The Bala Lake Railway

Established in 1972, The Bala Lake Railway is a narrow gauge track, 600 mm wide carrying vintage steam engines along Bala Lake to Llanuwchllyn four and a half miles away.  The original vision was to extend the railway into the town of Bala but funding ran out and everything was put on hold – until 2012 – when the plans were revisited and the ‘Red Dragon Project’ was launched.  The plans include a station, carriage sheds, and signal box but also necessitate a level crossing and widening of the bridge over the river Dee.  In the meantime, Natural Resources Wales are incorporating provision for the railway in their flood defence improvements for Bala Lake.

These little steam engines were originally built for the slate quarries at Penryhn and Dinorwic transporting slate to the docks for export across the world. By 1967 engine No. 780 – nicknamed ‘Alice’ – had been abandoned and, raided for spares, she was a derelict skeleton by the time volunteers purchased the remains in 1987 and set about restoration at Llanuwchllyn. The replica brass name plates – and several replacement parts – were made in the old Gilfach Ddu works at the National Slate Museum at Llanberis.

Now Alice transports tourists, holidaymakers and steam train enthusiasts along the shores of Llyn Tegid with stunning views of the mountains across the lake – Arenig Fawr, Aran Benllyn and Aran Fawddwy.

A heron flaps lazily across the lake, alighting on a convenient perch, surveying the shallows. Wild flowers, vetch and vetchling, purple and yellow, vie for attention along the tracks interspersed with toadflax and knapweed, harebells and buttercups – and butterflies dance along the railway line, as they did when the original standard gauge, tracks were laid over 150 years ago from Ruabon to Barmouth.

The section between Bala and Dolgellau was built by the Bala and Dolgelley Railway Company (using the English spelling Dolgelley) and opened in 1868.  This joined the Corwen and Bala Railway at Bala Junction and with the Cambrian Railways at Dolgellau.  Passenger services through Bala ceased in 1965 when the line from Llangollen to Barmouth was closed.  Goods traffic finally ceased in 1968 when the Pontcysyllte branch closed.

Published in the September edition of the Whitchurch Gossip