Dinas railway station

This article is about the station in the village of Dinas. For the former station of this name in Blaenau Festiniog, see Dinas railway station (Festiniog Railway).

Dinas is a station on the narrow gauge Welsh Highland Railway, which was built in 1877 as the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways Moel Tryfan Undertaking to carry dressed slate for trans-shipment to the LNWR. Passenger services ceased on 26 September 1936 until which time Dinas had been a joint station, known as Dinas Junction with the LNWR and later the LMS.^[8] In 1951, British Railways closed their part of the station but the line through the station remained open until the line from Caernarvon to Afon Wen was closed in 1964.^[6] The trackbed was subsequently developed as the Lôn Eifion tourist cycle route.

Dinas
Station on heritage railway
Welsh Highland train to Waunfawr at Dinas 2003
General information
Location	Dinas, Llanwnda, Gwynedd Wales
Coordinates	53.10366°N 4.27682°W / 53.10366; -4.27682
Grid reference	SH476586
Owned by	Festiniog Railway Company
Managed by	Welsh Highland Railway
Platforms	2 (originally 2 standard and 1 narrow gauge)[1][2]
History
Original company	LNWR
Key dates
14 September 1877	Opened as "Dinas Junction"[3][4]
26 September 1936	Narrow gauge closed[5]
1938	Renamed "Dinas (Caerns)"[6][7]
10 September 1951	Standard gauge closed
11 October 1997	Re-opened (as narrow gauge, named "Dinas")

Original NWNGR station building of 1877

v t e Carnarvonshire Railway
Legend
Bangor and Carnarvon Railway to Bangor Caernarvon Carnarvon and Llanberis Railway Caernarfon (WHR) Quay sidings Caernarvon (Morfa) Carnarvon (Pant) Pont Rug Halt Pontrhythallt Bontnewydd (WHR) Cwm-y-Glo Llanberis Tunnel Glynrhonwy Quarries Padarn Halt Llanberis Dinas Junction Welsh Highland Railway Llanwnda Groeslon Penygroes Nantlle Branch Junction Nantlle summit Pant Glas Brynkir Ynys Llangybi Chwilog Aberystwith & Welsh Coast Rly to Pwllheli Afon Wen Aberystwith & Welsh Coast Rly to Porthmadog

When the station was reopened on 11 October 1997, it was as the southern temporary terminus of the extended and soon to be restored Welsh Highland Railway from Caernarfon. Following reconstruction of the trackbed, the line was reopened on its original trackbed, in stages; on 7 August 2000 to Waunfawr; in 2003 to Rhyd Ddu; through the Aberglaslyn Pass to Beddgelert and Hafod-y-lyn in 2009; 26 May 2010 for Pont Croesor and finally on 4 January 2011 to Porthmadog. The official opening for the completed line was 20 April 2011. The train services are operated by the Festiniog Railway Company by its Welsh Highland Railway subsidiary.

At Dinas, the new narrow gauge platforms are built on the site of the former standard gauge platforms. Two buildings survive from the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways era, namely the former goods shed and the original station building which has been carefully restored. Dinas station yards house the Welsh Highland Railway offices, carriage sheds and locomotive depot as well as extensive civil engineering works and sidings.

Preceding station	Heritage railways			Following station
Bontnewydd		Welsh Highland Railway Porthmadog - Caernarfon		Tryfan Junction
	Historical railways
Terminus		Welsh Highland Railway		Tryfan Junction
Carnarvon (Pant) Line partly open as narrow gauge; Station closed		Carnarvonshire Railway 1867-71		Llanwnda Line and station closed
Caernarvon Line partly open as narrow gauge; Station closed		Carnarvonshire Railway 1871 onwards		Llanwnda Line and Station closed

References

1. Johnson 1995, p. 72.
2. Rear 2012, pp. 56–59.
3. Turner 2003, p. 7.
4. Mitchell & Smith 2010, Photos 31-36 & Map XI.
5. Quick 2009, p. 149.
6. Shannon & Hillmer 1999, p. 19.
7. Butt 1995, p. 79.
8. Dunn 1958, p. 593.

Sources

• 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.
• Boyd, James I.C. (1989) [1972]. Narrow Gauge Railways in South Caernarvonshire - Volume 2: The Welsh Highland Railway. Headington: The Oakwood Press. ISBN 978-0-85361-383-1. OCLC 145018679.
• Butt, R. V. J. (October 1995). The Directory of Railway Stations: details every public and private passenger station, halt, platform and stopping place, past and present (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-508-7. OCLC 60251199. OL 11956311M.
• Dunn, J.M. (September 1958). Cooke, B.W.C. (ed.). "The Afonwen Line-1". The Railway Magazine. Vol. 104, no. 689. London: Tothill Press Limited. ISSN 0033-8923.
• Johnson, Peter (1995). North Wales (Celebration of Steam). Shepperton: Ian Allan Publishing. ISBN 978-0-7110-2378-9.
• Jowett, Alan (March 1989). Jowett's Railway Atlas of Great Britain and Ireland: From Pre-Grouping to the Present Day (1st ed.). Sparkford: Patrick Stephens Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85260-086-0. OCLC 22311137.
• Mitchell, Vic; Smith, Keith (2010). Bangor to Portmadoc: Including Three Llanberis Lines. Country Railway Routes. Midhurst: Middleton Press. ISBN 978-1-906008-72-7.
• Quick, Michael (2009) [2001]. Railway passenger stations in Great Britain: a chronology (4th ed.). Oxford: Railway & Canal Historical Society. ISBN 978-0-901461-57-5. OCLC 612226077.
• Rear, W.G. (2012). Caernarvon & the Lines from Afonwen & Llanberis: 28: Scenes from the Past Railways of North Wales. Nottingham: Book Law Publications. ISBN 978-1-907094-78-1.
• Shannon, Paul; Hillmer, John (1999). North Wales (British Railways Past & Present) Part 2. Kettering: Past & Present Publishing Ltd. ISBN 978-1-85895-163-8. No 36.
• Turner, Alun (2003). Gwynedd's Lost Railways. Catrine: Stenlake Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84033-259-9.

Further material

• Clemens, Jim (2003) [1959-67]. North Wales Steam Lines No. 6 (DVD). Uffington, Shropshire: B&R Video Productions. BRVP No 79.
• Smith, Martin, ed. (May 2011). "The Nantlle Tramway". Railway Bylines. Vol. 16, no. 6. Clophill: Irwell Press. pp. 306–313. ISSN 1360-2098.

External links

• The Welsh Highland Railway Project Official reconstruction site
• Welsh Highland Railway (Caernarfon) The railway itself
• Rebuilding The Welsh Highland Railway An independent site
• Welsh Highland Railway Timetables The railway itself
• By DMU from Pwllheli to Amlwch Huntley Archives