Two Welsh Highland Railways
Today, there are two parts of the Welsh Highland Railway open, one of 1 km in Porthmadog (which opened in 1980) and one for 25 miles (40 km) from Caernarfon to Porthmadog (which opened in stages from 1997 to 2011).
The WHR Ltd's existing line in Porthmadog, known as the "Welsh Highland Heritage Railway", continues to develop the heritage atmosphere of the old railway, and offers a shorter alternative ride and a newly expanded museum. Original locomotives and rolling stock from the WHR and other lines are being restored to a high standard, to ensure that an authentic WHR heritage train will be able to run on the completed line. The WHR Ltd has received much acclaim for the interactive tour of the sheds, which all passengers get as part of their train ride. In 2005, the WHR Ltd celebrated 25 years since the rebirth of the Welsh Highland with increased passenger numbers and the entry into service of a second original Welsh Highland carriage.
The WHR Ltd extension made progress northwards using volunteer labour from their existing terminus at Pen-y-Mount to a new temporary loop at Traeth Mawr, being officially opened in August 2006 by the President of the Welsh Assembly Lord Dafydd Elis Thomas, and which opened for the 2007 and 2008 seasons. This is now part of the Caernarfon to Porthmadog line: WHR Ltd have reverted to running their short service to Pen y Mount, in conjunction with an excellent museum visit and miniature railway.
The line from Caernarfon to Porthmadog, also marketed as Rheilffordd Eryri, was constructed with the help of grants from the Millennium Commission, the Welsh Assembly and many individuals. Never before has so large a scheme been undertaken in the minor railway field.
The section to Rhyd Ddu was inaugurated by the visit of HRH The Prince of Wales on 30 July 2003. Prince Charles travelled from Waunfawr to Snowdon Ranger in a replica NWNGR coach hauled by the Ffestiniog Railway locomotive 'Prince' and, from Snowdon Ranger to Rhyd Ddu, he rode on the locomotive footplate.
Funding for Phase Four, the final section of the line from Rhyd Ddu to Porthmadog, was announced in September 2004, thanks to a package of grants from the European Regional Development Fund, the Welsh Assembly Government and private donations. The public appeal became the most successful public railway appeal ever, according to Steam Railway magazine, and the line opened in 2011.
Trains are operated by staff and volunteers of both the Ffestiniog Railway and the Welsh Highland Railway (Caernarfon). With the commencement of public services between Caernarfon and Dinas in 1997, all train operations on the Welsh Highland Railway (Caernarfon) have been directly controlled from the central control office at Porthmadog Harbour railway station and this continues.
The agreement signed between the former rivals meant that Phase Four saw the Welsh Highland Railway Limited playing a role in the reconstruction of the line. Fittingly, in October 2005, it was the volunteers of the original revival company who laid the first lengths of track in the final (southern) phase, an emotional moment for many of that organisation's long standing members.
Read more about this topic: Welsh Highland Railway Restoration
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