Snowdon Mountain Railway - Operation - Steam Vs. Diesel

Steam Vs. Diesel

For steam-hauled trains, the Llanberis shunt movement includes a trip to the water crane and coaling stage outside the locomotive shed. At Halfway Station steam locomotives also take water from a water crane, fed from a large tank located just above the station. For emergency use another large water tank is situated near Clogwyn Station which can feed two water cranes.

The diesel locomotives (and railcar when available) are used first, with the steam locomotives being used on trains as required. On arrival at Llanberis, diesel-hauled trains run directly from the arrival platform to the departure platform, load and depart within a few minutes, making one trip every two-and-a-half hours. Steam-hauled trains take at least half an hour to transfer from the arrival to the departure platform, thus making no more than one trip every three hours.

The use of diesel locomotives therefore allows more trains to be run with the same number of carriages. By using diesels, the reduction in costs for both operating trains over the line and having them standing between infrequent runs has allowed the operating season to be extended considerably.

It is stated by the management that the vast majority of passengers do not care whether the trains are powered by steam or diesel locomotives. In the late 1980s comparative figures for the diesels against steam locomotives made it clear that they made economic sense.

Note: these figures are taken from a talk given by a member of the design team. It is assumed that the fuel costs include the cost of fuel for "lighting up" a steam locomotive, or keeping the fire in overnight, as well as the fuel for a single round trip. For a diesel locomotive, preparation consists only of starting the engine and leaving it to run until sufficient air pressure has been created.