Merionethshire Railway

The Merionethshire Railway (MR) was a proposed 1 ft 11 3⁄4 in (603 mm) and 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) dual gauge railway in south Caernarfonshire (now part of Gwynedd) North Wales, United Kingdom. It was incorporated by an Act of Parliament on 29 June 1871. Powers to build the line lapsed in 1885[2] and were abandoned on 12 July 1887. Work to build the line never started, though parliamentary extensions of time to do so were obtained in 1876, 1879 and 1882.[1]

Merionethshire Railway
Overview
HeadquartersLondon
LocaleGwynedd, Wales
Technical
Track gaugeMixed 1 ft 11 1⁄2 in (597 mm) and 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge[1]
Length8 miles 41 chains (13.7 km)

Route

The line was to start at an end-on junction with the Festiniog and Blaenau Railway at Llan Ffestiniog and head south west across country to make a triangular junction with the Cambrian Railways just north of Talsarnau,[3] though the clearest published map of the route shows a triangular junction at both ends of the line.[4]

Gauges

The junction with the F&BR meant the MR was to follow its gauge, which was formally 1 ft 11 3⁄4 in (603 mm),[5] but the Act merely cited "2-foot gauge". As the parliamentary journey progressed the 4 ft 8 1⁄2 in (1,435 mm) standard gauge Bala and Festiniog Railway (a proxy for the GWR) revealed its hand by obtaining an Act authorising it to build a line from what would become Bala Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog where it aimed to tap the town's prolific slate output. This proposed line was to meet the narrow gauge F&BR at Llan Ffestiniog, so the MR was planned to be of mixed gauge, achieved by laying a third rail.

Purposes

By proposing the line its backers sought to threaten the Festiniog Railway into reducing charges and raising service levels. The lack of action on the ground is interpreted as indicating that the MR was a bluff.[6]

Actions

In the event the Bala and Festiniog Railway reached Llan Ffestiniog in 1882 and converted the Festiniog and Blaenau's line from there onwards to Blaenau to standard gauge in 1883. This long, mountainous line through sparsely populated country posed little threat to the FR, with most of the slate traffic it did carry being handed to the FR at what became Blaenau Ffestiniog Central.

Had it been built the most northerly part of the MR's planned route would have followed the same course as the Bala and Festiniog line from Festiniog southwards to what would eighty years later be the loading point for Trawsfynydd nuclear power station traffic near Trawsfynydd Lake Halt. The unbuilt line would have been flooded by Llyn Trawsfynydd. Its descending course along the south side of the valley of the Afon Dwyryd would have "mirrored" the course of the FR on the northern side of the valley, with interchange facilities with the Cambrian near Talsarnau directly competing with the FR's interchange facilities at Minffordd.

See also
  • British narrow gauge railways

References
  1. Boyd 1988, p. 58.
  2. Southern 1995, p. 7.
  3. Boyd 1988, p. 57.
  4. Boyd 1975, Inside front cover.
  5. Boyd 1988, p. 47.
  6. Boyd 1988, pp. 58–60.

Sources
  • 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. (1988) [1972]. Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire – Volume 1. Headington: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-365-7. OCLC 20417464.
  • Southern, D. W. (1995). Bala Junction to Blaenau Ffestiniog. Railways of North Wales. Stockport: Foxline Publishing. ISBN 978-1-870119-34-4. Scenes from the Past No.25.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)

Further material
  • Baughan, Peter E. (1991). A Regional History of the Railways of Great Britain: North and Mid Wales. Regional railway history series (2nd ed.). Nairn: David St John Thomas Publisher. ISBN 978-0-946537-59-4. OL 11571058M. Vol 11.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Richards, Alun John (2001). The Slate Railways of Wales. Llanrwst: Gwasg Carreg Gwalch. ISBN 978-0-86381-689-5.CS1 maint: ref=harv (link)
  • Statute Law Repeals: Nineteenth Report, Draft Statute Law (Repeals) Bill. Great Britain Law Commission, The Stationery Office, 2012, p. 272.
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