Red Wharf Bay Branch Line - Decline and Closure

Decline and Closure

The growth of road motor transport was particularly damaging for the branch: the remote terminus of the railway meant their passengers had a long walk to get to either Benllech or Red Wharf Bay, but buses could operate all the way to the villages. Falling passenger numbers in the 1920s, and the onset of the Great Depression led to the removal of passenger services on 22 September 1930, leaving only the daily goods service. Crosville Motor Services operated the replacement bus service between Benllech and Bangor. This hourly service was more frequent than the train had been, and also removed the need to change trains at Gaerwen (and sometimes Holland Arms too). Some special passenger trains continued to run on Saturdays in the summer months until 1939, as the light buses used could not cope with the density of traffic from Benllech. Once the Menai Suspension Bridge was rebuilt, it could take heavier double-decker buses, and the need for train services disappeared again.

Freight services were reduced to three trains a week in 1944. Due to a lack of wartime maintenance, the post-nationalisation owner British Railways considered closing the line in 1948, but decided to maintain the freight services with an overall speed restriction of 15 mph. In a meeting held on 4 July 1950 it was stated that closure of the branch would result in a saving of £4,307 per annum, compared with the cost of £31,000 to relay the track in order to fully reopen the branch. It was decided to close the branch for a six month experimental period, transferring the remaining traffic to other stations and to road transport. The branch closed on 3 April 1950 and did not reopen.

With its importance as a junction on the Anglesey Central Railway gone, Holland Arms station was closed to all traffic on 4 August 1952. The track was sold to Messrs James N. Campbell Ltd. of Coatbridge for £19,000, and demolition started on 9 April 1953, with the junction at Holland Arms taken up on 16 October. The sleepers were sold to local people as firewood, but the timber buildings at Pentraeth and Red Wharf Bay remained for some years after.