Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Tryfan Junction railway station

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Area
  
Gwynedd

Owned by
  
Festiniog Railway

Owner
  
Ffestiniog Railway

Grid reference
  
SH501590

1877
  
Opened

Platforms in use
  
1

Tryfan Junction railway station wwwwelshhighlandheritagecoukgalleryimagespla

Original company
  
North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways

Managed by
  
Welsh Highland Heritage Group

Similar
  
Dinas railway station, Rhostryfan railway station, Ffestiniog Railway, Snowdon Ranger railway st, Waunfawr railway station

A former junction station on the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways for the main line and the Bryngwyn Branch.

History

Originally built for the opening of traffic in 1877 by the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways Company, the building became redundant when passenger services ceased on the Bryngwyn branch in 1916. The station building fell into disrepair following its closure in 1936 by the Welsh Highland Railway and it eventually became a roofless ruin.

This section of the WHR was restored in 2000 and work began in earnest 2009 on restoration of the station under the leadership of by the late John Keylock and driven by the determination of a small band of volunteers from the Welsh Highland Heritage Group. The first part, reconstruction of a platform, was completed in Spring 2010, but the only train to stop there in 2010 was a single "Sponsors Special". In 2011 with the commencement of the main operating season, it became a timetabled request stop. Work on the building continued and was completed in 2014.

For its extensive reconstruction of the building, the Welsh Highland Railway Heritage Group received the 2014 Volunteers' Award of the National Railway Heritage Awards scheme. On a very wet and windy Saturday, 2nd May 2015, some 40 people squeezed into the restored Tryfan Junction Station building. where John Ellis, chairman of National Railway Heritage Awards gave a brief speech. Sir Peter Hendy CBE, Commissioner Transport for London (now chairman of Network Rail) then unveiled the blue NRHA plaque to commemorate the award.

At the meeting the former chairman of the WHR Heritage Group, David Allan also paid tribute to the foresight and imagination of John Keylock who had died before seeing his dream completely realised. A commemorative slate tablet in the garden at the station carries John Keylock’s sign off comment in his many telephone calls to David and others “Speak Anon

Work continues to improve the facilities and heritage scene at Tryfan Junction which is now the ‘gateway’ to The Slate Trail along the trackbed of the closed Bryngwyn Branch.

References

Tryfan Junction railway station Wikipedia