after that railway closed in 1936. It has been built using the new powers obtained by the Ffestiniog Railway and runs from

Harbour station TD Station, formerly known as Harbour Station, is an arena located in the uptown area of Saint John, New Brunswick. The arena is the home of the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. It was once the home of the American H ...

on the Ffestiniog Railway to Pen-y-Mount Junction close to on the

Welsh Highland Heritage Railway The Welsh Highland Heritage Railway is a short reconstructed heritage railway in Gwynedd, Wales. Its main station is in Porthmadog. History The origins of the WHHR lie in a small group of railway enthusiasts, including some disgruntled volunt ...

. The route is as follows: * Junction with the Ffestiniog Railway at

. * Cross Porthmadog High St and 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 i ...

across the Britannia Bridge with road traffic stopped by lights when trains pass. * Around the back of the Wilko supermarket. As such this is a deviation from the original line, that broadly speaking went in front of what is now the supermarket. * Across the back streets, in front of the old mill. * Across the standard gauge Cambrian Line on the level. This is the only

mixed gauge In railway engineering, "gauge" is the transverse distance between the inner surfaces of the heads of two rails, which for the vast majority of railway lines is the number of rails in place. However, it is sometimes necessary for track to c ...

flat rail crossing in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. * Along the track bed of the Welsh Highland Railway. * Junction just north with Welsh Highland Heritage Railway to . For reference, the Junction Railway was empowered to run: * Junction with the Ffestiniog Railway at

Harbour Station TD Station, formerly known as Harbour Station, is an arena located in the uptown area of Saint John, New Brunswick. The arena is the home of the Saint John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. It was once the home of the American H ...

. * Cross Porthmadog High St and the

across the Britannia Bridge with street running. * a short small curve onto Madoc Street to join to the existing

Croesor Tramway The Croesor Tramway was a Welsh, narrow gauge railway line built to carry slate from the Croesor slate mines to Porthmadog. It was built in 1864 without an Act of Parliament and was operated using horse power. The tramway was absorbed into ...

line which was taken over by the

. The line reopened on 8 January 2011, linking the Ffestiniog Railway with the

allowing passenger trains to run between and .

References

External links

{{Coord, 52.9242, -4.1263, display=title} Ffestiniog Railway Welsh Highland Railway Street running 1 ft 11½ in gauge railways in Wales Porthmadog