Tyddyn Bridge Halt railway station

Tyddyn Bridge Halt was a solely passenger railway station which served a rural area west of Frongoch, near Bala. It was on the Great Western Railway's (GWR's) Bala Ffestiniog Line in Gwynedd, Wales.[7]

Tyddyn Bridge Halt
Location
Place	West of Frongoch, Bala
Area	Gwynedd
Coordinates	52.9461°N 3.6693°W / 52.9461; -3.6693
Grid reference	SH 878 401
Operations
Original company	Great Western Railway
Platforms	1[1][2]
History
1 November 1882	Line opened[3]
1 December 1930	Halt opened for passengers only[4]
4 January 1960	Halt closed[5]
28 January 1961	Line closed[6]
Disused railway stations in the United Kingdom
Closed railway stations in Britain A B C D–F G H–J K–L M–O P–R S T–V W–Z

Bala & Festiniog Railway
Conwy Valley line to Llandudno Ffestiniog Railway to Porthmadog Harbour Blaenau Festiniog Junction Blaenau Ffestiniog North Blaenau Ffestiniog Ffestiniog Railway to Duffws (FR) Duffws (F&BR) Glynllifon Street (F&BR) Former wooden viaduct Tan-y-Manod (F&BR) Graig Ddu Quarry Pengwern Quarry Tyddyngwyn (F&BR) Manod Teigl Halt Festiniog Maentwrog Road Line to south dismantled Trawsfynydd power station loading point Trawsfynydd Lake Halt Trawsfynydd Camp Trawsfynydd Llafar Halt Bryn-Celynog Halt Cwm Prysor Viaduct Cwm Prysor Halt Arenig Capel Celyn Halt Section flooded by Llyn Celyn Tyddyn Bridge Halt (under dam wall) Frongoch Bala (New) Bala Junction Ruabon–Barmouth line to Llandderfel Bala (Penybont) (original Bala Lake Halt) Bala Lake Railway to Llanuwchllyn Ruabon–Barmouth line to Barmouth

Origins

In 1882 the Bala and Ffestiniog Railway opened the line from Bala Junction to a temporary terminus at Festiniog, Trawsfynydd was one of the stations opened with the line; the future Tyddyn Bridge Halt would be on this line. At Festiniog passengers had to transfer to narrow gauge trains if they wished to continue northwards.[8][9] To do this people travelling from Bala to Blaenau or beyond walked the few yards from the standard gauge train to the narrow gauge train much as they do today between the Conwy Valley Line and the Ffestiniog Railway at Blaenau Ffestiniog.

The following year the narrow gauge line was converted to standard gauge, but narrow gauge trains continued to run until 5 September 1883 using a third rail. Standard gauge trains first ran through from Bala to Blaenau Ffestiniog on 10 September 1883.[3] The line was taken over by the Great Western Railway in 1910.[10]

Tyddyn Bridge Halt was one of the 198 opened by the Great Western Railway (GWR) between 1927 and 1939,[11] spurred by rising competition with buses and, to a lesser degree, cars.[12] The prime reason in this case was to serve walkers.[13][2] The halt stood in a very thinly populated rural area with no obvious source of traffic; conversely, the people who did live, work and increasingly take leisure activities in the area had no other obvious means of transport.

Description

The unstaffed halt's single platform was made of wood.[14][15] It was a mere 70 feet (21 m) long,[16] so drivers had instructions to stop ensuring the guard's compartment was alongside. The amenities provided were a platform shelter and two oil lamps.[2] The station nameboard was double faced and could therefore be read by people on the platform and trains and from the rear as a station sign by people on surrounding land. The halt stood immediately off the eastern end of the bridge of the same name, which crossed the Afon Tryweryn.[17] The halt was only accessible by path from the Bala to Capel Celyn road.

Services

The September 1959 timetable shows

• Northbound
  • three trains calling at all stations from Bala to Blaenau on Monday to Saturday
  • an extra evening train calling at all stations from Bala to Blaenau on Saturday
  • a Monday to Friday train calling at all stations from Bala to Trawsfynydd
• The journey time from Bala to Tyddyn Bridge Halt was around 10 minutes.
• Southbound
  • three trains calling at all stations from Blaenau to Bala on Monday to Saturday
  • two extra trains calling at all stations from Blaenau to Bala on Saturday
  • an extra train calling at all stations from Blaenau to Trawsfynydd on Saturday evening
  • a Monday to Friday train calling at all stations from Blaenau to Bala, except Llafar, Bryn-celynog and Cwm Prysor Halts
• The journey time from Blaenau to Tyddyn Bridge Halt was around 67 minutes, except for one Saturdays Only train which took longer because it sat at Trawsfynydd for 25 minutes.
• There was no Sunday service.[18]

In 1935 the Ministry of Transport stated that the halt was used by 50 passengers per week.[19]

After the Second World War at the latest most trains were composed of two carriages, with one regular turn comprising just one brake third coach. At least one train along the line regularly ran as a mixed train,[20][21] with a second between Bala and Arenig. By that time such trains had become rare on Britain's railways. Workmen's trains had been a feature of the line from the outset; they were the Festiniog and Blaenau Railway's biggest source of revenue.[22] Such a service between Trawsfynydd and Blaenau Ffestiniog survived to the line's closure to passengers in 1960.[23][24] Up to 1930 at the earliest such services used dedicated, lower standard, coaches which used a specific siding at Blaenau where the men boarded from and alighted to the ballast.[25][26]

Closure

The halt closed in January 1960 but freight trains between Bala and Blaenau continued to pass the site for a further year, the last train of all passing on 27 January 1961.[27] The track though the halt was lifted in the 1960s.

