Campbell's Platform railway station

Campbell's Platform (grid reference SH673418) is a private, unstaffed halt on the Welsh narrow gauge Ffestiniog Railway, which was built in 1836 to carry dressed slate from Blaenau Ffestiniog to Porthmadog for export by sea. It is 9 miles and 7 chains from Porthmadog and is at 510 feet above sea level.

Campbell's Platform
Location
PlaceTan-y-Bwlch
AreaGwynedd
Coordinates52.95746°N 3.97587°W / 52.95746; -3.97587
Grid referenceSH673418
Operations
Managed byFfestiniog Railway
Owned byFestiniog Railway Company
Platforms1
History
April 1965Opened for use by Col Campbell on line under restoration[1]
6 April 1968Opened as a private halt on the reopened line to Dduallt[1]
Stations on heritage railways in the United Kingdom
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
Plas y Dduallt

History

The halt was established in 1965 to serve Plas Dduallt, a small Welsh Manor House (just below the railway) dating in part from the 15th century, and where Oliver Cromwell is said to have stayed during his campaign against the Royalists of North Wales.

Colonel Andrew Campbell bought the house in 1962 and undertook a complete restoration. Road access to Plas Dduallt is recent and during the 1960s the Colonel kept his own locomotive on a siding by the halt. He ran his own train to and from Tan-y-Bwlch under running powers granted by the Ffestiniog Railway.

The Colonel allowed the use of his outhouses for hostel accommodation for volunteers. He was a licensed explosives handler and as a volunteer he did much of the rock blasting required on the spiral section of the deviation and beyond. A slate seat has been erected at Dduallt in his memory.

Campbell's Platform (named in his honour) is a private halt available for use only by residents and visitors staying at Plas Dduallt. Intending passengers must check with the Ffestiniog Railway Company before embarking on their journey.

Plas Dduallt has been on Most Haunted in its 2008 series for paranormal investigations.[2]

Coed-y-Bleiddiau

Between Campbell's platform and Tan-y-Bwlch is Coed-y-Bleiddiau cottage, a private residence that was built c1860 for the Ffestiniog Railway's Inspector of the Line. The cottage is over half a mile by steep footpath from the nearest road, and in the 1930s it was used as a holiday home by several families, including those of Granville Bantock the composer and Kim Philby the Russian spy. This cottage also has its own private railway platform, which displays a name board. The location features on the map in the Traveller's Guide, but not on the company web. Coed-y-Bleiddiau has recently been restored by the Landmark Trust,[3] and is now used for self-catering holiday lets.

Services
Preceding station   Heritage railways Following station
Tan-y-Bwlch   Ffestiniog Railway
Porthmadog - Blaenau Ffestiniog		   Dduallt

References
  1. Butt (1995), page 52
  3. Ffestiniog & Welsh Highland Railways (27 June 2016), Coed y Bleiddiau appeal, retrieved 25 May 2018
  • Butt, R. V. J. (1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199.
  • Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
  • 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.

Bibliography
  • Brian Hollingsworth: Ffestiniog Adventure - The Festiniog Railway's Deviation Project.
  • Ffestiniog Railway Company: Traveller's Guide.
  • Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (1995). Porthmadog to Blaenau. West Sussex: Middleton Press. figs. 71-73. ISBN 9781873793503. OCLC 877269886.
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