Penrhyn Railway

The origins of the Penrhyn Quarry Railway date back to 1800 when Lord Penrhyn’s land agent Benjamin Wyatt was asked to design a railway to link Penrhyn slate quarries at Bethesda with Port Penrhyn at Bangor, North Wales, a distance of some six miles. Wyatt would incorporate a short section of existent track then known as the Llandegai Tramway constructed in 1798 to link Port Penrhyn with a flint mill near Llandegai village.

The Penrhyn Quarry Railroad would take a very direct route and would consist of four level plains divided by three inclines, the first at Maesgeirchen the second at Dinas near Tregarth and the third at Tanysgafell known as Tyn Y Clwt incline. The tramway was completed in 1801 and featured iron edge rails three feet in length and supported on slate and stone blocks. The gauge was measured from rail centre to centre which gave a gauge measurement of two feet. However, when the measurement was taken from inside the rails, Penrhyn ended up with the rather unusual gauge of one foot ten and three quarter inches, a gauge that was adhered to throughout until closure in the 1960’s.

The original Penrhyn Railroad was operated by two horses working between the inclines pulling up to around twenty rustic wagons laden with slate. Undoubtedly, the Penrhyn Railroad was the first railway ever constructed to serve the slate industry.

The Penrhyn Railroad was becoming increasingly decrepit by the 1870’s and competition from the Ffestiniog quarries that were enjoying the gravity line to Porthmadog prompted action. The first development in the improvement scheme took the form of the Tyn Y Clwt incline deviation completed in 1876 and extended from the North side of Felin Fawr to Hendurpike with a gradient of 1 in 35.

This significant improvement meant that for the first time, a steam engine could be used between the quarry and the head of Dinas incline a distance of some one and a half miles. Penrhyn had taken delivery of their first steam locomotive in 1875, a rather strange machine that carried the name George Sholto, built by Henry Hughes & Co at Loughborough and supplied by Augustus Beatson on behalf of his father John Beatson of Derby, this locomotive was put to use on the new section of railway but proved to be quite unsuccessful.

A trio of DeWinton mainline locomotives were ordered in 1876, again rather strange rare machines but of a conventional locomotive design featuring horizontal rather than their trademark vertical boilers. These were named Edward Sholto, Violet and Hilda. One of only two known photographs of these locomotives shows Hilda at the exchange sidings near Felin Fawr.

By 1877 work was well underway on a new route to avoid the remaining two inclines; this route from the head of Dinas incline to the Port was designed by Charles Spooner and was completed by 1879.

Alas the DeWinton locomotives proved inadequate so Hunslet of Leeds were commissioned to design a new Penrhyn mainline locomotive. Charles of 1882 proved so successful that Penrhyn placed an order for a further two mainline locomotives with Blanche and Linda arriving in 1893.

In 1924 Penrhyn purchased three 2-6-2 Baldwin locomotives for use on the mainline, however, constant de-railments and lack of refinement meant that they proved to be no match for the Hunslet product. The locomotives named Felin Hen, Llandegai and Tregarth were withdrawn from service after just three years. The image below shows No.3 Tregarth at Coed Y Parc shortly before being cut up for scrap in 1940.

The Penrhyn Quarry Railway officially closed to traffic on the 24th of July 1962, however, Blanche worked several slate runs after this date before being loaded onto a lorry at Felin Fawr in December of 1963 destined for Porthmadog. The six miles of bullhead railway track between Felin Fawr, Bethesda and Port Penrhyn, Bangor was donated to the Ffestiniog Railway and was lifted in 1965.

Thoughts of preserving the Penrhyn Railway date back to the spring of 1962 when Penrhyn Quarries Ltd announced their intent to close the mainline. The Penrhyn Quarry Railway had for years, evoked the passion of many enthusiasts who had appreciated its uniqueness and historic significance.

A preservation group was established in 1962 and became known as the Penrhyn Railway Preservation Society, this group worked tirelessly for almost three years amassing a significant membership and writing countless letters to the quarry directors in an attempt to preserve the railway. Although the infrastructure was at that time, still in place, they faced one enormous obstacle in trying to persuade the quarry owners to do the right thing. The historical significance of the railway was pointed out time after time and plans were even drawn up for a feasible future operation.

Sadly, it was not to be, the owners had been presented with what they considered to be a more favourable option. The preservation group did not give up the struggle until the last few lengths of Penrhyn Railway had been lifted and removed.

Former members of the PRPS are still very active today providing invaluable assistance and support to the current restoration project.

The Penrhyn Railway Heritage Trust was formed by local enthusiasts in 2004 with two aims simply stated as being: -

A. To protect all items connected with the Penrhyn Quarry Railway
B. To obtain lands and buildings necessary to provide a demonstration and recreation of the railway.

We beleive that the iconic Penrhyn Quarry Railway is of national if not World importance and since its inception, PRHT has acquired approximately one mile of the original trackbed, described by many as perhaps one of the most scenic sections near the village of Bethesda, Bangor, Gwynedd. The first section of trackbed within the Felin Fawr Works site forms the original course of Benjamin Wyatt's 1801 railroad and the second much longer section is the Tyn Y Clwt deviation of 1876 between Felin Fawr Works and Hendurnpike.

It is not necessarily our intention to provide a tourist railway as in the traditional well-proven format, but to provide opportunities for those interested to get involved and become part of something truly special. It is our aim to recreate the past and to encourage visitors to ‘imagine’ and devise their own interpretations of past times at Penrhyn. The first phase of this sensative restoration will commence during 2009.

The Penrhyn Railway Society was launched in mid 2005 and it has already amassed a significant membership. The Society plays a vital part in the development of the project by organizing volunteer groups and raising funds without which the project would not progress. It also provides the opportunity for anyone to get involved in a multitude of ways. Society membership is also a good way of keeping up to date on progress via the Journal published quarterly and entitled ‘Y Llechen / The Slate’ Details of how to join can be found in the "Join us" section.