In 1964 the line reopened from Blaenau southwards to a siding near the site of Trawsfynydd Lake Halt where a large ("Goliath") gantry[28][29] was erected to load and unload traffic for the then new Trawsfynydd nuclear power station. The main goods transported were nuclear fuel rods carried in nuclear flasks. The new facility was over fourteen route miles north of Tyddyn Bridge Halt, so the reopening brought no reprieve.

Controversy

The site of the halt was subsequently buried under the Llyn Celyn dam wall,[30] the construction of which led to the closure of the line in 1961. Building the reservoir was very controversial at the time and remains as a symbol in some minds to this day.[31][32][33][34][35]

Special trains

Rail enthusiasts' special trains traversed the line from time to time, notably the "last train" from Bala to Blaenau Ffestiniog and return on 22 January 1961.[36]

The station site in the 21st Century

The halt is buried. By 2014 much of the trackbed was detectable both on satellite imagery and on the ground. It also appears when the waters of Llyn Celyn fall in prolonged dry weather.

The future

Since 2000 there have been at least two attempts to put the remaining line to use, but none of these come close to the site of the halt. As the line of route has been severed by Llyn Celyn the prospects of revival must be very remote.

Preceding station		Disused railways		Following station
Capel Celyn Halt Line and station closed		Great Western Railway Bala and Festiniog Railway		Frongoch Line and station closed

References

1. Southern 1995, Preface & p.42.
2. Mitchell & Smith 2010, Photo 12.
3. Boyd 1988, p. 47.
4. Quick 2009, pp. 389.
5. Butt 1995, p. 236.
6. Southern 1995, pp. 64 & 81.
7. Jowett 2000, Map 45.
8. Mitchell & Smith 2010, Map XVI.
9. Southern 1995, p. 74.
10. Southern 1995, p. 8.
11. Coleford 2010a, p. 509.
12. Wells 2016, pp. 374-9.
13. Southern 1995, p. 43.
14. Southern 1995, Preface.
15. Clemens 2003, 10 mins from start.
16. Southern 1995, p. 41.
17. Southern 1995, p. 42.
18. Mitchell & Smith 2010, Preface.
19. Coleford 2010a, p. 511.
20. Christiansen 1976, p. 71.
21. "Mixed train approaching Blaenau Ffestiniog". RCTS.
22. Boyd 1988, p. 88.
23. Southern 1995, pp. 15-17.
24. 1960 Working timetable, via 2D53
25. Southern 1995, p. 13.
26. Blaenau Ffestiniog (GWR) track layout, via Signalling Record Society
27. Southern 1995, p. 64.
28. Mitchell & Smith 2010, Photo 28.
29. Southern 1995, p. 71.
30. Southern 1995, p. 95.
31. Tryweryn inundation history, via National Library of Wales Archived 17 July 2016 at the Wayback Machine
32. Tryweryn inundation history, via BBC
33. Tryweryn inundation history, via The Independent
34. Tryweryn inundation interviews, via BBC
35. Tryweryn inundation and Canoeing, via Canoe Wales
36. Southern 1995, p. 93.

Sources

• Boyd, James I.C. (1988) [1972]. Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire – Volume 1. Headington: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-365-7. OCLC 20417464.
• 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.
• Christiansen, Rex (1976). Forgotten Railways: North and Mid Wales. Newton Abbot: David and Charles. ISBN 978-0-7153-7059-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Clemens, Jim (2003) [1959]. North Wales Steam Lines (DVD). The Jim Clemens Collection No.6. Uffington, Shropshire: B&R Video Productions. Vol 79.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Coleford, I. C. (October 2010a). Smith, Martin (ed.). "By GWR to Blaenau Ffestiniog (Part One)". Railway Bylines. Radstock: Irwell Press Limited. 15 (11).CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Jowett, Alan (2000). Jowett's Nationalised Railway Atlas (1st ed.). Penryn, Cornwall: Atlantic Transport Publishers. ISBN 978-0-906899-99-1. OCLC 228266687.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Bala to Llandudno: Featuring Blaenau Ffestiniog. Midhurst: Middleton Press (MD). ISBN 978-1-906008-87-1.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway and Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
• Southern, D. W. (1995). Bala Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog. Stockport: Foxline Publishing. ISBN 978-1-870119-34-4. Scenes from the Past, Railways of North Wales, No. 25.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Wells, Jeffrey (June 2016). Blakemore, Michael (ed.). "The Opening of Railway Halts 1930-1935". Back Track. Easingwold: Pendragon Publishing. 30 (6).CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further material

• Coleford, I. C. (November 2010b). Smith, Martin (ed.). "By GWR to Blaenau Ffestiniog Part Two". Railway Bylines. Radstock: Irwell Press Limited. 15 (12).CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Ferris, Tom (2004) [1961]. British Railways Volume 4 - Bewdley To Blaenau (DVD). demanddvd. DEMDVD084.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
• Turner, Alun (2003). Gwynedd's Lost Railways. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84033-259-9.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

External links

• The station site on a navigable OS Map National Library of Scotland
• The station on a navigable 1953 OS map npe Maps
• The halt and line Rail Map Online
• The line LJT2 with mileages Railway Codes
• Reminiscences by a local railwayman Forgotten Relics
• Images of the halt Yahoo
• Festiniog and Blaenau Railway Festipedia
• Driver's view Maentwrog Road to Blaenau YouTube
• Several photos of the line Penmorfa
• Several photos of the line Penmorfa
• The line in 2009 The Railway Muddler
• 1960 Working timetable 2D53
• Deatails and photos of 22 Jan 1961 railtour Six Bells Junction
• The 1961 last train special YouTube
• Scenes along the trackbed flickr
• The line RM Web