The Background of The Welsh Highland Railway (WHR)
The Welsh Highland Railway was a poorly funded job creation scheme that had completed the construction of the narrow gauge railway route from Dinas, three miles from Carnarvon, to Portmadoc - now Caernarfon and Porthmadog - a distance of 22 miles. It included the North Wales Narrow Gauge Railways - and its Bryngwyn branch, another three miles - from Dinas to Rhyd Ddu, at the foot of Snowdon. From Rhyd Ddu to Croesor Junction some construction had been carried out by the Portmadoc, Beddgelert & South Snowdon Railway around Beddgelert in 1905/6. This was completed in 1922-23 and the route, originally intended to be electrified, adapted for steam locomotives, giving rise to the reverse curves above Beddgelert that give an even gradient of 1 in 40 (2.5%) over a slightly longer route. At the Portmadoc end three miles of the Croesor Tramway, a little-used horse-worked line, was incorporated. The WHR was linked to the Festiniog Railway (FR) at Portmadoc and the FR provided a new station to serve both lines. The Ministry of Transport and the local authorities made loans totalling £70,000 to fund the WHR and it was opened throughout in 1923. This turned out to be the railway's best year; it declined and it went into receivership in 1927.
With various local government officers appointed receiver the WHR continued, primarily as a tourist attraction, until the end of 1933, when the local authority debenture holders declared their intention to close it. This prompted the Festiniog Railway to take a lease on the WHR from 1934 but the poor traffic became poorer and the WHR was closed after the 1936 season.
The lease made no provision for early termination and it took until 1942 before the a judge approved its termination. The legal decision followed the requisitioning of the WHR's track, locos and rolling stock for the war effort. A winding-up order was obtained in 1944 and Mr A Thomas of Llandudno was appointed as liquidator. He could, and did, sell off assets for the benefit of the creditors, the debenture holders, but could not dispose of any land or asset that could inhibit the re-opening of the railway. The 1922 Company was eventually liquidated about 2003, having been in liquidation for a record 69 years.
Soon after the WHR's closure, proposals were made to adapt the trackbed as a long-distance footpath. In the railway press some letter writers suggested that it should be preserved but nothing came of either idea.
Read more about this topic: Welsh Highland Railway Restoration
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