Template:Featured picture/October 2015
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The Old Moelwyn Tunnel was the longer of the two tunnels on the line for most of the pre-preservation life of the FR, though neither was in use at the opening. Some 730 yards in length, this tunnel was bored through hard cyanite rock with three circular shafts for ventilation. The tunnel measured just 8' wide and 9' 6" high, and as such dictated the maximum loading gauge of the line thereafter. The tunnel was opened in 1842, i.e. after the initial opening of the line, an event which was marked by the firing of a rock cannon on the hillside above the tunnel. Before the tunnel was opened, trains crossed the hill by inclines. The tunnel was plugged by the British Electricity Authority when the Tanygrisiau pumped storage power station was built necessitating the construction of the Deviation which includes a new Moelwyn Tunnel Photo credit: User:FarleyBrook |