Tanygrisiau railway station

Tanygrisiau railway station (grid reference SH683449) is a passenger station on the narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway The line was built in 1836 to carry dressed slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog for export by sea but official passenger services began in 1865.

Tanygrisiau
Station on heritage railway
General information
LocationTanygrisiau, Gwynedd
Wales
Coordinates52°59′09″N 3°57′47″W / 52.98580°N 3.96303°W / 52.98580; -3.96303
Grid referenceSH683449
Owned byFestiniog Railway Company
Managed byFfestiniog Railway
Platforms2
Key dates
1866Station opened
15 September 1939Closed to passengers
24 June 1978Present station opened on different alignment

The station serves the slate mining village of Tanygrisiau and was opened in March 1866. It closed to passengers on 15 September 1939. The new station opened for passenger traffic on 24 June 1978 and was the passenger terminus until 25 May 1982. Tanygrisiau station is at a height of 669 ft (204 m) and a distance of 12 miles 10 chains (19.5 km) from Porthmadog.

The new station is on a different alignment and grade from the old, the two alignments joining just to the north of the Blaenau end of the station. The old line was on a continuous downward gradient from that point through the station, but the new line is on an uphill gradient (to pass the nearby power station) and is more sharply curved. One of the old buildings still remains, visibly lower than the new trackbed.

Tanygrisiau station has an operational passing loop but is normally operated as an unstaffed halt and trains only call on request. Intending passengers are advised to check with the Ffestiniog Railway Company before embarking on their journey.

The station is close to the Cwmorthin water falls, and the train passes Tanygrisiau hydro-electric pumped-storage power station and Llyn Ystradau.

Services

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   Heritage railways
Dduallt   Ffestiniog Railway
Porthmadog - Blaenau Ffestiniog
  Blaenau Ffestiniog
  Historical railways  
Dduallt   Festiniog Railway   Dinas
1865-1870
    Duffws
1866-1881
    Blaenau Festiniog Junction
a.k.a.Stesion Fain
1881-1883
    Blaenau Ffestiniog Central
1883-1939

Sources

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  • Boyd, James I.C. (1975) [1959]. The Festiniog Railway 1800 - 1974; Vol. 1 - History and Route. The British Narrow Gauge Railway. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-167-7. OCLC 2074549. B1A.
  • Boyd, James I.C. (1975) [1959]. The Festiniog Railway 1800 - 1974; Vol. 2 - Locomotives and Rolling Stock; Quarries and Branches: Rebirth 1954-74. The British Narrow Gauge Railway. Blandford: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-168-4. OCLC 874117875. B1B.
  • Brian Hollingsworth: Ffestiniog Adventure - The Festiniog Railway's Deviation Project, 1981.
  • J.G.V.Mitchell & A.G.W.Garraway; Return to Blaenau 1970–82, 2001
  • The Ffestiniog Railway Company's website
  • Ffestiniog Railway Timetables Archived 21 March 2013 at the Wayback Machine

Further reading

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