Bryngwyn
| Bryngwyn | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Type | Station | ||||||||
| Status |
Closed Demolished | ||||||||
| Location | |||||||||
| Latitude | 53:04:50.80N | ||||||||
| Longitude | 04:14:40.09W | ||||||||
| Grid reference | SH497560 | ||||||||
| Route Navigator | |||||||||
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| Stations | Locations | Bridges | Tunnels | Map | |||||||||
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Bryngwyn is a former station on the Welsh Highland Railway. It was the terminus of the old Bryngwyn Branch.
Overview[edit]
Built by the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways, the Bryngwyn "branch" was originally the main line under the original act. Within a matter of two years, it had been relegated to a branch despite generating more revenue from slate traffic than the new main line. Named after an adjacent farm, there are a number of villages in walking distance. However, its main function was for the slate traffic arriving from the incline, at Bryngwyn. The station was closed to passengers on 31 December 1913 and never re-opened - although there are records of later workings of carriages on the line which suggests occasional excursion traffic (perhaps for Sunday School outings or the like). Goods traffic continued until the demise of WHR services, to service the quarries of the Moel Tryfan and Fron district.
The station is long demolished but two of the rail built gate posts from the level crossing can still be seen in a wall. There are currently no plans to restore the Bryngwyn Branch.
The Quarry Incline[edit]
From this isolated terminus, the cable-worked double track Incline led up to a point known as Drumhead (at Fron Heulog), where the tramways from the quarries converged. The head of the incline, or Drum head, or Fron Heulog, lay some 880m (957 yards) to the east. This rose some 245 feet in approximately half a mile (74.75m in 880m or 1 in 11.75). This incline is much less steep than many of its kind - though still much steeper than the main Branch. There is a long held rumour that attempts were made to work it using Beddgelert. Even when worked in the conventional way, it must have had its moments - not least as it includes a level crossing of a (then) minor public road!